Barcenas: Commemorating Martial Law struggles under a Marcos administration remains ‘relevant’
CEBU CITY, Philippines — For Martial Law survivor and retired Cebuano politician Atty. Democrito Barcenas, this year’s commemoration of the struggles of those who sacrificed and died during the Martial Law period, even under a Marcos administration, remains a “relevant” endeavor.
“This is very relevant in the light of the efforts of the Marcos family to suppress the truths and to make Martial Law of the Marcos Sr. a golden one, when in fact, it was clear that his regime was a brutal dictatorship,” Barcenas told CDN Digital, in a phone interview on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022.
Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, is the 50th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law in 1972.
Barcenas said though he expects some Anti-Martial Law protest actions in major cities, especially in Metro Manila, he cannot speak for other progressive groups here in Cebu.
However, the lawyer is scheduled to launch his book entitled “Martial Law in Cebu” on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m at the University of the Philippines-Cebu.
This will form part of the local activities for the Martial Law commemoration on that day.
The book, Barcenas said, is a collection of first-hand accounts of various personalities during Martial Law who experienced harassment during this dark period.
Among the contributors are Resil Mojares, a Filipino historian, and award-winning writer and critic of Philippine Literature, retired Judge Meinrado Paredes, and Judge Kit Enriquez, among others.
Barcenas mentioned how today’s technology, unfortunately, aids in the distortion of history, but he has this to say for the new generation: “Ang importante ron let us watch out, and let’s be vigilant in the face of these attempts of the Marcos family to cover up the brutal Marcos dictatorship, as benign, golden, and as beneficial to the country.”
“It is really very alarming, because we have ousted a dictator in 1986, and we elected a son of the dictator and that for me we are a laughing stock of the world,” he added. /rcg ALSO READ: Progressive groups stage peaceful rally vs rising fuel prices Never forget the Conjugal DictatorshipDisclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
