by Rai Bollozos Sanchez, GE-IDS

“Veritas Liberabit Vos!”

In the harrowing times in our history, there exists a chapter stained with the blood of innocent victims, an era when shadows clung to the soul of the Filipinos— the period of Martial Law in the Philippines. As the silent echoes of desperation reverberate through the years, the generation beforehand reminds today’s age of a historic awakening, unraveling the haunting tales of atrocities shaping this nation’s destiny—the endless cause to fight for the truth for freedom of the human sovereign.

A public showing of the documentary film 11,103, a Film About the Martial Law Survivors in the Philippines, directed by Jeanette Ifurung and Miguel Alcazaren, at the Xavier Ateneo’s Little Theater on 21 November 2023, organized by the Human Rights Violations Victims Memorial Commission (HRVVMC) partnered by the National Service Training Program (NSTP) and the General Education and Interdisciplinary Studies (GEIDS) Department of Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan. Explores the shadow of our darkest history marked by silence and oppression, the stories of those who endured the tumultuous period of Martial Law emerged as powerful testaments to the strength of humanity.

Martial Law was a period of darkness gripping the nation in silence, a journey through lives of arbitrary arrests and countless human rights abuses. Each scene revealed the diverse experiences of individuals who coped with the challenges of Martial Law. From the arbitrary arrests and massacres of innocent victims, the film vividly pictured a nation tainted by the government shrouded with fear and countless tragic memories of terror and uncertainties.

Ms Hilda Billano Narciso, a victim of Martial Law, gives her testimony about the abduction, detention, torture, molestation, and rape of her captors, leaves the audience in empathic horror, discerned by the indomitable spirit of the violent challenges etched in our nation’s darkest history. Ms Narciso, together with the other victims shown in the film, narratively unfolds a tale that crosses resistance, seemingly endless violence, and transcendent infringement against human life—an utter disregard for humanity’s existence.

The scars of Martial Law are not confined to the past. Still, the stories linger in the collective memory of the generation not only to remember the struggles of the turbulent years under a violent dictatorship but also to examine their ongoing efforts in seeking justice, highlighting the indelible complex landscape that Martial Law victims still linger even today. Mr Patrick I Claudio of the HRVVMC called to action in preserving the initiatives of these Martial Law victims to ensure the lessons of the past are not forgotten and provides a glimpse into the tireless efforts to hold accountable those responsible for the atrocities committed during those dark years.

Nevertheless, the voices heard from these victims are no longer a tale of suffering. It is a saga of strength, resilience, solidarity, and the determined spirit that refuses to be silenced. Ms Narciso, together with the victims shown in the documentary film, teaches us strength standing at the crossroads of our history, guiding us to understand, empathize, and call for collective preservation, ensuring the voices of Martial Law survivors are not only acknowledged but serves as a torch, a guiding light toward justice, transparency, and full respect of human rights.

Martial Law’s atrocities, the victims’ voices hold the keys to liberation and freedom from historical distortion and oppression. “Veritas liberabit vos,” a Latin phrase meaning “The truth shall set you free,” resonates as a guiding principle, propelling to seek question, and ensures that the voices of the victims echo the collective remembrance in seeking the truth in the pursuit of the truth, where replacing historical injustice to a triumphant crescendo of a liberated, enlightened, and sovereign Filipino nation.

The writer wishes to thank Mr Patrick I Claudio, Nathaniel Luis B Sundiang, and Reginald C Coloma from the HRVVMC, Ms Norinyl Jumalon of the NSTP, and Mr Roderick Z Ocangas of the GEIDS Department of Xavier Ateneo, Mr Shaun Alejandrae Yap Uy from the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), and Jigger Jerusalem, Associate Editor of The Monitor Mindanao Today for accomodating the publication of this Opinion Article.