HORRID PAST. On September 21, marking the 45th anniversary of former President Ferdinand Marcos’s notorious and unprecedented declaration of Martial Law, victims of the era’s atrocities were honored for their valor against authoritarian rule.
Report and photos by Angelo Lorenzo
On the National Day of Protest, some members of the Xavier Ateneo community had assembled in solidarity for a mass inside the University Church of the Immaculate Concepcion of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church and for a prayer vigil that succeeded outside.
Held on the afternoon of Thursday, September 21, the same day that marked the 45th anniversary of former President Ferdinand Marcos’s notorious and unprecedented declaration of Martial Law, victims of the era’s atrocities were honored for their valor against authoritarian rule.
While various forms of protests had been staged across the country, Xavier Ateneo in Cagayan de Oro City conducted a more solemn approach, but with the same message that preached the recognition of human rights, the strengthening of justice, and the aim for peace.
Aligning his homily’s message to the Gospel about responding to God’s call, Xavier Ateneo Jesuit Community rector Fr Mars Tan SJ challenged the university’s students, alumni, faculty, staff, and guests to stand firm in their faith amidst the nation’s tumultuous times and take their part in valuing its democracy.
“We must protect the values that Jesus Christ has taught us. These are the sanctity of life, the right of anyone to live, to be free,” he encouraged.
“These values will guide our nation according to God’s plan. Therefore, we must uphold and defend them,” Tan continued.
In the prayer vigil that followed, Martial Law records were revealed by the university’s Mission and Ministry cluster, the organizers of the event.
According to Amnesty International, more than 70,000 were imprisoned, 34,000 tortured, and 3,240 murdered during the two decades of the Marcos regime, values had been disregarded by armed authorities and vigilantes.
CANDLES. In front of the university church, the same congregation that attended the mass earlier paid tribute to the victims of Martial Law by kindling candles under the darkening sky.
Six victims at six o’clock
In front of the church, the same congregation that attended the mass paid tribute to the victims of Martial Law by kindling candles under the darkening sky.
Six stories among the thousands of testimonies from victims who died or survived were shared.
Particularly, these were: Liliosa Hilao, the first recorded female casualty whose remains contained bruises marked by gun barrels; Archimedes Trajano, a 21-year-old student who was thrown out of a building after questioning Imee Marcos for being the National Chairman of the Kabataang Barangay while her father was president; former UP Journalism student Maria Elena Ang who was sexually violated during her detention; Dr Juan Escandor, whose skull was stuffed with crumpled plastic bags, rags and underwear after he was killed by the Philippine Constabulary; Boyet Mijares, who, at 16 years old, was mutilated and dumped outside Manila after he was tricked into seeing his father again (the exiled author of The Conjugal Dictatorship, Primitivo Mijares); and former Tondo community leader Trinidad Herrera who was repeatedly electrocuted on her private parts upon interrogation.
On the steps outside the church, black-and-white photographs of the victims were posted on standees. Displayed with them were papers containing words of protest that were printed on their fronts. “Never forget,” one page showed. “Never again,” another read. On their center, an enlarged image of the iconic headline that announced the declaration stood on its own, some of the letters masked by the gleaming reflection of the candles’ flames on its plastic cover.
As songs were sung between prayers, there was a collective silence when XU’s VP for mission and ministry Irene Guitarte reflected on human rights before the crowd. Stating the fundamental articles that define human rights according to the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights that was summarized in 1948, she added verses from the Bible to complement the definitions.
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,” she recited, reading the first article before supporting it with Jeremiah 1:5.
The fate encountered by the Martial Law victims that resulted from prevalent abuses stood as clear violations of their rights as human beings, and with extra-judicial killings now recurring in the present scene, Guitarte hopes that this threat would cease and will alarm those living in comfort and privilege.
“As we rejoice in the gift of our own lives and give thanks for the freedoms we enjoy, we remember all those who are not free,” she stated. “Through our commitment to prayer, may we be open to commitment in practice.”
PRAYER VIGIL. The prayer vigil concluded with a prayer composed by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle DD and read by one student who volunteered.
The truth in history
As a university, Xavier Ateneo eliminates politicizing. But with the commitment to social justice, its community adheres to the truth in history based on the testimonies of both victims and victors.
One aim of the XU Mission and Ministry is to further educate the students with historical facts and encourage them to be vigilant in the present.
The mass may be scheduled daily in the university’s church, and prayer vigils are held commonly in an academic institution run by the Society of Jesus, but these are venues where students could learn beyond the classroom and their program’s curriculum.
“The prayer vigil is our way of commemorating the victims,” Xavier Ateneo’s National Service Training Program (NSTP) director Dennise Edwina Gonzalez shared. She hopes that their testimonies will educate the students and the residents of the city about the extent of abuse an authoritarian government could do.
The prayer vigil concluded with a prayer composed by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle DD and read by one student who volunteered.
“Iligtas Mo po kami sa lahat ng kasamaan at paghahangad ng masama. Bigyan Mo kami ng kapayapaang bunga ng mabuting kalooban (May You save us from evil and from causing harm, and grant us peace brought by goodwill.),” the student delivered.The crowd soon dispersed after planting their candles beneath the display.
The crowd soon dispersed after planting their candles beneath the display. When the rain started to pour heavily, some of the flames remained flickering on the wicks, brightening the photographs of the victims who are still remembered four decades after the declaration of the nation’s horrid past.∎