REAPHIS

Full Name: VILLAFLOR, GABRIELLE VINCENT ARANTE

Program & Section Code: BSA-478

DIRECTIONS: look for a particular source related to history and differentiate it whether it is a primary or a
secondary source and try to identify the context of the source if its historical or relevant to any situations
happening in the Philippines.

UNIT ACTIVITY #1: CONFIRMING THE SOURCE

https://web.facebook.com/watch/?v=1554114678222086

PRIMARY SOURCE
One will surely know that as a Filipino, our history was diverse and full of occurrence. Our ancestors
were forced to surrender our land but then we had rose again from those mishaps, however, it is known to
everyone and it is part of our history that in all those ordeals we wouldn’t have had the thought that it was our
own fellow Filipino, what we thought to be a good leader, have caused a part of our history to be tragic,
grievous, and lamentable especially those who were victims of Martial Law. This dreadful part of Philippine
history had already been heard by almost everyone in our country. But what’s the relevance? if the things that
most of us know is just the tip of the iceberg? Some may acknowledge this as the golden time or era of our
country that eventually faded. Others may even glorify how the former President Marcos made our country
glorious. But behind the curtains of successful projects, Marcos forcibly clung unto its power by declaring
martial law in the country. With military prowess improved and only second to the dictator. Apologists being
corrupt for power, violating even the basic human rights which was morally unforgivable. Millennials and
teenagers nowadays, some may be blinded for what really happened and from the interview conducted by
Inquirer.net, it was proven how clueless millennials towards the truth.
From the source interview, Inquirer.net, the set-up was that they invited some millennials to share their
thoughts regarding martial law. Having them talked in front of a martial law victim. On the interview, the first
question was “What was the effect of Martial Law Years of the Marcoses?” Having raise this question, the
millennials answered confidently. These were the responses: “The Law was followed and people have
disciplined—they know curfew.”, “It was good for our country.”, “With Ferdinand Marcos, our government
was respectable.”, “He was strict, like how our parents were strict to us because they love you.”. These were
some of the answers of the teenagers which confidently answer the question positively without knowing that
who’s in front of them were victims of Martial Law themselves. Second question was raised, “Are you in favor
of the Martial Law years of the Marcoses?” which they confidently again answered with a positive view about
it. Having said these by those teenagers, it was seen that our school doesn’t really include on history subjects
the dreadful side that the Martial Law years had brought to the many Filipino before, which made them clueless
of what really happened. After those questions, Martial Law Victims who were present on the interview, finally
introduce themselves to the teenagers. They started to share their horror experience to the teenagers who’s
obviously clueless about it. Lourdes Victorian was a protester and was part of Urban Poor Association, she also
had a dreadful experience during the martial law. “Nagahasa ako”, she stated. She was detained and raped
during the martial law. She was just one of the countless victims and some were even missing, and the body was
not found until now.
This video is one of the primary and relevant evidence that martial law really happened and that there
were victims of this tragic history. Their experience must be validated and should not be ignored. They’re a
living evidence and a reflection of our history. They are the history itself, proving that something tragic really
happened in our nation’s history and that in some point in time, we must give a full justice towards the heinous
crimes which morally violated our basic right as a human. As a primary source of evidence, we must remember
that history is not ours to erase nor destroy.

SECONDARY SOURCE
FROM A WEBSITE MEDIA COMMONER

MANILA, Philippines – On the evening of September 23, 1972, the late president Ferdinand Marcos
appeared on national television to formally announce that the Philippines was under Martial Law. This began
almost 10 years of military rule in the country. Marcos formally ended Martial Law on January 17, 1981, but it
was not until 1986 when democracy was restored – after the dictator and his family were forced into exile,
overthrown by a popular uprising that came to be known as the People Power Revolution.
When Marcos signed Proclamation 1081 on September 21, 1972, he cited the communist threat as
justification. His diary, meanwhile, said the proclamation of Martial Law became a “necessity”, following the
supposed ambush of then defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile. There were subsequent reports that said the
ambush was staged, with the Official Gazette citing Enrile’s admission in 1986 that it was faked to justify the
imposition of Martial Law. There were also indications that the plan to declare Martial Law had long been in
the works. According to the Official Gazette, several people had received prior information about Marcos’ plan.
The late dictator had also hinted at it in his address to the Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association as
early as May 17, 1969 – more than 3 years before the actual declaration.
Through various general orders, Marcos effectively put the entire power of government under the rule of
one man: his own. He was to lead the nation and direct the operation of the entire government. He ordered the
armed forces to prevent or suppress any act of rebellion. Curfew hours were enforced, group assemblies were
banned, privately-owned media facilities shuttered. Those considered threats to Marcos – such as prominent
politicians and members of the media – were rounded up and arrested by members of the military and the
notorious Philippine Constabulary.
Among the myths: that the Philippines enjoyed a golden age under the Marcoses. Various reports and
historical accounts debunk this; while it is true that infrastracture spending increased during that period, it came
at a staggering cost: plunging the Philippines in billions of dollars in debt. From $8.2 billion in 1977, the
country’s debt ballooned to $24.4 billion in 1982 – or within a period of just 5 years. The Marcoses also
plundered the country’s coffers, with various estimates putting the amount at between $5 billion to $10 billion.
The Presidential Commission on Good Government, the body going after the Marcoses’ ill-gotten wealth, is
still recovering this money; over the past 30 years, at least P170 billion have been recovered. Aside from the
billions in illegally amassed wealth, human rights abuses were rampant during those days.
About 70,000 people were imprisoned and 34,000 tortured, according to Amnesty International, while
3,240 were killed from 1972 to 1981. During this dark chapter of Philippine history, thousands of people were
subject to various forms of torture. Prisoners were electrocuted, beaten up, and strangled. They were burned
with a flat iron or cigars. Water was poured down their throats, then forced out by beating. Women were
stripped naked and raped, various objects forced into their genitals.
Historian Alfred McCoy wrote about Marcos’ elite torture units, whose specialty was psychological torture and
humiliation aside from the physical pain. It has been many years since then, but the victims have not forgotten –
especially as the Marcoses have neither acknowledged their crimes nor made reparations for their sins. At the
Supreme Court hearing on the proposed Marcos burial at the Heroes’ Cemetery, victims were asked to speak
before the Court to recount their horrifying ordeals. The Chief Justice told them: “The Court is listening.”