The year 2017 marks the 45th anniversary of the late strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos declared Martial Law to the rest of the nation, which is known to be one of the darkest times in the history of the Philippines, where free speech has been heavily suppressed by the strong arm of the Marcos dictatorship. I know, I wasn't born at that time but my mom and dad witnessed the carnage brought by the martial rule not just across Metro Manila but the rest of the nation. I maybe history-conscious but imagine if me and my siblings portrayed either mom's and dad's during the martial rule in the 70's, I wonder what is like to live during the Marcos era. Like a family hiding in a basement during an event of a Category 5 hurricane struck the neighborhood, telling stories to each other, this is a homespun opportunity to look what is like living in the Philippines under the martial rule in my perspective.
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| Ferdinand E. Marcos |
My dad is about 16 years old while my mom is about 14 years old when President Marcos declared the whole Philippines under Martial Rule. I believe that my parents were high school students back then so to think like them, I need to choose who I should be at that time. I could be either my dad or my Tito Endo, who is a brother of my mom's. Like my time, it's a "one boy, three girls, wouldn't trade it for the world" scenario , although it is unclear what are they doing in their teen years in an event of a martial rule in the Philippines. Portraying either my dad or my Tito Endo, getting to know life in a Martial Law era would be easy as pie as I'm trying to personalize how are things doing for them at that time with the way me and my siblings are doing in today's time. It all sounds timey-wimey for me but this should be a good way to learn the past.
They're both high school students but they went through separate ways because my dad use to live at a quiet village somewhere in Nueva Ecija whereas my mom and her family live somewhere in the Metro Manila because I am not sure where did they live very long time ago but you get the point. There were no shopping malls like SM at that time, no foreign films (kinda), no foreign shows airing on Philippine TV, no cable, communication's limited to sending a letter at the post office, everything about the 70's is all there. So, what am I doing during the martial rule era in the Philippines? Well, since I'm a high school student at that time, I tend to get picky with my classmates even during classes where a selection of subjects include English, Filipino, Sibika, GMRC, HELE or THE, Science, MAPEH, and Math, although unsure what subjects did offer at that time being apart from Science, Math, English, and Filipino. During recess and lunch hours, I tend to eat my mom's home cooking somewhere in the cafeteria, and when dismissal time, well, it's hard to guess how did I go home during the 70's but let's just say, I fetch a ride with a jeepney using my allowance my mother gave me. When I got home, all did is finishing my homework, listening to the transistor, watching TV, and then go to bed. Typical day, eh?
A transistor is what everyone called a radio in today's times but what am I listening on the transistor during the 70's? Well, there weren't any shouty DJs at that time being, it's just well-civilized radio presenters presenting some smooth music, including disco because the 70's is the age of the disco. Apart from listening to those smooth music, I tend to listen to some news, knowing what will Marcos' next move during the martial rule as well as the world affairs. If listening to news and music with the transistor isn't enough, what shows do I watch on TV during that time? Well, since this is the 70's, the only channels they had during the Martial Law era were GMA, BBC2, KBS News, iBC 13, you name the rest. There were no foreign shows aired at that time until the 80's and the only shows I can only watch are some sitcoms, some news, some variety shows, you get the point. If we exist in that era, the coolest shows aired on Philippine TV during the martial rule were Seeing Stars with Joe Quirino, Big Ike's Happening, Odyssey 2, and Penthouse Seven, among many others.
Many people who lived in the Martial Law era know the name Joe Quirino because he was the Boy Abunda of that time and his talk variety show is showcasing the country's brightest celebrities every night and that show has been the pinnacle of every Filipino talk shows from the past and the present. As for shows like Odyssey 2 on the Banahaw Broadcasting Corporation, which was the ABS-CBN of that time, and GMA's Penthouse Seven, these two disco shows are a way to pass the nights with some dances from the best celebrities of the decade. There are many shows aired in the Martial Law era that can be described as good in every tangible way but as any 70's kids can tell, it's hard to describe how did they manage to survive such a harsh decade.
Movies. What movies shown in theaters during the Martial Law era in the Philippines? In most countries, they're showing even the most successful foreign films such as Star Wars, Jaws, Halloween, The French Connection, all of the Bond films during the Roger Moore years, the list goes on and on, but in Philippine cinemas, theoretically, they only show local films at that time like for instance an action flick by Joseph Estrada where he was being chased by the Japanese yakuzas, and there was a bold movie that I can't believe they exist in that era. Still, because Filipinos are not familiar with foreign films during the Martial Law era, those who are brave enough to weave from heavily guarded areas and angry protesters managed to go watch a movie and because home video wasn't invented yet, those who want to watch the film again need to spend their money again to watch it again.
What about cars? Although the 70's is all about the change of cars due to the world energy crisis, there has been some cool cars in the decade, which the Philippines never had because apart from the jeepneys, the roads are constantly littered with trucks, Mitsubishis, Toyotas, Ford Escorts, trucks, even AUVs that has been the workhorses of every Filipinos.
Is there anything in the Martial Law era that made us interesting? Well, sadly, I don't have time for that but still, living in the Philippines during the Martial Law era of the Marcos regime is very scary indeed because with all that brutal killings, jailings, violent protests, everything that made it the darkest turn in Philippine history and history did repeat itself as today's Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared Martial Law last May in the Mindanao region due to the ongoing clash against the Maute Group, which are sympathizers of the Islamic State militants.
Whatever happened 45 years ago is something Filipinos will never forget, even those who survived the carnage from the Marcos regime. And whatever my parents are doing to survive the decade of violence remains a mystery for now because I never existed at that time as well as my siblings but I had fun imagining what is like to be in their shoes. Learning from the past makes us prepare for the future. With history and current affairs, we truly understand why we all live in a world gone mad and it's important that we are the ones who can entrust the future to the next generation, whatever it may be.
