Dear Mr. President,
Much has been said about Ferdinand Marcos and his betrayal of the people’s trust as highest official of the land — he sold out our patrimony; he plundered the country; he ruled with terror; his regime, marked with thousands of human rights violations — you know it all, as we do.
Dear Mr. President,
Much has been said about Ferdinand Marcos and his betrayal of the people’s trust as highest official of the land — he sold out our patrimony; he plundered the country; he ruled with terror; his regime, marked with thousands of human rights violations — you know it all, as we do.
So we write you, regarding your decision to honor the dictator with a burial at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani, for this is most painful to us who suffered during martial law, an insult to the many among us who sacrificed careers and being with family; a slap on the faces of the countless who lost homes and livelihood; a mockery of the nameless who were raped, tortured, and brutally slain in that long night of the Marcos years, arguably the darkest night of our country’s history.
Trolls in social media bid us to move on, and to forgive. But how to forgive when forgiveness is not sought is a problem. Marcos must be made accountable, his family made to admit the wealth they enjoy is not theirs, but the people’s.
Mr President, please listen to history chanting “Marcos… Hitler… Diktador… Tuta.”
Please do not forget the dead and the disappeared, the children who sat nightly by their windows and doors, waiting for parents to return and sing them a lullabye, parents who never did.
Please do not bury Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani. To honor him thusly would be to dishonor the Filipino people.
Very truly yours,
Martial law victims (to be signed)