Today, the Filipino people commemorate the 36th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Uprising in time for the upcoming May 9, 2022 national and local elections. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr.–the namesake son of the ousted fascist dictator, the late Ferdinand Marcos, Sr.–is vying for the highest elected political position in the country to pave the way for the return of the Marcoses to Malacañang. Employing a well-funded disinformation campaign using troll farms and PR consultants, the Marcos camp is peddling the myth of the Marcos-era “golden age,” blatantly revising history as they go. Their efforts are all part of a vile attempt to resurrect the Marcos political dynasty and lure the uninformed and unenlightened voters to disregard the dark years of Martial Law. Today, let us revisit the infamy of the Marcos era.
EDSA People Power, A Retrospective:
EDSA People Power–iconic as it is in global and national history for its relative peacefulness – was but the result of years of intense awareness-building, organizing, and mobilization of the people’s movement to oust the US-Marcos Dictatorship and put a stop to its tyranny and repression. The peoples’ work culminated in the February 22-25, 1986 protest action, climaxing in the ouster of the fascist dictator Marcos on the 25th of February.
What was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Marcos? Learning about the rapid isolation of his government, he called for a snap presidential election. The National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) tally showed that the late Corazon C. Aquino won, but the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) declared Marcos the winner. This blatant electoral fraud ignited massive protest actions. People from all sectors of society mobilized together over four days, ultimately leading to the downfall of the disdainful and utterly ruthless US-Marcos’s dictatorship and the subsequent exodus of the Marcos family to Hawaii.
Now, let us debunk the myth of Marcos-era “golden age” and the Marcos’ historical revisionism using statistics.
Economic crisis:
● 1984-1985 Gross Domestic Products (GDP): negative 7.32%;
● 1961 external debt $0.36 Billion rose to $28 Billion in 1986;
● 579 businesses were illegally and violently taken over;
Marcos’s plunder and ill-gotten wealth:
● Conservative estimate: $5 Billion to $10 Billion loot of Marcos according to Stephen Bosworth of the US Congress House Committee on Foreign Affairs. “Greatest robbery of government” according to the Guiness Book of World Records.;
● Philippine Commission on Good Government (PCGG) retrieved Php174.3 billion in ill-gotten wealth from Marcos as of 2020; another Php125.98 billion has yet to be recovered;
● Philippine Supreme Court confiscated $658 million from Marcos’ ill-gotten wealth;
● Sandigan Bayan ordered the Royal Traders Bank (RTB) to return to the government hundreds of millions of pesos worth of deposits of the late Ferdinand Marcos, Sr., as those were ill-gotten wealth.
Human Rights Violations:
● 70,000 arrested/imprisoned; 3,257 victims of extrajudicial killings; 35,000 tortured; 878 desaparacidos (missing to this day);
● Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act (RA10368) allocated P10 Billion worth of compensation to the human rights victims. Money came from the funds transferred to the Philippine government based on the December 10, 1997 order of Swiss Federal Supreme Court of the Marcos account in Switzerland;
● Class suit of 9,539 Martial Law victims in Hawaii against the Marcos estate. The court in Hawaii awarded to the victims $2 Billion from the Marcos ill-gotten wealth.
To remember People Power is to renew our commitment against tyranny, fascism, plunder, dictatorship and repression. It means defeating historical revisionism, exposing the myth of Marcos era “golden age”, and fighting disinformation with truth.
The call “Never Again, Never Forget, No to Another Dictatorship in Malacanang “is a moral imperative. Fight for justice, work for just peace.
The Ecumenical Bishops Forum (EBF) enjoins the faithful to not to forget the gains and lessons of EDSA People Power and to be discerning. Dismiss and refute all disinformation and fight for truth as the Gospel tells us, saying, “know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” Let us frustrate the evil designs for the dictator’s son to return to power once the presidency is vacant. Every one of us can make a difference. May your choice this coming May 9, 2022 elections be a product of discernment and profound reflections. Your choice reflects your character. Choose the right persons for elected offices. May this exhortation help you. “The integrity of the upright guides them but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.” (Proverbs 11:3 NRSV)
Issued and Signed on this day, 24th February, 2022 by the Executives Officers of the Ecumenical Bishops Forum:
Sgd.:
Bishop Ciriaco Francisco
The Rt. Rev. Emelyn Gasco-Dacucuy
The Rt. Rev’d. Dindo Dela Cruz Ranojo
Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez
Bishop Joel E. Tendero
Bishop Solito Toquero
Bishop Ephraim Fajutagana