YOUTH LEADERS, Martial Law activists, and human rights advocates gathered at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman’s iconic Oblation last Wednesday, July 6 to honor the lives of those who died or disappeared during the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.

The event is part of #BawatBato, a non-partisan initiative aiming to stop Marcos’ planned burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery). President Rodrigo Duterte earlier expressed his intention to allow the former president’s interment as early as September 11, Marcos’ birthday, in an effort to “erase one hatred” from the Filipino people.

Susan Quimpo, youngest sister of Martial Law victims Jun and Ronald Jan Quimpo and co-author of Subversive Lives: A Family Memoir of the Martial Law Years, said that Marcos’ burial will only “further divide the country” and is “an insult to the people who fought for justice, freedom, and democracy.”

Aside from the campaign, the coalition is also planning to file a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the burial.

According to Quimpo, the campaign is more than just opposing Marcos’ burial. “It’s not just a matter of stopping the burial, but it goes beyond that in terms of fixing the historical revisionism,” she said.

Etta Rosales, former Commission on Human Rights chair and Martial Law activist, noted the role of education in ensuring that the horrors of Martial Law are never repeated. This includes digitizing evidences and oral histories that will serve as basis for creating modules on human rights education. She also called for the setting up of local museums that will document the local histories of Martial Law.

Real heroes

During the ceremony, twelve student-leaders from various universities paid tribute to the following young martyrs by retelling their stories (names are linked to their short profiles at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani website):

• Leo Alto, killed at age 23
• Emmanuel Alvarez, disappeared at age 27
• Maria Lorena Barros, killed at age 28
• Cristina Catalla, disappeared in 1977
• Nona Del Rosario, killed circa 1975
• Bobby Dela Paz, assassinated at age 29
• Juan Escandor, killed at age 41
• Gerardo Faustino, disappeared in 1977
• Rizalina Ilagan, editor, disappeared in 1977
• Leticia Ladlad, disappeared in 1975
• Jun Quimpo, killed at age 24
• Ronald Jan Quimpo, disappeared in 1977 at age 23

Stones bearing the names of several other activists who lost their lives during Martial Law were laid at the foot of the Oblation.

Quimpo said that the event honors the “real heroes” who sacrificed their youth for the cause of freedom during the dark days of Martial Law.

“Imbis na magbigay-alay sa isang pekeng bayani, ay bigyan natin ng tribute o alay ‘yung mga tunay na heroes po na pinatay ni Marcos noong panahon ng Martial Law. [Instead of paying tribute to a fake hero, let us give tribute instead to the real heroes that were killed by Marcos during Martial Law.],” she said.

Marcos plot now off-limits

The #BawatBato initiative was quietly launched last June 26 at the Libingan ng mga Bayani without media fanfare. Several people laid stones bearing names of Martial Law activists at the plot intended for Marcos.

Recently however, people wanting to place stones at the burial plot were reportedly turned away by military personnel guarding the area.

Clara Balaguer, a recent visitor to the burial plot, said that the military took their names, photos, and plate numbers. She also said that they were escorted to the office, where they were given a “friendly” yet “convoluted” lecture on why they were “desecrating the place” and were not allowed to visit the area despite it being listed as a tourist attraction.

The military also denied that the burial plot was for Marcos, despite it now being covered with plywood. However, Balaguer cited an Associated Press archive report belying the claim.

“What was scariest was to hear the lies, the lies to your face…you can see it everywhere, not just here but with the last few months have just been lies, just outright lies. And that is the most frightening thing. The truth is the biggest casualty,” Balaguer said of the experience.

Because of these developments, Quimpo urged other institutions to hold similar tributes in their own areas. “At dahil pinagbawal na po tayo doon (And because we are not allowed to go there [Heroes’ Cemetery] anymore), we encourage people to do it in other areas where there were a history of protests and a history of activism against Martial Law,” she said.

UP Diliman, hotbed of student activism and site of the historic 1971 Diliman Commune, was the third university to hold such an event after Silliman University and UP Baguio.

Several members of the Ateneo community have discussed a similar initiative on Wednesday, July 13.

‘Lumang kuwento na ‘yan’

Human rights advocates also took the opportunity to speak about the rising frequency of extrajudicial killings in the country amid the administration’s intensified war on drugs and criminality.

Rosales criticized the alarming number of deaths recorded during drug-related police operations.

“You can’t allow summary killings to take place in buy-bust operations and just keep on saying…‘Nang-aagaw ng baril o may baril sila so we defended ourselves so namatay na siya.’ Napakalumang kuwento na niyan. (You can’t allow summary killings to take place in buy-bust operations and just keep on saying…‘They tried grabbing our guns so we defended ourselves and so they died.’ That’s an old story.),” she said.

Responding to criticism that the CHR and other human rights advocates are protecting criminals and hampering the anti-criminality drive, Rosales said that Filipinos should know the reason why due process is necessary in properly prosecuting the accused. She also cited Duterte’s promise to uphold the rule of law in his inaugural speech.

“Human rights is for all: mayaman, mahirap, babae, lalake…kahit sino including ‘yung mga akusado. Hindi pa sila convicted. So they are presumed innocent until convicted. [Human rights is for all: rich, poor, female, male…anyone including the accused. They are not yet convicted. So they are presumed innocent until convicted.),” she said.

With reports from Gabrielle M. Lombos and Liam C. Lu

Editor’s note: The original article published on this site mistakenly named Clara Balaguer as Clara Baraquel. This has since been corrected.