Although they say it's not always true that "History is written by the victors", it is undeniable that there is a high degree of truth in it. The better question perhaps, however, is who are the "victors"? Those who win wars through military or ideological strategies? Those who possess the capacity to move the state through financial and political capital resources? Those who are considered to be the 'majority'? Or simply those who have the highest authority and control over the state?
To answer this question, one would need to look at different points of time and events in history. Historians for instance argue on the cultural homogenization of the Filipino people, with the Americans putting forward Jose Rizal as a heroic symbol during their occupation. One of the most divisive events in more recent years is probably the 2016 elections. Prior to the May polls and even long after, it has been evident that two sides have started to draw the sketches in our history books once more. The division must have been there since long ago, but has been more pronounced through several factors: the fast dissemination of information through web-based sharing and social media, the worsening cases of poverty and human injustice, and the grave abuses and corruption that is now far from hidden from the public eye, above many.
This year, the administration settled with a simple commemoration of the 31st anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution. There's nothing wrong with doing away with fancy celebrations at all. After all, these do not define how we look back to one of the important events in our modern history, one that most of the older generation still has a firm memory of. What I personally find inappropriate, however, are the words "move on," saying that "we should not get stuck in the past." As much as I want to give the benefit of the doubt and choose to understand where the statements are coming from, one could not dismiss the political color put into it. It was not surprising at all, however. From the time when former president Marcos was inconspicuously buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, a personal position has publicly been made, and an obvious one. The sad thing is, this personal position was forced upon the whole nation of a hundred million individuals. It appears therefore that the 'past' that most of us know is a 'past' separate from what others perceive to be true.
We Filipinos are prone to the poison of our own ignorance. In extreme cases, we wait to be directly hit by something, or wait to get to know someone to be directly hit by something before we believe that something is true. If we cannot relate to something at a personal level, then there's no use caring. "Hindi naman ako apektado" or "Wala naman akong kilalang naganyan" are the most common and most dangerous words that we unconsciously speak. For years and years, history has been written from different sides, from the colonial period, to the Martial Law years, down to the war on drugs for which our country has once again sought global attention (and which deserves a separate in-depth analysis altogether). Our denial of the truth and in turn the inability to act accordingly is utterly frustrating. One need not be a victim or know a victim to admit or deny a situation. Belief systems are created and should continuously evolve through a process of critical learning, both inside and outside of what we already know.
Perhaps the most chilling reality I have been opened up to from last year's polls was the near win of Bongbong Marcos in the vice-presidential race. In this divide, we have seen a simultaneous rise and a fall --- the rise of the flagrant display of disrespect and apathy, and the fall of vigilance and sense of history. I will not say that the division caused by the Bongbong-Leni battle was a war between good and evil. Who's to say who is what, when there are and will always be two sides of the story? What I am most concerned of, however, is the lack of judgment and critical thought to current events. The ability to acquire and share information is a power that most of us are privileged with. But that doesn't mean that personal affiliation and the comfort of our own skins should define our belief systems.
Although the nation is called upon to a "moving on" ceremony, those who hold on to the fight for justice and democracy will never be silenced. I was going through old photos of the 1986 EDSA Revolution a few days ago as one of my favorite personal commemoration. Although I was a year short of being born that time and none of my family members were victims of human rights violation during Martial Law (although of course the fear imposed upon them as private citizens was intensely traumatic), this is probably one of the events that I know define me as a Filipino. As I was looking at the massive number of people that filled the EDSA, lined up in front of tanks and big guns and military airplanes that could shoot them all dead anytime, anytime the go signal is received from their commander-in-chief. But Marcos NEVER did. At the height of the uprising, then AFP Chief-of-Staff General Fabian Ver was insisting on the airstrike, but FM said "My order is not to attack... My order is to disperse without shooting them." If I were General Ver, that to me would be the most ridiculous order. How do I disperse half a million protesters without shooting them?
The bloodless revolution that the world admired, therefore, is a victory won not only by the people who stood up to halt the dictatorship, but by the self-limiting action of the dictator himself. We have all the speculations we can make with regards to why he refused to (under the table negotiations with the Americans, threats, political motives, desperate measures, who knows?), and I will definitely not absolve the Marcoses from the injustices for which they are accountable for merely because of this "humanitarian" angle. Learning from the past is only one of the steps to know how to face the challenges for our country's future. Unfortunately, the good and the just usually fail to recognize how immense the power in their hands really is. The abusive, however, knows this very well, and eats up the share of the power that the other side holds to pursue a balanced society. The administration is right, that "we should not get stuck in the past" and "move on." We should indeed not get stuck in our past of abusive and corrupt behavior, and move on from violence and authoritarianism as a strategy to achieve peace and order for the nation. #
