This is the #NeverForget Diary, a weekly summary of what’s happening in the Philippines under Marcos II. In a time of mangled histories and fragile memories, it’s crucial never to forget. (Note: this post may be clipped in your email inbox. Photo above from the Office of the Press Secretary.)
This week, half a century has passed since Ferdinand Marcos Sr. declared martial law on September 23, 1972.
One would think that there would be enough fanfare around this historic moment, coming from the Marcos Jr. administration. But somehow they’re not as enthusiastic as one might expect. They even want people to forget and “move on.”
For his part, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was nowhere to be seen in the country, for he flew to the US to give a speech at the UN General Assembly and attend other engagements.
This in itself is notable, since before becoming president Marcos Jr.—along with other family members—had standing arrest warrants in the US and couldn’t step on US soil.
At New York, he said in a sit-down interview, “I haven’t been to NY in a long time for whatever reason”…
…but Ruben Carranza, former commissioner of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), corrected this lie:
Nonetheless, Marcos Jr. was greeted enthusiastically by Filipinos living in North America.
He told the adoring crowd, “Now is not the time to look back at the past. Now is the time to look to the future.”
One Filipino nurse said “[they] are very contended” with Marcos Jr.:
Marcos Jr. told people in New Jersey that in the wake of the pandemic, “Kailangan nating ayusin ang ating ekonomiya” (We need to fix the economy).
Before we forget, his father’s dictatorship destroyed the Philippine economy in the 1970s and 1980s and made us a laggard in ASEAN.
Marcos Jr. also tried to attract investors. He said the Philippines is the “smart choice” when it comes to investments. In 2021, an Oxford Economics survey showed that the Philippines is among the least attractive countries among foreign investors.
Marcos Jr. also boasted that the Philippines is set to become an “upper-middle income country” in his term. But this is an old and oft-broken promise of the Duterte administration:
On September 21—the official day martial law’s declaration is remembered—Marcos Jr. spoke before the UN General Assembly (UNGA). A relatively thin crowd came out to watch him. But there was no walkout, contrary to ideas spreading in social media.
This didn’t prevent trolls from claiming on social media that Marcos Jr. was so great and that he amazed all presidents worldwide for “debating” the UN. What debate?
The footage was also spliced to death on Marcos Jr.’s official Facebook page, so more people would appear to be watching him in the UNGA. Desperate move.
Some also noticed that in the spliced video posted on Marcos Jr.’s Facebook page, Marcos Jr. can actually be seen in shots of the crowd that was supposed to be watching him talk. An instance of bilocation?
Some netizens couldn’t help but draw parallels with past Philippine presidents’ visits to the US:
First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos was caught dozing off in the proceedings. So very New York?
In his UNGA speech, Marcos Jr. revisited points his dictator father made 3 decades before. Inquirer columnist Raphael Pangalangan wrote in his column:
“The presidential speechwriters have done their homework. These choice remarks were not random. On the contrary, they were deliberately cited as if to remind the international community of the advances made under Marcos Sr.’s dictatorship.”
But there was another similarity between the father and son’s speeches:
“…their utter failure to address the elephant in the room. Both Marcos Sr. and Marcos Jr. remained absolutely mum on the dismal human rights record of the dictatorship.”
Marcos Jr. also failed to mention anything about China’s incursions in the West Philippine Sea or the Hague arbitral ruling we got in 2016:
At a separate event, Marcos Jr. said he’s willing to buy commodities from Russia, including fuel. Won’t this inadvertently make us a funder of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine?
Marcos Jr. also promised “not one more hungry Filipino” during his term. Does that mean he’s okay with not reducing the current magnitude of poor Filipinos?
While in the US, Marcos Jr. met with US President Joe Biden:
Biden said he was “impressed” with the work supposedly done by Marcos Jr. about the “windmills.”
Fact-check: those windmills were not Marcos Jr.’s project. Did POTUS fall for fake news?
State media reported that Marcos Jr. was the “only world leader to meet Biden on the UNGA sidelines.” This is utterly false.
The Palace Press Secretary Trixie Angeles-Cruz walked back on this:
Angeles was even called out by columnist Ramon Tulfo, brother of Senator Raffy and DSWD Secretary Erwin:
State media also reported that Marcos Jr., along with his economic team, met with World Bank president David Malpass. But he’s nowhere to be seen in the picture that accompanied the report:
Malpass—a Trump appointee—is evidently a climate denier:
In many high-profile meetings, Marcos Jr. brought with him his family, including his son Sandro. Sure, Sandro is deputy House speaker. But is this appropriate?
In the meeting with Biden, Marcos Jr. brought him his son Sandro, cousin Martin Romualdez (speaker of the House), and second cousin Babes Romualdez (Philippine Ambassador to the US). Family affair much?
Raf Ignacio, former aide to the late ex-president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, said foreign trips were very different during their time:
Upon his arrival in the US, Marcos Jr. supposedly watched the last 30 minutes of an Eric Clapton concert:
This contrasts with the relatively spartan ways of the late ex-president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III:
The Marcos Jr. delegation stayed at the posh Carlyle Hotel in New York City. Meanwhile, about 20 million Filipinos were poor as of 2021…
Incidentally, the Carlyle was a favorite of Imelda during the dictatorship’s heyday:
Marcos Jr. claimed that the cases against Rappler CEO and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa are not related to Ressa’s political leanings. But they are in fact all about media repression—a legacy of Duterte:
Amal Clooney spoke in support of Ressa:
Throughout his US tour, Marcos Jr. was greeted by protesters:
At the New York Stock Exchange, Marcos and his family and economic team rang the closing bell…
…but they were also greeted by protesters there.
At the Asia Society, where Marcos Jr. spoke, some people lied on the floor in protest:
Ruben Carranza had more information about the Asia Society appearance of Marcos Jr.:
Even climate activist Greta Thunberg joined in the protests:
TIME TO MOVE ON?
Here at home, some politicians urged the public to “move on” from martial law. Among them were Robin Padilla…
Jinggoy Estrada…
…and Imee Marcos who said in a vlog—where in a skit she pretended to give love advice—“you won’t die from moving on.”
Human rights lawyer and former senatorial aspirant Atty. Chel Diokno responded wittily: “Hindi mo ikamamatay ang pagpapakumbaba” (You won’t die from being humble). Baba means chin in Filipino.
Imee also said that her brother’s election is the clearest showing that the people don’t mind her father’s martial law. But this is just another way to whitewash the evils of the dictatorship.
Moving on can’t happen if there’s no justice, accountability.
That’s what I wrote about for my Rappler piece this week:
In Ilocandia, things are relatively quiet—as one will expect:
Many human rights victims are understandably frustrated that the Marcoses are back in Malacañang:
Speaking of human rights abuses, on September 24 the country marked the 48th year since the atrocious Palimbang Massacre at Sultan Kudarat province. It’s one of the horrific massacres that happened during martial law.
Sad to say, Marcos Jr. won big in Palimbang in the May polls:
Thankfully, many Filipinos have not forgotten or downplayed martial law.
The Rizal Library at the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) unveiled a “bloody fountain”…
…and posted on its building headlines of the old Daily Express showing “contrasting headlines” about Marcos Sr.’s stance on martial law.
Students and faculty of ADMU wore black days before the 50th anniversary:
FEU students wore black, too…
…as well as De La Salle University students, but they were called out by serial red-tagger Lorraine Badoy:
On September 23 itself, protests erupted in Ateneo:
Meanwhile, the University of the Philippines Department of Political Science released a strong statement:
There were events held at the UP Diliman campus:
At UP Los Baños, tarps featuring human rights victims of martial law were posted all over the campus:
Some government workers wore black, too. Opposition senators Risa Hontiveros and Koko Pimentel—together with their staff—wore black:
House opposition leader Edcel Lagman said in a privilege speech:
“Filipinos can forgive but should never forget the atrocities and despotism of martial law. Widespread amnesia of the abhorrent abuses and inordinate profligacy of the martial law era must be cured and jettisoned as a national malaise".”
The German Embassy in Manila released a beautiful message on the occasion of #ML50:
Dr. Maris Diokno, daughter of Ka Pepe Diokno and former chair of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, talked about the traumas wrought by martial law on September 17 at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani.
Some online cartoonists posted their respective takes:
A “culture of forgetting” may be behind the return of the Marcoses in Malacañang in 2022. Here’s Rappler’s editorial for the week:
Geoerge Santayana’s quote is in vogue again:
Although the Marcoses are relatively quiet about the 50th anniversary of martial law, disinformation networks have predictably downplayed the human rights abuses:
11,103, a new documentary on martial law victims, had several screenings across the country:
Other martial law movies are screening left and right:
But in Pasay City, a screening of Liway, a martial law film, was stopped by the police:
Online there’s a flurry of martial law content, including explainers…
…and podcasts:
Disinformation about martial law has proliferated on TikTok, where a fifth of content contain disinformation, said one recent study:
Luckily, a number of groups have tirelessly collected and digitized old martial law era publications:
TikToker Mighty Magulang pointed out this old campaign poster of Marcos Sr. showing he was in fact a frontrunner of the Liberal Party back in 1959:
SEPTEMBER 23, NOT 21
A number of historians emphasize yearly that the real date when democracy in the Philippines died was on September 23, 1972—not September 21 as in official records.
Manolo Quezon III even went on to say that, “When you observe Sept. 21, Marcos Wins.” Here’s his old explainer on the matter:
Marcos Sr. essentially signed the declaration of martial law on September 21—but it didn’t take effect until 23—owing to his belief in numerology and the wondrous properties of the number 7 (21, not 23, being divisible by 7).
Here’s a Free Press issue that was supposed to come out on September 23, 1972:
By the way, Quezon curated this YouTube playlist of old videos:
FRUSTRATED ROYALS
Presidential sister Irene was also recently abroad to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II—apparently in behalf of her brother.
Irene’s attendance is “highly irregular” said law lecturer Michael Yusingco:
Incidentally, Irene and husband Greggy Araneta’s 1983 wedding was inspired by (and meant to match or even overshadow) the 1981 royal wedding between Prince Charles and Princess Diana:
Irene and Greggy’s visit to the UK has been “TikTokfied”—yet another attempt to make the Marcoses appear regal.
GLOBAL RECESSION IN THE OFFING?
The world might be headed toward a global downturn.
This week the US Fed continued to raise its policy interest rate by 75 basis points (0.75 percentage point):
In response, many other global central banks have followed suit.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas itself has raised its rates the day after the Fed did:
…and Rappler explained the likely fallout.
But the BSP’s monetary tightening will have limited impact since inflation is caused in large part by supply, not demand, issues:
This is a concern abroad as well:
The immediate impact of successive rate hikes in the US is that many currencies are continuing to weaken against the dollar:
The Japanese yen is particularly weak against the USD now—so much so that the Japanese government has intervened in its currency market for the first time since the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s:
Here in the Philippines, the peso reached an all-time low of P58.49/USD.
Netizens dug up an old statement of current Finance Secretary Ben Diokno. He said back in 2018 it was “unlikely” for the exchange rate to hit P58/USD—but that it might happen if, say, tourists avoid the country because of a disease like SARS. Prescient?
More than weaker currencies, the uncoordinated rise of interest rates worldwide will likely induce a global recession, said some analysts:
The thinking goes like this: if interest rates are up, borrowing costs more, dissuading people from spending on houses, cars, businesses, etc. This reduces economic activity, but quells demand and abates inflation.
Tighter monetary conditions have already dented real estate:
Of course, the root problem right now is rising global inflation. This, despite the fact that oil and gas prices have recently been declining:
The Asian Development Bank said inflation in the Philippines will remain above target in 2023:
On the ground, higher inflation has not spared popular snacks in sari-sari stores…
Sugar shortages and inflation have also manifested in KFC’s offering of unsweetened iced tea (although this has apparently been done in many branches before the sugar crisis):
Inflation tends to hurt the poor the most, insofar as the poor’s spending tends to be predominantly on food. Here’s the data from Sri Lanka:
The IMF deputy managing director said that “Inflation is, after all, a tax on the poor.”
US President Joe Biden confused year-on-year inflation and month-on-month inflation.
Speaking of Biden, he carelessly said that “the pandemic is over”—much to the frustration of health experts who say otherwise.
A new coronavirus was discovered in bats. Not another one. But at least this shows that scientific efforts to discover these viruses ahead of time are successful.
Amid global economic woes, Filipinos could have had an economist for a president:
More memes as a way to cope with our economic woes:
MISCELLANY
Maguindanao will be split in two new provinces—Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur—after an overwhelming yes vote (99.27%) in an 8-hour plebiscite held on September 17:
Former Supreme Court justice Lucas Bersamin is said to be replacing Vic Rodriguez as Executive Secretary. As former justice, the decisions he penned were in favor of the Marcoses and their ilk:
Living fossil and Marcos enabler Juan Ponce Enrile, 98, suggested having 48 senators.
That proposal only makes sense if the additional 24 senators will be upright and competent:
A Manila court rules against categorizing the CPP-NPA as terrorists:
Expectedly, serial red-tagger Lorraine Badoy red-tagged the judge who penned the decision:
Hukom, an association of judges, spoke out against red-tagging:
“As members of the Bench, we call on our fellow judges: let us refuse to be victims. Let us not normalize the use of violence against persons as a form of redress by being silent.”
Japan is opening up more to tourists…
…and so is Taiwan.
UP’s College Admission Test will resume in 2023:
Many state universities and colleges (SUCs) will experience budget cuts next year, if the proposed 2023 budget will push through:
The Commission on Higher Education has set journal publication a requirement for MA and PhD degrees in the country. As if finishing a graduate degree here in the country isn’t hard enough…
DepEd tried to explain away the non-inclusion of funds for Special Education in the proposed 2023 budget:
Speaking of DepEd, wearing face shields is still okay, apparently. We’re nearly done with 2022 by the way…
Is Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte desperately trying to channel the “tough” image of her father?
Sea levels are rising faster than expected in the Philippines:
A supertyphoon, Karding (Noru), is fast approaching the country:
Not good news for the embattled Dolomite Beach.
GRAPHS & DATA OF NOTE
Ex-president Rodrigo Duterte enjoyed a whopping +81% net satisfaction rating at the very end of his term. How come?
A bubble chart visualizing the campaign donations in the 2022 presidential race:
Latest stats from the BSP on online payment platforms PESONet and InstaPay:
Why did the US employment rate drop so drastically in 2020, vis-à-vis Scandinavian countries?
Where do you fall in the global income distribution?
The ABCs of gerrymandering in the US:
An updated on Drag Race Philippines’ leader board:
RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommended talks: “Like father, like son? The PH economy under two Marcos administrations.” Featuring moi, organized by the UP School of Economics Student Council and Economics Toward Consciousness.
“#CourageON: History repeats itself?” a roundtable discussion organized by Rappler.
Recommended podcasts: “Golden age ba talaga ng ekonomiya ang Marcos years?” Episode 3 of the Usapang Econ Podcast Season 1.
“Agrikultura, papunta na ba sa ‘exciting part’?” A new episode in Season 2.
Recommended documentary: Kulungan Noong Martial Law by Rappler’s Rambo Talabong.
Recommended documentary: The Marcos Playbook: How to Start a Dictatorship by Atty. Chel Diokno.
Recommended book: The Marcos Era: A Reader by Ateneo Press’ Bughaw Imprint. I contributed a chapter on the Marcos golden age myths. This will be published in late September 2022.
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