Written by Celeste Ann Castillo Llaneta
On September 21, 1972, President Ferdinand E. Marcos signed Proclamation No. 1081 declaring martial law over the entire country, supposedly responding to the rising “communist threat” at the time.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of this declaration that led to a decades-long period in Philippine history remembered for its authoritarian rule, a record of human rights abuses, repression of basic freedoms and freedom of the press, and unmitigated corruption and theft by those in power that left much of the country in poverty.
This September 21 Wednesday, the University of the Philippines (UP) joins the nation in remembering and honoring the heroes, activists, and human rights victims who stood against martial law and the Marcos regime. This remembrance of struggle and sacrifice is made more poignant and urgent now in a time of disinformation, fake news, and historical revisionism.
In this year’s UP Day of Remembrance, with the theme, “Manindigan sa Katotohanan, Itanghal ang Katarungan,” the University will again commemorate the legacy of resistance and heroism of these activists, many of whom are members of the UP community. As with the previous years’ Days of Remembrance, UP will hold a series of activities and events, both online and in person, in all constituent universities of the UP System across the country to share these stories with the younger generations of Iskolar ng Bayan and other patriotic Filipinos and keep the flame of truth and justice alive.
This year also marks the fifth UP Day of Remembrance since UP President Danilo L. Concepcion signed. On September 17, 2018, Proclamation No. 1, Series of 2018, declared September 21 every year as UP Day of Remembrance.
The UP Day of Remembrance events and activities are as follows:
UP SYSTEM
Historians’ Meet
September 21, 2022
1:00-5:00 pm
TVUP Studio, 5th Floor Student Union Building, UP Diliman
The Historians’ Meet is the lead event of the UP Day of Remembrance 2022 with the theme, “Manindigan sa Katotohanan, Itanghal ang Katarungan,” in line with the 50th anniversary of Proclamation No. 1081 that placed the whole country under martial law. In September 2018, UP President Danilo L. Concepcion signed Proclamation No. 1, Series of 2018, declaring September 21 of every year as UP Day of Remembrance throughout the University of the Philippines System to commemorate the struggles and sacrifices of the people during the martial law period.
Briefly, the Meet seeks to reckon with the return of the Marcoses to Malacanang and the role that historians critical of Marcos rule, past, and present, may have to play. The Meet seeks to highlight the importance of history and its methods in truth-telling and fighting historical distortion and disinformation.
The Meet shall consist of two parts. Part 1 (1:00-3:00 pm) will be an intimate discussion on the situation, possible courses of action, and resolutions. Part 2 (3:00-5:00 pm) will be a roundtable forum, open to the public, that will feature thoughts from historians, social activists, and participants. It will announce the most important resolutions from Part 1 and present a common declaration on Marcos’s return.
In the Roundtable Forum, we have invited Dr. Maria Serena Diokno, Brod. Karl Gaspar, Dr. Ferdinand Llanes, and Dr. Rowena Boquiren speak on specific themes, each theme running along the lines of imparting lessons from the past and sharing methods in generating narratives on the truths of dictatorial rule.
5th Public History Symposium
October 7, 2022
2:00 pm–5:00 pm
via Zoom
In 2018, the UP Department of History launched the “Public History Symposium” as a key event of “BuKAS: Pagdiriwang ng Buwan ng Kasaysayan sa UP Diliman.” The symposium features paper presentations on public history by academics, public history practitioners, and history enthusiasts. It also aims to serve as a platform for engagement between the Department and various stakeholders in the practice of history outside the academe, especially the multiple publics. In the symposium, the Department invites a leading historian to deliver the keynote address and two to three non-academic practitioners to form a panel of speakers.
This year’s symposium remembers the 50th anniversary of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s declaration of Martial Law and commemorates the countless Filipinos who resisted and perished during Marcos’ authoritarian rule. In this view, the Fifth Public History Symposium is slated shortly after the university-wide commemorations in September and August, which are traditionally held. The keynote lecture will be delivered by Dr. Ferdinand C. Llanes, Professor of the UP Department of History and editor of Tibak Rising: Activism in the Days of Martial Law (Anvil Publishing, 2012), an anthology of essays and reminiscences on the daily lives of student activists who fought and resisted the Marcos dictatorship.
Layon ng pagtitipon na mapag-usapan ang mga hamon sa disiplina ng kasaysayan sa hanay ng mga mag-aaral ng mga programang BA, MA at PhD Kasaysayan at ng mga kaugnay na disiplina sa kasalukuyang panahon. Layon din nito na makapagbigay ng mga pagsasanay na tutugon sa pagbaluktot ng mga katotohanan at tutulong sa mga kalahok na maisulong ang masusing pananaliksik sa disiplina.
National Training Seminar for Teachers of Philippine History
December 9, 2022
9:00 am–4:00 pm
via Zoom
The Professional Education Series (PROFESS) of the UP College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (UP CSSP) provides an excellent opportunity for professional enhancement for educators and practitioners in the social sciences and philosophy. The training consists of an intensive two-day course in one area of study that equips educators and practitioners with the latest trends and updates in the discipline. It aims to review the basic foundations of the field and introduce pedagogical interventions for each domain.
For two consecutive years, the UP Department of History has conducted the National Training Seminar for Teachers of Philippine History as a component of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP) Professional Education Series (PROFESS) Program. It aims to contribute to the capacity building of Philippine history teachers at both the basic and tertiary education levels. In 2018, the training was designed to update the content of topics and themes on Philippine history. The following year focused on mapping the essential truths relevant to the teaching of Martial Law years in the Philippines (1972-1986) outlined by the Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission (HRVVMC). The training slated for 2020 was canceled due to the current public health crisis. Last year, the training focused on sharing good practices in teaching Philippine history in a remote learning context. It was also designed to serve as a platform for students to share their remote learning experiences and insights.
This year marks the 50th year of the martial declaration that spurred the Marcos dictatorship. It is in this context that the Department intends to organize a training program this year that aims to: (a) discuss the role and relevance of history in the present context; (b) examine sources and discourses relevant to the Marcos dictatorship and the contemporary Philippines; and, (c) introduce pedagogical interventions pertinent to the teaching of the topics mentioned above.
Aside from the events and activities commemorating the UP Day of Remembrance at the UP System level, each UP constituent unit is holding its series of events. Iskolar ng bayan, UP community members, and the general public are invited to participate.
UP Diliman
In September 2022, the UP Diliman Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts (UPD-OICA) commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Martial Law imposition in 1972 through the project ML@50: Tugon at Tindig ng Sining. Through various programs such as film series,s webinars, exhibitions, and publications, among others, the project envisions to look in retrospect at this dark chapter of Philippine history and acknowledge the threats that our current socio-political condition poses to education and history, freedom of expression, and protection of human rights.
In September 2022, the UP Diliman Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts (UPD-OICA) commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Martial Law imposition in 1972 through the project ML@50: Tugon at Tindig ng Sining. Through various programs such as film series,s webinars, exhibitions, and publications, among others, the project envisions to look in retrospect at this dark chapter of Philippine history and acknowledge the threats that our current socio-political condition poses to education and history, freedom of expression, and protection of human rights.
1. Kamao ang Hugis ng Puso: Neil Doloricon Retrospective
College of Fine Arts
15-30 September 2022
Gallery One, UP Fine Arts Gallery (Exhibit)
Atrium or Front Lawn (Program)
2. The Marcos Regime Research: In Print and Online
Third World Studies Center
September 23, 2022, 4:00 pm (Book and Website Launch)
3. Kwentong Mulat – ML@50
UP Asian Institute of Tourism
September 30, 2022, 10:00 am – 12:00 in (Launch of the Virtual tour Website)
September 30, 2022, 3:00 – 5:00 pm (Onsite walking tour)
Hybrid Tour (onsite and online)
4.”A Name by Candlelight”: Subversive Lives Then and Now
College of Arts and Letters
24 September 2022, 6 p.m.
Virtual or Hybrid Stage Reading
5. Tugon at Tindig: Martial Law Memorial Tiktok Challenge (Social Media Platform)
College of Mass Communication
September 14 2022, 2:00 p.m. (Launch)
October 17, 2022, 2:00 pm (Announcement of Winners and Awarding)
6. Martial Law Film Series (Pilot) Lino Brocka’s Manila in the Claws of Light
UP Film Institute
September 20 2022, 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. (Film Screening)
7. Sining Protesta: Imahe at Tema, Anyo at Pagkilos
Bulwagan ng Dangal Museum & UPD-OICA
21 Setyembre – 9 Oktubre 2022
Outdoor Ehhibition
UPD Academic Oval
8. Pagtindig: Mga Tala sa Papel ng Akademikong Larang ng Malikhaing Pagsulat, Panitikan at Wika Kontra Batas Militar Hanggang Kasalukuyan
Departamento ng Filipino at Panitikan ng Pilipinas
23, 30 Setyembre 2022, 3:00 – 5:00 n.h.
Mga Panayam at Koleksyon (Online)
9. Paglulunsad at Pagmumulat: Ang GE Kursong Philippine Studies 21 (PS 21) sa Paggunita sa ika-50 Anibersaryo ng Batas Militar ni Marcos, Sr.
Larangan ng Philippine Studies, DFPP
29 Setyembre 2022, 2:00 – 4:00 n.h.
Paglulunsad ng Aklat at Bidyo ng mga Lektura at Paraan ng Pagtuturo (Hybrid na Programa)
10. The Art of Disquiet and Rage
Department of Art Studies
September 28, 2022
Hybrid Symposium
11. KAL Bahaginan Research Forum: BANWAG: Sining sa Panahon ng Batas Militar, Paglikha para sa Bayan at Kinabukasan
Kolehiyo ng Arte at Literatura
26-30 Setyembre 2022, 4:00 n.h.
12. OICA Learning Resource Dissemination and Social Media Campaign Project
UPD-OICA
15-30 September 2022
Online Campaign (UPD-OICA YouTube Channel and Facebook Page)
For more information, you may access this link bit.ly/ML50UPDiliman or scan the QR code in the poster above.
In line with the 50th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law, the UP College of Mass Communication launched last September 14, the Martial Law Memorial Tiktok Challenge.
The UP CMC Tiktok Challenge < #UPCMCML50> with the theme “Manindigan sa Katotohanan, Itanghal ang Katarungan,” is one of the many activities organized by UP Diliman under the Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts (OICA) to keep alive the memory of martial law, especially on its 50th anniversary lest we forget the dark times of our history.
The challenge is open to all University of the Philippines undergraduate students and UP Integrated School Grades 11 and 12 students. In the face of historical denialism, the challenge aims to give the students a chance to review Philippine history and devise creative ways of remembering the past.
Challenge Mechanics:
For more details, please view the launch explanation.
- The Tiktok entry can be in the form of a song, dance, narrative, or skit revolving around the Martial Law historical memory theme.
There will be two winning categories (but you can only win once):
a. Top Content Creator (three qualified submissions) – Prize: Php20,000
b. Best Tiktok (Tiktok entry that obtains the highest judging score) – Prize: Php10,000
c. Runner-ups in both categories – Prize: P5,000
d. 10 Finalists in Best Tiktok category – Prize: P2,500.
- The entry can be serious or funny for as long as it is historically factual. While comedy is accepted, satire is disqualified since it can be misconstrued and contribute to disinformation.
- Tiktok entries should be a minimum of 30 seconds and a maximum of two (2) minutes and must be in FHD resolution (1080 x 1920). It should contain the hashtags: #UPML50, #CMCChallenge.
- Each challenger may submit a maximum of Three (3) entries, but he/she/they can only win once. The participant’s TikTok entry should be set to “public.”
- If using secondary material, challengers are responsible for gaining permission to include any copyrighted material that needs approval.
- By participating in the Contest, each Entrant represents and warrants that they meet these eligibility requirements, have read, accepted, and will comply with these official rules (the “Official Rules”), and acknowledges any violation of these Official Rules may disqualify Entrant from the Contest.
- Submission: Link to the entry or entries, along with proof of enrollment, should be submitted via: https://tinyurl.com/4a8hdanx
Challenge Criteria/Judging process:
- Criteria are as follows:
| Creativity –Novelty; Effective use of the medium | 50% |
| Factuality –Historical Accuracy | 30% |
| Engagement –Potential to contribute to the conversation | 20% |
Notes: Posting/upload should be between September 21 and September 30.
- Erroneous information, no matter how small, will also lead to disqualification.
- A CMC-based screening committee will ensure that all submitted entries comply with the established challenge guidelines. All those who meet the minimum requirement will then be given to the TikTok ML Challenge Jury, composed of judges outside the UP College of Mass Communication.
- The announcement of winners and awarding will be on October 17 at 2 pm.
The UP Institute of Human Rights presents The Legal Construction of Dictatorship: We Remember
A week-long Martial Law Series from 12-21 September 2022. The major events that led up to President Ferdinand E. Marcos’ declaration of Martial Law and the events that came after will be posted on this page every day until September 21, 2022, the 50th Anniversary of the Declaration of Martial Law.
This series aims to help the post-EDSA generation understand how the one-person rule was sustained from the proclamation of Martial Law in 1972 to the ouster of the dictator in 1986. It will look at how the law was used to legitimize the dictatorship. It will enable and empower today’s generation to be wary of similar attempts these days and alert them to seemingly subtle maneuvers that erode our democracy. Join us in looking back and recalling one of the darkest chapters in the country’s history. We will remember, and we will #NeverForget
For more information, visit the UP Institute of Human Rights Facebook page.