Following the 40th anniversary of the 1986 People Power, a survivor-student exchange urged the youth to resist disinformation about the 1972-1986 Martial Law under Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s regime.
1974 Malisbong Massacre survivor Hja. Mariam Kanda encouraged testifying against instances of state violence to prevent their recurrence.
“Sana po [ay] pag-aralan niyo [nang] mabuti, dapat malaman niyo na may nangyayari, isaisip at isapuso ang mga nangyayari, at sana hindi maulit ang mga karumal dumal na pangyayari; sana idalangin po [ninyo] na hindi [na ito] mauulit muli,” she stated.
Kanda recounted her harrowing experience of the massacre, emphasizing how Martial Law powered violence against women and children in the whole duration of the dictatorship.
“Ang daming [mga babae at bata ang] namatay doon sa naval boat dahil hindi talaga nila kaya yung init at saka maraming nagkakasakit; yung mga namamatay [ay] tinatapon na po sa dagat,” she remarked.
Observing that women bore the heaviest burden during Martial Law, survivor Hilda Narciso called for dismantling the male-dominated culture that enabled gender-based atrocities.
“Somehow, doon ko nakita na hindi dapat [magalit] ang babae sa kalalakihan kundi yung kultura na itinuro sa kanila [na] siyang nakakasira sa mga kakabaihan; allow them [men] to learn about their culture.”
Narciso also urged remembering the state’s extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances during Martial Law.
“Mabuti na lang nandiyan yung Bantayog ng mga Bayani na meron kang place for the victims of the Martial Law [to] be honored [and] remembered [by] the next generation.”
Former Martial Law political prisoner Esperanza Santos underscored the need for critical engagement with societal developments, particularly in light of deliberate attempts to distort the historical narrative of Martial Law.
“Kailangan tayong maging kritikal sa mga pangyayari sa paligid, lalo na ngayon [na] ina-attempt [na] i-rewrite ang history; gusto talagang kalimutan, i-distort ang history.”
Human Rights Violation Victims’ Memorial Commission (HRVVMC) Chief of the Research and Education Division Patrick Claudio echoed Narciso’s statements and outlined the duty to resist historical revisionism.
“You [the youth] are not merely inheritors of history, you are its stewards; When people choose truth over fear and justice over silence, history can and does change.”
Ateneo de Davao University’s Center for Political and International Affairs (AdDU-CPIA), together with the Human Rights Violation Victims’ Memorial Commission (HRVVMC), held the forum “Tao sa Tao, Student-Survivor Dialogue of the 1972-1986 Martial Law Period” via Zoom on February 27, 2026.