#SaysayNgKasaysayan campaign launched for 50th anniversary of Martial Law declaration; various activities set

This August, to commemorate History Month, a campaign to protect our history and the truth was launched and announced by #FactsFirstPH, ABKD (Akademiya at Bayan Kontra Disimpormasyon at Dayaan) Network, Tanggol Kasaysayan, Project Gunita, Pitik Bulag, and the Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission (HRVVMC). The #SaysayNgKasaysayan campaign aims to fight disinformation in social media, especially those related to Martial Law.

ABKD Network, Tanggol Kasaysayan, and Project Gunita are composed of History teachers and students from different schools in the country. Pitik Bulag is a group of cartoonists. HRVVMC is a government agency whose mandate is “to establish, restore, preserve and conserve a Memorial Museum, Library, Archive and Compendium in honor of the human rights violation victims (HRVVs) during the Marcos regime”.

Activities for the 50th Anniversary of Martial Law Declaration

On September 21, 2022, the nation commemorates the 50th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law. The 50-day countdown began last August 3 and since then, these organizations have held and will continue to hold different activities as follows:

ABKD Network

  1. Last August 5, ABKD Network, together with the students of a class of National Service Training Program-College of Arts and Letters (NSTP-CAL) of the University of the Philippines Diliman, ABKD Network launched an e-book, “Martial Law ABCs”, to help young people understand what happened during Martial Law.
  2. On August 11-12,  an annual gathering of CONTEND UP (Congress of Teachers/Educators for Nationalism and Democracy) called “Martial Law @50” will happen. In a tweet by CONTEND UP, they said this will bring together “teachers, scholars, researchers, students, activists, and other participants (who) will gather together in an academic conference to discuss issues surrounding the dictatorship years’ dark legacies.”
  3. ABKD Network continues to publish fact-checked articles on its various social media platforms.

Tanggol Kasaysayan

  1. The group launched “SingkwentAkda” last August 3 — a 50-day online countdown  that will feature a book on Martial Law daily until September 21. It will highlight notable quotes from a list of 50 chosen academic works, published memoirs, novels, and children’s books.
  2. A book on Martial Law will be launched on September 23 by the group. In a webinar, the authors of the book will discuss their research as well as the information they found about the dictatorship.

Project Gunita

  1. Project Gunita has been archiving Martial Law materials since July 10. Last August 5, Project Gunita sponsored a block screening of the movie Katips at Gateway Cineplex 10, Gateway Mall, Cubao, Quezon City. Etta Rosales and Judy Taguiwalo, both Martial Law survivors, as well as Katips director Vince Tanada, attended the block screening.
  2. This August 21, the 51st anniversary of the bombing at Plaza Miranda and the 39th anniversary of the brutal murder of Benigno S. Aquino Jr. and Rolando Galman, Project Gunita will lead a large gathering at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani. They will be joined by the People Power Volunteers for Reform, August Twenty-One Movement, ABKD, Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law (CARMMA), Bantayog ng mga Bayani, and other partner organizations. There will be a “history fair” at this event and organizations and individuals are invited to join. Aside from booths, there will be a main program at 1pm, the exact hour Ninoy landed in the Philippines. Martial law survivors, organizations created during Martial Law, and other witnesses of this period will be invited to speak. A concert will wrap up the event.

Pitik Bulag

This group of cartoonists will lend color to #SaysayNgKasaysayan. They have created over 100 editorial cartoons as part of #FactsFirstPH from April to July 2022.

  1. Four Zoom webinars will be conducted by this group from August to September
    • Webinar 1 – August 20, Saturday, 4-5:30pm
      • Topic: Basic online workshop on editorial cartooning
      • Speaker: Cartoonist Zach
    • Webinar 2 – August 27, Saturday, 4-5:30pm
      • Topic: Basic online workshop on comics strip
      • Speaker: Isang Tasang Kape
    • Webinar 3 – September 3, Saturday, 4-5:30pm
      • Topic: Women in editorial cartooning
      • Speaker: Steph Bravo Semilla (Inquirer cartoonist)
    • Webinar 4 – September 10, Saturday, 4-5:30pm
      • Topic: Being a Filipino-American cartoonist
      • Speaker: Angelo Lopez
  2. On September 11, an editorial cartoon contest will be launched. The theme will revolve around the fight against Martial Law disinformation. The contest will be open to individuals aged 15 and above. To give the contestants further information, they can attend a webinar on September 15, 4-6pm. The topic: How art can be used to combat disinformation. Speakers: Tarantadong Kalbo, Pitik Bulag representative, ABKD representative, Tanggol Kasaysayan representative, Rappler representative.
  3. Beginning August 18, Pitik Bulag will start creating caricatures of Martial Law personalities.
  4. Pitik Bulag will continue creating cartoons and comics based on fact-checked articles.

Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission (HRVVMC)

  1. HRVVMC launched last August 5 the #WeRemember Martial Law stories consisting of 20 videos depicting the experiences of Martial Law victims. The aim is to give voice to the untold stories of these victims. Video 1 is already out. Watch it HERE.
  2. Last August 3, HRVVMC also launched “50 Before 50 project”, another 50-day countdown to the 50th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law. 50 stories from Martial Law victims will be featured on HRVVMC’s social media accounts.

The information in this post were taken from a Rappler article written in Filipino. For additional details about #SaysayNgKasaysayan, read it HERE.