A few days before the commemoration of martial law in the Philippine, the Ateneo de Manila University launched its online Martial Law Museum (martiallawmuseum.ph) which aims to teach the public, especially the youth about these ‘dark days’ in the country’s history.
A CNN Philippines report describes the site as a “retelling of history through art with visual timelines, short films, poems, and artwork,” a collaborative work of history scholars, artists, and students.
Online Platform For Stories About Filipinos During Martial Law
The portal also aims to collect stories, narratives, and information about actual experiences of Filipinos during the Marcos regime. Among the stories included so far are those of Bonifacio Ilagan and his sister, as well as that of Liliosa Hilao, all of whom were student activists who were very vocal against martial law.
The website is in its beta version and currently has three sections: Mag-Aral (Study), Magturo (Teach) and Manindigan (Take a Stand). Mag-Aral houses the digital library divided into the beginnings, the implementation of martial law and its end. Another section also contains lessons from martial law, aimed at showing the impact of the regime on Philippine democracy.
Magturo features teaching resources, from lesson plans to learning materials from different organizations. This aims to help educators teach this part of history better. Speaking to the Inquirer, Dean Fernando Aldaba of Ateneo’s School of Social Sciences said that this was a “community response against the blatant revisionism of facts about martial law.”
Do Not Forget The Past In Order Not To Repeat It
The third section of the website Manindigan urges visitors to take a stand in their own way. Boni Ilagan, one of the survivors of the era, says that the portal urges him not to stop telling his story over and over. He also believes that Filipino youth should learn from the lessons of history, otherwise they will be “bound to repeat the tragedy of the past.”
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