02/10/2026
WALANG MAKALILIMOT HANGGA'T WALANG NAPANANAGOT.
On September 21, 1972, the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. laid its heaviest hand on the Filipino people, placing the Philippines under martial law through Proclamation No. 1081. The nation lost thousands of people and millions in its treasury and resources as the Marcos Sr. regime sought to consolidate authoritarian rule over every facet of political and civil life in the nation.
Under Martial Law, dissent and free speech were suppressed as media outlets and publications were either forcibly taken under state control or compelled to shut down completely. According to Amnesty International’s report, over 70,000 Filipinos were imprisoned, 34,000 were tortured, and 3,200 were killed. Not a single Filipino spine was left unbent to the will of the state, as the dictator’s cronies plundered the nation’s treasury and resources. According to the Martial Law Museum, six out of every 10 Filipino families lived in poverty, and the country’s outstanding debt ballooned to US$28.86 billion by the time the dictator was ousted.
Then and now, our nation continues to suffer from corruption, impunity, and state violence as the injustices of history continue to echo into our society today. Neither the strongman rule of Marcos Sr. nor the spineless administration of his son, Marcos Jr., has brought the Philippines into a ‘golden age.’
Even after over five decades since Martial Law, the country still finds itself in shambles. Anomalous ghost flood control projects—such as those uncovered around Central and Southern Luzon in mid-2025—exposed levels of corruption on a scale never once publicly reported before, showing that our taxes went to funding the opulence of politicians and their families instead of serving those who entrusted them to serve the people. A culture of violence and impunity pervades every corner of daily life as disinformation accelerates our loss of historical and ethical consciousness. Critical speech and thought are suppressed as broadcasts go silent with intimidation, as Malacañang surrenders the Filipino nation once again to submit to foreign aggression and domination over our national affairs.
As a media organization in the University of the Philippines Diliman, Maroon FM calls on storytellers and media practitioners to continue keeping the memory of the Martial Law period alive. After all, the gravest sin anybody can commit against history is to repeat its mistakes. Through the stories we provide platforms for and the narratives we choose to highlight, we remember the human lives and liberties that were fought for by the fighters who came before us. We must commit to our duty to pen truth and not soulless propaganda. We call on the Filipino people to come together and organize against violence and impunity—we ought to remind our public officials that public office is a public trust, and that their power is vested in the will and welfare of the people they serve.
Rain or shine, protests will continue to pour, and the Filipino people will stand militant in asserting their rights and fight for a just government and free society. We are one with the Filipino nation in proclaiming, “NEVER AGAIN! NEVER FORGET! NEVER AGAIN TO MARTIAL LAW!”
Written by Vito Bongco
Pub by Brianna Lim
