LOOK: Mensahe ni Vice President Leni Robredo sa Anibersaryo ng Deklarasyon ng Martial Law

Mensahe ni Vice President Leni Robredo sa anibersaryo ng deklarasyon ng Martial LawNgayong araw, ginugunita natin bilang nagkakaisang bansa ang proklamasyon ng Martial Law noong 1972— isang proklamasyong naging simula ng madilim na kabanata ng ating kasaysayan. Napapanahon ang pag-alala na ito, lalo na ngayong dumadaan muli ang ating bansa sa isang mabigat na pagsubok. In a time when divisiveness is the norm and the gaps in society continue to widen, it is essential that we strive to find more spaces of commonality.

We do this not only by looking forward to a shared horizon, where our shared dreams may come to fruition, but equally importantly, by looking back. We do this by telling our stories, and by asserting the truths that bind us together as one people, with one history: Maraming pinahirapan, naglaho, at pinatay noong Martial Law; lumobo ang utang ng bayan na binabayaran natin hanggang sa ngayon; lumalim at lumawak ang kahirapan.

Dinurog ang mga institusyong haligi ng lipunan. Naging bahagi ng diwa ng pamamahala ang korupsyon at pang-aabuso. These truths know no political color, but come starkly in the black and white of our lived experience as a nation. Walang debate dito; nangyari ito. And those who attempt to tell us otherwise are not only merely telling a supposed version of the story: They are lying to our faces, stealing our truths from us, stealing our stories. Because without these truths and stories, we will be further divided, at mas madaling magtatagumpay ang mga pagtatangkang abusuhin muli tayo.

Our task is to push back against these lies at every instant. To tell the stories of Martial Law and dictatorship over and over so that this generation, and the ones that come after, may be bound tighter through remembering. To hold firm to the truth of this painful chapter of our history, and through this, forge the determination to never again let our people fall into such despair.

We must do this because, ultimately, our national aspirations can only be as strong as our national memory. Ngayong araw, manindigan muli tayong hindi tayo makakalimot.