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Few days ago, was the anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law. I heard some said never again, some wanted revenge and a lot never really cared.

I thought I will not write anything about this matter as I did last year. Oh well, no. I wrote it 2 years ago (oh no! has it been that long?) and as I go through what I have written I was trying to figure out if my resolve has changed as the year passed.

No. Not that I changed my beliefs but I think my approach on the subject has ventured into a much more refined path.

I was appalled by Pnoy’s statement on revenge on the Marcoses. I wasn’t expecting such words from a mature person, much more from a President of a Christian nation.

There were protesters shouting “Never Again” to martial law, never again shall we lose our freedom.

A protester made a statement on national TV that the youth today who didn’t even exist yet during the Marcos era doesn’t have the right to say that the late president did good to the country and that the only cure to the nation is to, once again declare Martial Law.

On one hand I understand his point as a man who might have suffered during the time of the dictatorship and that might be the reason for his angst. But on the other hand, we can’t blame the youth today for voicing out their opinions. They may not have existed on those days but they are not blind, they are not deaf and they cannot be oppressed.

Unlike Ate San, who I assume, have seen the nutriban days, I have not existed yet on what they said, was the dark era of our country. I might still be the little cupid flying around, shooting an arrow to my future parent’s hearts. Ate San have made a very informative and unbiased post and I guess a personal account of the said era. Please take a glimpse of what she has to say about it here.

Contradictory to the gloomy term dark ages or dictatorship, articles have been published about how the Philippines flourished and have been the Tiger of Asia during those days. The country was then, looked up to by the now progressive ones. Korea, Japan and Singapore.

As the Marcoses were thrown out of power and the democratic government took over, I’m not as sure as to what exactly changed till date except for the liberty, as how we perceive the meaning of the word democracy.

We are now branded as a 3rd world country, far from the title we once had. We have farmers who work hard every day to plant rice yet most of them have sweet potatoes every meal instead of rice. We have a nation pounded by the annual visitation of strong typhoons yet there’s only resilience that we could rely on. We walk on the street terrified so as when we get home. We couldn’t trust anyone, not even the police. We couldn’t be safe anywhere, not even in our own homes. We praise ourselves for the rising economy but we still have children on the streets begging for money. The rich continue to count their income while the poor continue to count how much will be left from their salary after all the deductions. People get denied twice, thrice or more by the immigration whenever they want to escape from poverty and try their luck on getting a better life abroad. People who stole hundreds get tortured in jail but people who stole billions get bullet proof jackets and special medical care.

Above all of these, is this a time for us to still fight over an ex president’s right to be buried in the heroes’ cemetery? Or should we still be thinking of revenge to an incident that heaven knows who plotted? Or whose wedding proposal is more splendid? Or who’s better, the Kpops or the 1D?

Martial Law happened. A lot of people suffered, lost their loved ones and most specially their freedom. But we have to move on. We have to move on from the painful history, the bitter past that cannot be undone, and the mistakes that should not be repeated.

The wound inflicted in this nation was so deep and it will take years for it to recover. The process maybe slow but time will mend our broken spirits.

Scars may not look so nice on the skin, but we need to accept it, as it is the sign that the wound has completely healed.