The new Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assures that the country wants one. However, he wants to let history – especially his father’s dictatorship – rest.
With the swearing-in of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as President of the Philippines on Wednesday morning, his 92-year-old mother Imelda’s dream came true. 36 years after their expulsion, the Marcos family moves back into the Malacanang presidential palace, from where Ferdinand Marcos Sr. ruled the Philippines with an iron fist for more than 20 years.
Demonstrations against Marcos
At the ceremony at the National Museum of Fine Arts, Marcos Jr. wore a traditional barong. In his speech, as during his contentless election campaign, he tried to invoke the unity of the Filipinas and Filipinos.
Marcos Jr. also clarified that he will let the story rest. “I’m not here to talk about the past. We’re not looking back, we’re looking ahead,” he said. For Marcos Jr., coming to terms with the horrific crimes committed during his father’s dictatorship is out of the question. Rather, he describes the years under Marcos Sr. as a “golden era”.
Artists perform a dance in front of the wall commemorating the victims of the dictatorship under Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
A few kilometers as the crow flies from the museum, on Wednesday morning at the Bantayong ng mga Bayani memorial to the victims of the dictatorship under Marcos Sr., the mood was depressed. Symbolically, survivors of those years presented torches to the younger generation in front of the Wall of Remembrance, on which the names of heroes and martyrs are immortalized. The message was that she should not forget the horror and carry on the memories. The white shirts of the participants read inscriptions such as “Human Rights to the Max” or “Never again, never forget”.
Rose Bervano, 66, came with her 15-year-old grandson, Raven. She had been in prison for eight months after Marcos Sr. declared martial law in 1972. Her three brothers, branded as rebels, did not survive the dictatorship. “They only found the body of the youngest,” Rose said.
In 1986, after the Marcos family had been expelled by the people’s revolution, she was still full of hope. “But my countrymen are ignoramuses. At some point I noticed that the same elite is still in power as before, who only care about their own livelihoods, »said Rose with a bitter undertone in her voice. She gave up her hope for a better homeland when Marcos Jr. was elected. “He’s even worse than his father.”
15-year-old Raven Bervano describes himself as an optimist and believes in the future of the Philippines.
Her grandson, Raven, describes himself as an unshakable optimist who believes in the power of democracy and the future of the Philippines. Despite his 15 years, he speaks with astonishing reflection about the terror after martial law was declared. He talked a lot about it with his grandmother and did his own research. At school, on the other hand, these years of horror are only treated superficially. And Marcos Jr. announced on Wednesday that he would not reform history classes in schools.
«I have no hope, because hope is something positive»
Much livelier than at the memorial on Wednesday morning was the Plaza Miranda. Hundreds of young people from all parts of the country had gathered there to demonstrate against the new president. Signs read “Defend Press Freedom” or “Marcos Jr. is not my President.” The crowd kept chanting slogans like “Stop fascism”, “Marcos is a thief”.
Jianred Faustino, who recently graduated from high school, came all the way from the Southern Tagalog region south of Manila. For the next six years she sees black. “We have no hope with the new government because hope is a positive term. I can’t see anything positive,” said the young woman.
Despite her fears and anger, Jianred Faustino wants to keep fighting for freedom and mobilize the youth against the new President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Like Rose Bervano, Jianred believes the Philippines will return to dictatorship under Marcos Jr. In contrast to his father, however, he will not announce martial law in a speech, but will gradually undermine the existing system by changing the law, she added prophesied.
However, Jianred does not want to give up and leave her homeland, even if she admits that she has felt fear and anger since Marcos Jr. was elected on May 9th. Rather, she plans to continue fighting for her civil liberties and mobilizing youth against Marcos Jr.’s government. You may have tough years ahead.