Philippine E-Journals

Constructing a Counter-Memory: A Proposition to Atrocities and Historical Apathy to the Martial Law Experience in the Philippines

Maria Virginia G. Aguilar | Edwin F. Lineses

Discipline: Society

 

Abstract:

People construct cultural memory from how they make sense of past experiences through texts, oral tradition, artifacts, or symbols that are passed down from generation to generation. Cultural memory crystallizes people’s shared experiences and gives generations a sense of collective identity. But in the Philippines, a spirit of indifference has permeated the current generation, so the long-standing trauma of martial law from Marcos’ excesses seems to have become “more tolerable.” Democracy advocates were on the defensive as Marcos and his band of supporters reconstructed cultural memories of the martial law era into legitimate ones. This paper argues for the need to create a counter-memory to correct the historical distortions that permeate Philippine society.