Never again

The proposal of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to construct a P500-million memorial museum for artifacts, memorabilia and other items related to the martial law period from 1972 to 1986 is a step in the right direction.

           

The funding for the memorial will come from the interest earned on the P10-billion fund allocated by the government to indemnify those who were victims of human rights violations during martial law.

           

The materials for the museum will be sourced from 10,000 materials gathered from some of the 75,000 victims of human rights abuses at the height of strongman rule in the country. The materials include sworn statements, arrest and seizure orders, release papers of those jailed, news articles and photos of the victims.

           

The CHR is still looking for a suitable site, although Fort Bonifacio, where at least three detention centers for political prisoners were located during martial law, is being considered.

           

The museum will be established essentially along the same concept as the Holocaust Museum in Berlin, Germany and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

           

The memorial museum will not only serve to remind the younger generation of the pain and horrors experienced by thousands of Filipinos during the dark years of martial law, but also teach them to resolutely defend freedom and democracy when these are threatened by tyranny and one-man rule.

           

More than this, the museum will send this strong message: Never again to martial law. -end-

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