Fourteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

Dictators as they say are good myth-makers. Former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos on his part used megalithic structures to paint an imaginary grandeur to cover up a massive violation of human rights and large scale plunder. This study sought to delve the different facets of violence experienced by the Martial Law Victims in Pampanga from 1972-1986, as opposed to the conventional national narrative being presented by past research. By doing so, it shares the untold experiences of these nameless heroes from oblivion. This paper likewise examines the effects of torture toward their physical and psychological conditions, and the burying of Marcos to the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery) recently in the Filipinos’ collective memory. Methods such as historiography and Life History are utilized to extract and examine the needed data for this study. The agony and pains of the victims who were not yet healed by justice were even more aggravated by the sneaky burial of the Dictator to the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery). The move was also perceived as burying the truth and accountability. An elusive historical closure is desired by many of the victims which would finally bring a genuine healing and promote well-being.