Military declassifies Marcos-era documents

MANILA, Philippines—The Agrava Fact-Finding Board. After-operation Report and Security Survey of NAIA re: Sen. Aquino Assassination. Reassessment of the  Communist Movement after One Year of Martial Law. Russian Vessels. MNLF Terroristic Plan. Batasang Pambansa Election.

These are the titles of some of the 70 additional martial law documents that were turned over by the Department of National Defense Saturday to the Commission on Human Rights at rites marking International Human Rights Day.

Kept by the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (Isafp) under tight security for more than 30 years since strongman Ferdinand Marcos lifted martial law in 1981, they have been declassified, and handed over to the government agency to make them eventually accessible to the public.

“As a society where the scars of martial rule have only superficially been healed, the Martial Law Files Project is a transformative tool for achieving transitional justice,’’ CHR Chair Loretta Ann Rosales said at the public launch of the martial law files.

The project, she added,  was both a “legacy and an investment  to the next generation upon whose shoulders fall the responsibility of ensuring that human rights in this land will never again reel under the ravages of dictatorial rule.’’

That’s why, she added, not only historians should be interested in the files but also “persons charged with the duty of helping build a society secured by freedom, democracy and human rights.’’

Indeed, even President Benigno Aquino might be interested to take a look at the dossier gathered by the Isafp on his father, the late former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., Marcos’ political nemesis who was assassinated on his arrival on August 21, 1983 from exile in the United States.

Interestingly, the list of the titles of the 70 files starts off with the Agrava Board, which inquired into Aquino’s killing, and ends with a special report on the late senator’s funeral cortege.

And wonder of wonders: The files include  a 1981 special report on the revelation of one Mrs. Zenaida Ramos Abdullah about a plot to assassinate  Marcos.

At ceremony attended by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., United Nations, military and police officials, and rights advocates at the National College of Public Administration and Governance assembly hall, Rosales opened a parcel coming from Isafp chief Brig. Gen. Cesar Ronnie Ordoyo.

“Guess what is it?’’ she said. Then she went on to read the title: “Summary of Information Gathered by the Isafp regarding Loretta Ann Rosales.… There’s a lot information about me. Wow, I can now write my biography.” This drew laughter from the audience.

Rosales was one of the thousands tortured and thrown into prison during Marcos’ martial rule.

Dr. Jacqueline Badcock, UN Resident Coordinator, lauded the declassification and transfer of the files from the Isafp to the CHR.

“Today is a specially momentous occasion. We are also celebrating the declassification of martial law documents, bringing closure to a  troubled period where human rights were not guaranteed. It’s through this act of transparency that the Filipino people now have the right to know what happened in the past, and the opportunity to seek truth, to seek reconciliation,’’ she said in her remarks.

The declassification of the documents, she said, was one “huge step’’ toward realizing transparency and accountability, which are important in securing the rights of Filipinos.

The 70 files, a heap of yellowed, dog-eared documents still tied up in a string, were actually the second tranche of declassified martial law documents transferred by the Isafp to the CHR. They are to be stored in a room at the CHR.

Earlier, on Sept. 21 this year, the Isafp turned over several folders of clippings on martial law to the CHR. They had been cleaned and sorted, and put in boxes.

According to Rosales, all the documents would be sorted, inventoried, catalogued and conserved in a manner “as to enable general access by the public.’’

The Philippine Association of Museums, headed by Gina Barte, the De la Salle University library and the University of the Philippines volunteered to do this.

“We anticipated more voluminous documents from the DND.… There should be more to come,’’ said Barte, who described the documents as generally in good condition, and welcomed their transfer to the CHR, which is more accessible than the Isafp.

The idea, Rosales said, was to make the files available to students, academicians, media, historical institutions, libraries and archives for research; to victims and survivors of rights violations for validating their claims for compensation; to government agencies for legislation and policy reforms, and security forces for reform policies.

The literature on martial law should also set the record straight on the 14 years of Marcos’ one-man rule and its impact on the lives of the people, and spur a dialogue among stakeholders to develop a consensus toward cultivating a human rights environment.

In the long run, the CHR, the defense department and other stakeholders hope to produce a documentary of the heroic stories of rights activists and defenders, a research study on the evolution of the Marcos Constitution, a publication of Marcos’ policies and decrees, come up with a memorialization of the struggles of Filipinos during martial law, and set up a museum featuring films, art pieces, essays, music and literature produced by the people during that period.

The collaboration between the CHR and the defense department, which eyed one another with distrust during the Marcos regime, was itself a “breakthrough,’’ Rosales conceded.

“Historically opposing forces have come together to start a process of healing based on truth, transparency, fairness and justice,” she said.