‘We will not forget’: Isko Moreno says abusers during martial law should be made accountable
FILE Manila Mayor Isko Moreno
GEN. MARIANO ALVAREZ, Cavite – Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso on Thursday said those who committed abuses and crimes against the Filipino people before the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution should be made accountable for their misdeeds before the bar of justice.
“While it is true na gusto nating mamuhay sa kasalukuyan, at magsama-sama, magkaisa, work together to build back better for the future of our children, hindi naman natin ikikibit-balikat yung mga nag-abuso at namerwisyo ng kanyang mamamayan. Kung sila ay merong akusasyon o merong mga kaso, we as a state must pursue those cases to give justice to the victims, whether it is abusing power, corruption, or maybe up to the point, mga pumatay sa mga tao noong araw,” Moreno said.
“Para matahimik naman ang mga kaluluwa nung mga biktima, dapat managot yung dapat managot sa ilalim ng batas. But again, we will not forget, we will continue to remember, and we will always give value to the Filipino people. That’s why they call it the People Power,” Moreno told reporters before embarking on a motorcade in this town.
Earlier in La Union province, Moreno reminded the Filipino youth to remember the lessons of the historic 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution which taught that the people themselves can take away the power from a sitting president as they were also the source of such political power.
“In the case of EDSA 1986, I think it’s worth na maalala lagi ng mga kabataan na ang kapangyarihan ng pangulo ay nanggaling sa tao. Tao ang nagbigay, tao din ang babawi. I think that’s the most important lesson of the EDSA 1 Revolution. At yun ay ginaya, naging huwaran sa buong mundo so bagay lamang na ito’y paulit-ulit nating ipaalala at kilalanin at isalin sa mga susunod na salin-lahi to remind that everyone na huwag tayong mang-aabuso sa kapangyarihan kasi mag-aalimpuyo ang tao, magagalit ang tao,” Moreno said during a recent campaign sortie in La Union.
The Edsa Revolution was the culmination of the Filipino people’s struggle to put an end to the 14 years of the Marcos dictatorship which started with the declaration of martial law in 1972.
The nation is commemorating the 36th anniversary of the Edsa People Power Revolution on Friday, February 25, the day when then President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and his family fled to Honolulu, Hawaii on board a US Air Force plane from Clark Air Base to escape the angry mob.
“We will continue to recognize the effort ng mga taong bayan na nag-kusang pumunta para mag-aklas sa estado na walang armas, ng walang sakitan at ito’y naging pamantayan sa buong mundo. We always remember what happened in history the same thing I answered to you last October. We don’t forget the past but we need to live within our present, build back together for a better future. We will continue to recognize good history so that others will replicate it and bad history we will continue to remind our people not to do the same,” Moreno said.
If elected president, Moreno vowed to address the perennial problems of poverty, hunger, unemployment, inequality and social injustice in the country by focusing on providing the minimum basic needs of the people – housing, education, health care and jobs – through the efficient and prudent management of government resources. These form the main pillars of his 10-Point Bilis Kilos Economic Agenda.
The 47-year-old presidential candidate’s promises are backed by his achievements in the City of Manila which he intends to replicate all over the country – modern public schools, state-of-the-art hospitals and well-planned high-rise and horizontal housing projects for the poor.
In Buluan, Maguindanao where he was a guest of the Mangudadatus , Moreno called on the Moro youth to be mindful of the past, particularly the years wherein their elderly suffered tremendously from the hands of a dictator who waged a bloody war against them in the 70s and early 80s during the height of Martial Law.
“Mahirap ang maging mahirap. Mano pa pinaglalaban mo lang yung paniwala mo, katwiran mo, ang ibinato pa sayo bala. Tama, mali? Huwag kayong lilimot mga kabataan, mga Muslim na lalaki at babae. Tanungin ninyo mga matatanda ninyo, huwag kayong lilimot kung sino ang kumitil ng buhay ng lahi ninyo. Ingat!” Moreno told a cheering audience.
“Alam natin naging madugo ang nakaraan nung 1974, nung 1981 sa buhay ng mga Muslim dito sa Mindanao. At some point in time yung iba sa inyo, lolo ninyo, tiyuhin ninyo, kapatid ninyo hindi pa natatagpuan hanggang ngayon. Kaya huwag kayo makikiuso. Ingat, baka matanso kayo,” Moreno said.
Moreno was in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) on Sunday (Feb. 20) as a special guest in the mass oath-taking of some 50,000 members of the United Bangsamoro Justice Party led by Maguindanao 2nd District Rep. Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu, former Maguindanao 2nd District Rep. Zajid Dong Mangudadatu, former Buluan Mayor Ibrahim “Jong” Mangudadatu and former Maguindanao 1st District Rep. Bai Sandra Sema.
In his speech, Moreno also reminded the Moro youth to very careful and choose the right candidate for the presidency in order not to be fooled once again by those whose only intention is to gain power.
“Kaya mga kababayan bigyan nyo lang ako ng pagkakataon yung boto ninyo boto ng edukasyon ng mga anak ninyo. Boto ng ospital ng salinlahi ninyo. Boto ng trabaho para sa mga anak ninyo, na boto kung saan… makararamdam kayo ng gobyerno, tao ang una. Kaya sa mga nandirito na mga kababayan kong Muslim sana sa maliit kong kaparaanan bilang alkalde ng Lungsod ng Maynila na itama ko ang kasaysayan sa ating lungsod sa kapitolyo ng bansa,” Moreno pointed out.
At the height of Martial Law in 1973, the military began a massive military operation to quell Moro separatists, including the Moro National Liberation Front under Nur Misuari.
In one of the fiercest battles of the Moro insurgency in 1974, Jolo was extensively damaged and many civilians were supposedly killed when government troops razed much of Jolo municipality to the ground in a scorched-earth tactic.
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