(FILE) HISTORY WALK-THROUGH A mural depicting the Sept. 23, 1972, declaration of martial law and other historic events greets pedestrians at the newly spruced up Lagusnilad underpass in Manila. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
MANILA, Philippines — The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Friday warned Filipinos against “radical distortions” in the history of martial law.
“In this letter, we favor none but the truth. We wish to warn you of the radical distortions in the history of Martial Law and the EDSA People Power Revolution,” CBCP President Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said in a pastoral letter on the commemoration of the anniversary of the1986 People Power Revolution.
David said that many Catholic bishops have witnessed the “injustice” and “cruelty” during the dark days of martial law.
“And up until now, the human rights abuses, the victims, the corruption, the grave debt and economic downturn of the country due to dictatorship are all well-documented. Again, we did not make these up. These are all written in our history,” he said.
David said the CBCP is “alarmed by this distortion of the truth of history and the attempt to delete or destroy our collective memory through the seeding of lies and false narratives.”
“This is dangerous, for it poisons our collective consciousness and destroys the moral foundations of our institutions,” the Church leader added.
On the other hand, David described the historical 1986 People Power Revolution that toppled the Marcos dictatorship as “a fruit of love of neighbor and faith.”
“With you, we were simply part of it. You and the world witnessed the peaceful revolution, which was rightly called ‘People Power.’ The peaceful revolution was not an invention of one person, one party, or one color. It was a triumph of the entire Filipino People,” David said.
“Dear Brothers and Sisters, let us stand up for truth. Remember: goodness without truth is pretense. Service without truth is manipulation. There can be no justice without truth. Even charity, without truth, is only sentimentalism. An election or any process that is not based on truth is but a deception and cannot be trusted,” the CBCP leader stressed in his letter.
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