The Tortures And Other Evils Of The Martial Law Period
As many people know, the tortures and other evils of the martial law period have been in place for 42 years since the late President Ferdinand Marcos put it in place. A report on Rappler says that most people thought it happened on September 21, 1972, which is the actual date of remembrance.
Jan 26, 20230 Shares157 Views
As many people know, thetortures and other evils of the martial law periodhave been in place for 42 years since the late President Ferdinand Marcos put it in place. A report on Rappler says that most people thought it happened on September 21, 1972, which is the actual date of remembrance.
However, there were some people who thought it should be remembered on September 23, which was the day the declaration was made. The same report also said that Marcos had actually signed the edict on the 17th.
Still, it doesn't matter when it was officially declared. What matters are the years of pain and suffering that the Martial Law order caused.
People Who Were Lost
Younger people who have never lived under Martial Law are quick to make fun of the situation. There are jokes going around right now about how young people want to live under Martial Law as long as Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is president.
Martial Law victim survives torture by electrocution
When said in jest, the statement might sound great to them, but for those who suffered under the Marcos regime, freedom and democracy were the best gift the country has ever gotten.
There were too many people who just vanished without a trace to keep track of them all. Nobody really knows what happened to these people.
People Were Tortured
During Martial Law, many people who were arrested were tortured so they would talk about their supposed accomplices. The problem is that these people don't even know why they were arrested and don't know what crimes they are accused of committing.
So many people were being tortured that people who were arrested already feared the punishments that were coming. Only a few people were left alone. These were foreigners, people who knew martial law officers, and well-known people.
Most of the prisoners were denied their human rights and already thought to be guilty, so they had to prove that they were not guilty.
Evil Ways To Torture
There was also a lot of sexual harassment, no matter the age or gender of the prisoner. In an article for the Inquirer, Fr. Benjamin Alforque wrote about how he went through so many terrible things that he turned away from God for a few months.
Since they knew he was studying to become a priest, they would describe him in sexual ways to try to break him. He was later forced to watch horrible sexual abuse and torture.
In a separate Inquirer article, different methods and tools for torturing people were described. The person is made to "lie on the air" between two beds in the "San Juanico Bridge torture." The person would get kicked or punished if he fell or sagged between the beds.
Others were upset that the prisoners had to play Russian roulette, in which they were given a revolver with only one bullet in it. Then they were told to turn the cylinder and pull the trigger to their heads.
Several people were also electrocuted in different ways, such as by having electrodes placed on parts of their bodies or by being forced to sit on ice blocks with electrodes on them.
Many people were left naked and hungry, but they had to stay away for several days. Others were always beaten with whatever hard object was available, like a piece of wood, a rifle butt, or a large soft drink bottle. Some people were also hit with punches, kicks, or slaps.
Some survivors also said that cigarette lighters were used to burn their hair, skin, or genitalia.
Those who made it through the tortures still lived in fear that they would have to go through the same shocking treatment again. Because the tortures were so bad, many of the people who did survive ended up in a mental hospital.
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