MANILA, Philippines - It remains one of the darkest periods in Philippine history, but one that few of the call center generation remembers, or probably even cares to know about.

Fortunately, there’s the Bantayog Museum, a part of the Bantayog Memorial Center in Quezon City, a part that recalls the perils, anguish and torment of martial rule. The museum focuses on the rise and fall of the authoritarian regime that began with the declaration of martial law by then President Ferdinand Marcos in 1972.

Bantayog Museum chair Carolina “Bobbie” Malay described the artifacts in the museum as “a powerful way for young people to know what martial law was like and what it has done to the country, and very importantly, to realize the heroic struggles of their fellow Filipinos.”

Susan Macabuag, a museum volunteer who was also an anti-Marcos activist, was probably talking from experience when she summed up what the permanent exhibit is all about: “It depicts the situation leading up to martial law, the collective and isolated resistance of people from the city and countryside, and finally, the people power that toppled the oppressive regime.”

As if to underscore her words, Macabuag displayed a copy of The Sunday Times Magazine dated Feb. 22, 1970, whose cover story tells of the gruesome fate of activists, laborers, and students, with pictures of bloodied and wounded demonstrators, the dazed faces of the victims, and the bodies of those who did not survive. Also on exhibit is a copy of The Manila Chronicle, dated Sept. 23, 1972, that was never circulated because by then, martial law had been declared. On its pages are letters of children addressed to Marcos.

The hall of heroes and martyrs, people who died in the struggle against martial rule, is arranged according to their field and discipline: Students/Youth, Professors and Teachers, Farmers, Community Organizers, Women Activists, The Religious, Journalists and Artists, Professionals and Businessmen, and Public Servants. Most of them are not even mentioned in history books; the exhibit makes sure they are no longer faceless and unnamed.

Narrated either in art form or oral accounts, the museum exhibits attempt to come as vividly close to the past as possible. Political detainee Hilda Narciso recreated her prison cell, with the pieces of wood that made up her double-deck bed donated by the nuns who regularly visited the detainees.

A student designed a model of the tank used in the Edsa Revolt of 1986, where an actual image of the Virgin Mary brought during the uprising now sits.

It is the collection of photographs, however, that conveys the strongest message and shows the most chilling images of life under the dictatorship, with relentless violence dealt out to the people who openly opposed martial rule. The pictures also show how martial law broke economic barriers and united folk from all walks of life, including tribes and indigenous people who fought for their ancestral domain.

The Bantayog Musuem, which occupies the second floor of the Jovito Salonga Building together with the Alfonso T. Yuchengco Auditorium, features materials and collections from 1965 to 1986. On the ground floor is the library where 10 paintings by social realists are on exhibit.

They want the library to become a resource center for Filipinos on human rights, justice, and democracy, Malay said, but they need more materials on these issues. Editorial cartoons on the Marcos regime may also be donated to the museum, she added.

Easily the most popular feature in the Bantayog Memorial Center is the Wall of Remembrance, a black granite wall immortalizing the heroes and martyrs of martial law. Names are continuously being added to the list once they are certified. Macabuag revealed that another set of names will be inscribed before the year ends.

Established by the Bantayog ng Mga Bayani Foundation and inaugurated in February 2007, the museum has been visited by at least 6,000 guests who similarly want to pay tribute to the political heroes and martyrs of the era.

But the museum remains wanting of artifacts, documents, and memorabilia. Some of the displays have been loaned out by the Lopez Museum while others are reproductions from donors. Malay said they welcome donation of materials related to martial law to beef up the exhibit.

Especially welcome are donations that illustrate the struggle in rural areas, Malay said. “We want to correct the impression that Edsa was the principal thing,” she explained. “The exhibit aims to enlighten people that Edsa was a product of years and years of struggle among the oppressed.”

Bantayog Memorial Center is located at the corner of Quezon Avenue and Edsa, Diliman, Quezon City. The museum is open on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Reservations for school and group tours must be made three days in advance. For more information call 434-8343 or 534-5868. Email: bantayogmuseum@gmail.com

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