MANILA, Philippines – After the dark period that was Martial Law, the country did not only establish the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to deter future abuses, but also pushed for the construction of a museum that will memorialize “the heroism and sacrifices of all Filipinos” who were victims during that benighted chapter.
But years since the plan was announced, the Freedom Memorial Museum is yet to be built until this day. The alleged cause of delay? The University of the Philippines (UP), the bastion of student activism and home to many Martial Law heroes.
During the CHR’s budget deliberations at the House of Representatives on Tuesday, September 3, Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission Executive Director Carmelo Victor “Chuck” Crisanto said that bureaucracy was causing the delay in the museum’s construction. The memorial body is an attached commission under CHR.
To build the 1.4-hectare museum inside UP campus, the memorial commission and the university signed a contract in 2019. The contract stated that the commission will first fund and construct a separate P80-million facility that will be the new building of the UP Campus Maintenance Office (UP CMO). The existing UP CMO building is in the area of the proposed museum. There was a need to first build a new facility because constructing the museum will displace UP CMO .
The memorial commission finished the construction of the new UP CMO in 2022 in fulfillment of their agreement, said Crisanto
In June 2023, Crisanto said his office sent a letter “requesting for a handover ceremony with UP” so the university can finish the facilities and relocate the office immediately. Crisanto said the UP agreed in July this year to begin the transfer of the maintenance office by August, but as of Tuesday, “UP has yet to fulfill their obligations,” Crisanto added.
Gabriela Representative Arlene Brosas of the progressive Makabayan bloc asked Crisanto on what should be done to speed up the construction. The memorial commission chief said the UP needs to sign the handover documents, which will allow the university to use its P50 million budget to complete the facilities needed by the campus maintenance office.
“Without them signing that handover document or turnover document, UP cannot receive funds to finish the relocation. We’ve finished our part of the agreement in October 2022. We gave them the impetus to accept it in June 2023. If I look at the number of months that I have been delayed by the UP, it’s like 20 months,” Crisanto explained in a mix of Filipino and English.
The memorial commission chief added that they are in constant communication with UP regarding the matter.
“I cannot understand the bureaucracy of UP why it takes them so long to actually accept it… I cannot explain their seeming foot-dragging on this matter. But with our chair of the CHR, we will try once again reach out to them to finally set. But we do need the help of Congress in actually nudging UP to fulfill its end of its obligation,” Crisanto said.
Rappler has already reached out to UP President Angelo Jimenez, but he has yet to respond as of writing.
Lawmakers during the CHR’s budget deliberations have all agreed to write a letter to UP to seek an explanation about the delay. House committee on higher and technical education chairperson and UP board of regent member Mark Go said he will bring up the matter during their next meeting with the rest of the regents.
Why this matters
International human rights group Amnesty International has estimated that 70,000 people were imprisoned, 34,000 were tortured, and 3,240 were killed during late rule of the tyrant Ferdinand E. Marcos. To honor Martial Law victims of that period, the late former president Noynoy Aquino signed Republic Act No. 10368 or the Human Rights Victims Reparations Act of 2013.
The law recognizes “the heroism and sacrifices of all Filipinos who were victims of summary execution, torture, enforced or involuntary disappearance and other gross human rights violations” under Marcos’ tyrannical regime. The victims’ recognition should be in the form of reparations, as well as through the creation of a library and museum in honor of the victims.
The projects were funded by the Marcoses’ P10-billion ill-gotten wealth, which the Presidential Commission on Good Governance had retrieved.
The Martial Law museum will follow the brutalist architecture design plan made by architects Mark Anthony Pait, Mark Angelo Bonita, and Wendell Crispo, who won in the commission’s design competition. Among the design’s distinct features is the raised fist which “commemorates the momentous revolution” that ousted Marcos in 1986.
Aside from this, the museum will also house a Roll of Human Rights Victims, where the victims’ names will be enshrined. The facility will also showcase facts and evidence for youth to look at and “create their own conclusions” about that dark chapter in the country’s history.
In 2019, the memorial commission said the museum was expected to be be open by 2022, which should have coincided with the 50th commemoration of the martial law declaration. – Rappler.com