QUEZON CITY—An event dubbed as “Remembering history, strengthening democracy” was held today, September 24, at the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Central Office in commemoration of the 47th year since the declaration of the Marcos’ Martial Law.

The commemoration seeks to remember how, as one country, we were able to rise and triumph against the horrors of the Marcos dictatorship.
Representatives from the civil society, academe, human rights organisations, and the international community graced the event to express their solidarity and support in advancing of human rights and democracy.

In the said event, CHR stressed that the Philippine experience during martial rule is a testament to the social costs and consequences of corruption and abuse of power—of how it weakens our social and democratic institutions, undermines the rule of law, and tarnishes our collective soul.

Remembering, then, is an important exercise to be able to push back against similar authoritarian threats. The challenge is to resist efforts that downplay the fact that the grave abuses were made possible because Martial Law was declared during the Marcos dictatorship.

With Martial Law as a pivotal experience that inspired its creation, CHR also reminds the nation that we must not be afraid to remember this dark period that resulted to unspeakable excesses, sufferings, and rampant human rights violations so we can prevent it from happening again.

Martial Law is an extraordinary measure meant only for factual emergency situations. It grants extraordinary powers that can easily be misused and abused by those who are in authority with low or diminished moral sense especially when implemented for a prolonged period. It can breed the very problem that it seeks to dismantle in the first place like rebellion and terrorism, CHR reminds.

Launching of space for human rights collaboration

One of the highlights of the event is the inauguration and blessing of the Human Rights Collaboratory. Given the shrinking space for human rights advocacies in the country, the CHR envisioned the Human Rights Collaboratory to be a safe space for partnership building or collaboration and knowledge sharing of resources on human rights.

This new facility features a place for discussions, a knowledge management centre, and a working area for human rights advocates, students, and the media. This will also house the Human Rights Observatory—an online platform and dashboard for key human rights thematic areas.

The Human Rights Collaboratory also serves as a doorway to the Multimedia Facility and the CHR Session Hall. The said facilities are meant to receive clients or stakeholders for their technology support needs and for the case investigation function of the CHR respectively. The new spaces were made possible through the Governance in Justice (GOJUST) Project funded by the European Union and Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID) meant to continually improve CHR’s facilities in order to deliver better public services. ###