#NeverForget: 6 books on dark days of Martial Law

ABS-CBN News

Posted at Sep 21 2021 04:30 PM

MANILA -- It's been 49 years since Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law, one of the darkest periods in the country's history.

Fight efforts to whitewash the atrocities committed during this bloody era through these six books, which you can add to your cart. 

THE CONJUGAL DICTATORSHIP OF FERDINAND AND IMELDA MARCOS

 Ateneo de Manila University Press
Ateneo de Manila University Press

Author: Primitivo Mijares

Synopsis: "This book reports on the best laid plans that paved the way to the Philippines' dark history: the imposition of martial law in 1972 and the schemes that built and held its infrastructure. Drawing data from his work as Marcos's media adviser before his defection in 1975, Primitivo Mijares exposes the massive corruption and military abuses under the regime, which has left the nation in ruins. Forty years after its first publication, the book, in this revised and annotated edition, reminds Filipinos of their past that remains a present threat."

Available at: Ateneo de Manila University Press for P650

U.G. AN UNDERGROUND TALE: THE LIFE AND STRUGGLE OF EDGAR JOPSON

 Anvil Publishing
Anvil Publishing

Author: Benjamin Pimentel

Synopsis: "At 22, Edgar Jopson, or Edjop, had everything: money, education, national recognition. But he gave up his life of privilege to join the underground movement—the U.G. This book traces the unique, dramatic odyssey of the most intriguing figure of the First Quarter Storm and of the generation of young Filipinos who helped shaped Philippine history."

Available at: Anvil Publishing for P650

ISANG HARDING PAPEL

 Adarna Publishing
Adarna Publishing

Author: Augie Rivera

Synopsis: "Jenny's room is already filled with flowers, but her mother still isn't home. It's the time of Martial Law when discipline is imposed as a requirement, they say, for progress. But for Jenny, it's the time of separation from her mother. Until when will she grow her paper garden?"

Available at: Adarna Publishing for P99

DEKADA '70

Anvil Publishing
Anvil Publishing

Author: Lualhati Bautista

Synopsis: "Si Amanda Bartolome ay isang pangkaraniwang babae asawa ni Julian at ina ng limang anak na lalaki. Sa kanilang subdibisyon, pinakamalaking problema na niya ang mga kapitbahay nilang hindi na natapos magreklamo tungkol sa mga malokong batang Bartolome. Ngunit ang panahon ng martial law ay hindi pangkaraniwang panahon. Sa pangunguna ng panganay nilang si Jules at ang kanyang pagsabak sa madugong rebolusyon, di maiiwasang harapin ng pamilya ang karahasan ng batas militar. Habang ang kanyang mga anak ay hinuhubog ng malagim na dekada, at nahahanap ang kanya-kanyang sariling adhikain sa gitna ng kaguluhan, tinatanong at tinutuklas din ni Amanda ang sarili kung ano nga ba ang kanyang tungkulin at kakanyahan bilang ina, bilang babae, bilang Pilipino." 

Available at: Anvil Publishing for P295

DESAPARESIDOS

 Anvil Publishing
Anvil Publishing

Author: Lualhati Bautista

Synopsis: "Ito ang kuwento ni Anna, isang inang napawalay sa kanyang sanggol nang madakip siya ng militar dulot ng kanyang pakikibahagi sa rebolusyonaryong aktibidad laban sa rehimeng diktadurya ni Marcos. Mga dalawampung taon pagkaraan, at walang kasiguraduhan kung nabubuhay pa nga ba ang anak, patuloy si Anna sa paghahanap. Sa nobelang ito iginuguhit ni Bautista kung paano nawasak ng batas militar ang napakaraming pamilya, at kung paanong ang galit at sakit na dulot nito ay di sinasadyang naipamamana ng mga magulang sa kanilang mga anak."

Available at: Anvil Publishing for P295

ASCENDING THE FOURTH MOUNTAIN: A PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF THE MARCOS YEARS

Ateneo de Manila University Press
Ateneo de Manila University Press

Author: Maria Virginia Y. Morales

Synopsis: "In 'Ascending the Fourth Mountain,' Maria Virginia Yap Morales tells her story of the martial law years and of the widespread participation of women against violations of human rights and sexual abuse under military detention. This book is the story of a woman who struggled for equality within a revolutionary movement and fully participated to draft the orientation of the Malayang Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan (MAKIBAKA) which had its origins in the years before martial rule. More than that, this book is the author's inner journey to discover and study herself, and to eventually see through the mote in her own eye that blurs a fourth mountain looming large, blocking her vision of political and social transformation."

Available at: Ateneo de Manila University Press for P370

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