DR. JUAN ESCANDOR_ COMMUNITY DOCTOR VICTIM OF MARTIAL LAW

FROM VP LENNY ROBREDO'S FACEBOOK PAGE Dr. Juan Escandor worked as an oncologist and radiologist in the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in the years leading up to the declaration of Martial Law. There, he worked with urban poor communities and organized the workers of PGH. Because of his frustration with the injustice prevailing in the country, he founded the militant student organization Kabataang Makabayan. Upon the declaration of Martial Law, Escandor left PGH to go underground, volunteering his medical services in the rural communities of Cagayan Valley. The Marcos regime issued a P180,000 reward for the “NPA doctor.” Escandor was killed in 1983, at the age of 42. The military announced that he was shot dead in an armed encounter with constabulary officers, but an autopsy performed on his body told a completely different story: Bruises covered parts of his face and body. His face was full of cigarette burns. Patches of his mustache were plucked. His right eye was gouged out. Trash, plastic bags, dirty rags, and a pair of briefs were found shoved inside his skull. Brain matter was found inside his abdominal cavity. His internal organs showed he suffered from hemorrhage and hematoma, and x-ray results showed fractures in his bones.

EDGAR JOPSON_NOT A PUSHER NOR A DRUG USER BUT AN ATENEO HIGH SCHOOL VALEDICTORIAN

FROM VP LENNY ROBREDO'S FACEBOOK PAGE CREAM OF THE YOUTH Edgar Jopson, more commonly known as “Edjop,” was one of the most well-known faces of the student movement prior to the declaration of Martial Law. Well-educated and bright, Edjop was an Ateneo High School valedictorian, but it was in college where he truly bloomed. He was part of the Ateneo Student Council, and later on was elected president of the moderate National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP), then the largest inter-college student organization. It was with NUSP that Edjop participated in a massive rally held on January 1970, in front of the Congress as Marcos made his second State of the Nation Address. Soon after the rally, Edjop and other student leaders went to Malacanang for a dialogue with President Ferdinand Marcos. In that meeting, Edjop demanded that Marcos promise—on a piece of paper—that he would not run for a third term. Marcos, offended at the youth’s cheekiness, snapped, “Who are you to tell me what to do? You're only a son of a grocer!” Edjop responded: “Honest grocer naman.” Edjop’s moderate and peaceful political views soon changed, and he became a member of the Communist Party. He was arrested in 1979, and tortured by Rodolfo Aguinaldo during interrogation. Aguinaldo, who was known as one of the most brutal intelligence officers during the Marcos era, gravely misread Edjop, and planned on having Edjop rejoin the underground movement as a government spy—Edjop took this as his chance to escape. Edjop documented everything he experienced and his observations of his captors in a document entitled “Open Letter to the Filipino People,” which was extremely useful in the campaign for human rights in the Philippines during the Marcos era. In 1981, two years after his arrest, a P180,000 bounty was placed on the capture of Edjop—making him one of the most wanted persons in the country. He was captured a year later during a military raid in Davao city. He was shot while trying to escape, and died a day later, 10 years after the declaration of Martial Law.

MARTIAL LAW SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN

Fr. Zacarias Agatep did not only preach about serving the less fortunate

FROM VP LENNY ROBREDO'S FACEBOOK PAGE Fr. Zacarias Agatep did not only preach about serving the less fortunate, he lived it as well. Even as a seminarian, he spent his summers working with poor families in their farms in Ilocos Sur. After his ordination, he served as a full-time chaplain of the Northern Luzon Chapter of the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) where he helped them set up cooperatives, raised their awareness about their rights—particularly their right to own the land they till. He helped mobilize the farmers in campaigns for fair prices and fair practices. When the leadership of the FFF aligned themselves with President Marcos’ declaration of Martial Law, Agatep left and returned to parish work in Caoayan, Ilocos Sur. It was in Caoayan that he also joined the Christians for National Liberation, and began to secretly support the fight against Marcos’ dictatorial regime. Agatep was arrested and charged with subversion and illegal possession of firearms in in 1980. He was incarcerated for four months, and during those months, he continued to minister to his fellow prisoners. He was released in December 1980 as part of the regime’s preparations for the visit of Pope John Paul II—who visited the Philippines in February 1981. After his imprisonment, he wrote a letter to President Marcos: “If this is the kind of justice we get from the so-called guardians of the New Society, then there is no wonder why there are some people who go to the hills to fight the government,” he wrote He added, “If it is a crime to love the poor and support them in their just struggles against injustice, then I am ready to face the firing squad.” True enough, he was killed together with Alfredo Cesar, a former deacon who had been assisting him. The military claimed that they died in an armed encounter with constabulary soldiers. Agatep’s body showed that he was shot four times, from behind

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE THIS HAPPENED TO YOUR BROTHER?

FROM LENNY ROBREDO'S FACEBOOK PAGE Boyet Mijares was the son of Primitivo Mijares, the president of the National Press Club during Marcos’ regime. Primitivo was a close confidant of Marcos, and served as the chief propagandist of the government. Boyet’s father was sent to the United States in 1974, and his disenchantment with the regime began there: Primitivo testified before the US Congress on the human rights violations occurringunder Marcos’ rule, and he later wrote “The Conjugal Dictatorship,” a tell-all which exposed the lavish lifestyle the Marcoses lived. This sealed Primitivo’s fate. Little did he know that it would also seal that of his son’s. Boyet was 16 when he received a call form his father, who was lured back to the Philippines from the safety of the United States by Marcos’ men. One day, Boyet asked his mother if he could watch a movie with his friends in Ali Mall, and his mother strictly told him to wait for the car to bring him there. Instead, he asked their maid for 20 Pesos, and said to her, “I’m going to see my daddy today. So I will not wait for mommy. I will just use a bus in going to the place.” The next time they saw Boyet, he was dead. Boyet’s body was riddled with stab wounds, his skull bashed in. His genitals were mangled, and his eyes were protruding. Boyet’s mother, then judge of Manila, was able to obtain information that Primitivo was made to watch while men tortured his son. Primitivo has never been found.

LILIOSA HILAO_ first female casualty and martyr of Martial Law.

FROM VP LENNY ROBREDO'S FACEBOOK PAGE   When Martial Law was declared, Liliosa Hilao started wearing black. She wrote in her diary: “Democracy is dead.” Liliosa was the Associate Editor for the school paper at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. There, she wrote essays entitled: “The Vietnamization of the Philippines” and “Democracy is Dead in the Philippines under Martial Law.” She could not join rallies due to her poor physical condition and asthma, but she made sure that her dissatisfaction with the Marcos regime was known nonetheless. On April 5, 1973—barely a year after the declaration of Martial Law—troops from the Constabulary Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) appeared at her family’s doorstep looking for her brother, who the regime had tagged as a communist. Liliosa demanded that they show a search warrant or arrest order, but they had none. Instead, they slapped and beat her. Later, she was handcuffed and taken in for questioning. Liliosa’s family members were able to visit her the next day, and could see the effects of beating: Her eyes were bulging and her face was swollen. Liliosa told her visitors that she was being tortured. The next day, Liliosa was dead. According to the official CANU report, Lilli committed suicide by drinking muriatic acid. Her autopsy said otherwise: Her face was severely swollen, her lips bore cigarette burns. Her arms had numerous injection marks, possibly from “truth serum,” a torture method used on victims. Her torso was mottled with finger marks and gun-barrel marks. It was also possible she was sexually abused. Two weeks after her death was her batch’s graduation from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. As a sign of protest, her batch mates wore black arm bands and left a vacant, symbolic seat for their absent classmate. She was also awarded posthumous cum laude honors. Liliosa Hilao is considered to be the first female casualty and martyr of Martial Law.

VP LENNY ROBREDO'S EXPRESSIONS OF DISAPPROVAL ON THE HIDDEN MARCOS BURIAL