THERE are no two sides to martial law. There’s no pros and cons to torture, killings, and abuses. There’s only one side, which is the truth.
The University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos (UNO-R) earned the ire of the netizens after videos of the supposed “two sides” of the martial law of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos were posted at the university lobby.
Student Daniel Pollentes posted on his Facebook account that their school is showing “Justice for Marcos” videos.
The post drew outrage from the public, including journalists who witnessed and covered the dictator’s military rule.
Initially, UNO-R’s Facebook account, run by the school’s external affairs, justified that the videos were part of the “series of videos” which presented the “two sides” of the Marcos dictatorship.
It added the videos, which were downloaded from YouTube, were not shown to purify a dictator but to present what martial law was all about.
Later, UNO-R director for external affairs Carlos Legaspi Jr. apologized for the videos that were posted on the school lobby.
He stressed it is not UNO-R that posted or produced the videos, which were already taken down as of Friday afternoon, September 28.
In UNO-R’s page, Legaspi said the intention of playing the videos was to educate the students and professionals on the atrocities of the martial law. “It was never the intention of the office to uphold or justify the atrocities done by the Marcoses during the martial law,” he added.
“The picture posted by Mr. Daniel Pollentes was taken out of context. I appreciate the effort of Mr. Pollentes in expressing his sentiments, but I would appreciate it better if he channeled his sentiments more appropriately like a real gentleman,” he said.
In the first place, it was not Pollentes’ fault if he posted on his Facebook account what he believed a misinformation propagated by the very institution he trusted.
There was no ill intention. Twas merely asking the school authorities why.
In fact, what he did was commendable because he was not easily persuaded. He practiced critical thinking. He did his research.
If only millennials would be like him.
There’s still hope. May pag-asa.