SEPTEMBER 21 AS A NATIONAL DAY OF REPENTANCE (Part 1)
By Maria Lourdes Sereno
September 21, 2021
The deepest effect of Ferdinand Marcos’ presidency on the Filipino soul is the propagation of the sin of idolatry of political leaders. From looking to God alone as the embodiment of all that is good and beautiful and deserving of worship and loyalty, many Filipinos, even those who called themselves followers of Christ, deified or submitted to a human “god”–Ferdinand Marcos. I specifically direct this observation to those who were old enough to know the truth–those who were at least 14 years old when the 1986 People Power Revolution occurred. We Filipinos from two generations, who come from all political stripes and regions, saw and heard on national television and radio what was taking place–the massing of 2 million Filipino citizens at several convergence points in Quezon City. This peacefully protesting human throng led to the dismantling of the Marcos dictatorship. No one can deny what happened.
After Marcos fled the country, those who believed that only God deserved the Filipinos’ utmost loyalty had the immediate obligation to assess what God was saying to us as a country with this dramatic and nonviolent dismantling of a tyrannical government. The message from His word and in light of the circumstances was as clear as daylight:
First, that God does not intend Filipinos to live under authoritarianism but in a regime of freedom, rule of law, and democracy. Democracy, the political arrangement that most closely acknowledges human dignity by recognizing every person’s equality in law and the freedom to choose society’s leaders, best resonates with the call of Christ to freedom of conscience and to humble service by all who aspire for national leadership.
Second, that God’s warnings in the Bible cannot but be fulfilled: (1) the unjust killings that took place on Marcos’ watch had burdened the land with curses; (2) the lack of righteous stewardship of the country’s funds and other resources led to the impoverishment of the Filipino people and (3) the disintegration of the Filipino family due to the government policy of exporting our workers was a result of rejecting God’s hierarchy of values, namely, that the raising of children by their own parents in a godly way must take precedence over material prosperity.
Third, that nothing hidden can be concealed for long – the Supreme Court of the Philippines, the Sandiganbayan and other foreign courts, our own legislature, and international bodies found massive evidence of the corruption and killings for which Ferdinand Marcos, his political and economic network of allies, including the military, are responsible.
Fourth, that what happened to the Philippines from 1972-1986 directly contradicted God’s promised future to believers who seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Matthew 6:33 promises Jesus’ believers that all their needs will be met if they would only live according to Kingdom values. From being one of the most prosperous and highly-regarded countries in Asia, the Philippines spiraled down to the laughable bottom, derided and despised. It was as if the Philippines before February 1986 was the Israel pictured in the Old Testament as God’s beloved bride reaping for herself the consequences of her spiritual adultery – abandoning Yahweh to run after other gods, and thus inheriting the wind.
How can the people of God return to Him after all these years of allowing idolatry, injustice, and corruption to run rampant from the highest to the lowest places of government? How can repentance take place if some of Jesus’ followers themselves become complicit to the very things that God condemns?
Mga kapatid, God calls us to:
1) examine and probe our ways;
2) rend our hearts and not our garments that they may be broken and turn contrite;
3) confess our individual sins and our sins as a people;
4) repent by turning away from the idolatry of man, the injustice, and the corruption in our midst; and
5) resolve never to waver again from doing what is right. Then God will hear our cries and heal our land, and from the valley of dead bones created by our people’s sins, life will spring again.
May every anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law remind us of how our national soul came very close to death.
Endnotes
1. The two generations here referred to are the Baby Boomers (born from 1946-1964) and the older half of Generation X (1965-1972).
2.“And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.” (Genesis 4:11); “And for your lifeblood, I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being.” (Genesis 9:5); “’Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.’” (Numbers 35:33)
3. The Marcos children themselves admitted that part of their assets were found by the Swiss Government to have been acquired illegally. Note this direct quote from a Supreme Court decision (Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. et al. vs. Republic of the Philippines, G.R. No. 189434, 25 April 2012:
“Before the case was set for pretrial, the Marcos children and PCGG Chairperson Magtanggol Gunigundo signed several Compromise Agreements … dated 28 December 1993 for a global settlement of the Marcos assets. One of the ‘whereas’ clauses in the General Agreement specified that the Republic ‘obtained a judgment from the Swiss Federal Tribunal on December 21, 1990, that the Three Hundred Fifty-six Million U.S. dollars (USD 356 million) belongs in principle to the Republic of the Philippines provided certain conditionalities are met xxx.’ This Decision was in turn based on the finding of Zurich District Attorney Peter Cosandey that the deposits in the name of the foundations were of illegal provenance.”
See similar decisions by the Supreme Court forfeiting wealth held by the Marcoses for having been illegally acquired (Estate of Ferdinand Marcos vs. Republic of the Philippines (G.R. No. 213027, 18 January 2017) and Republic vs. Sandiganbayan (15 July 2003).
Congress in Section 2 of Republic Act No 10368 states: “…it is hereby declared the policy of the State to recognize the heroism and sacrifices of all Filipinos who were victims of summary execution, torture, enforced or involuntary disappearance and other gross human rights violations committed during the regime of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos covering the period from September 21, 1972 to February 25, 1986 and restore the victims’ honor and dignity.”
The international and foreign decisions and findings are too numerous to enumerate here.
4. Contemporaneous reports by international human rights organizations estimate tens of thousands of victims. Over 3 decades later, the Human Rights Violations Claims Board created by Republic Act No. xxx awarded reparations to over 11,500 victims, including 3,500 who were killed or disappeared. These are minimum numbers.
5. The combined period of de jure and de facto authoritarianism.
6. Lamentations 3:40
7. Joel 2:13
8. Psalm 51:17
9. Nehemiah 1:6
10. Nehemiah 1:8; Deuteronomy 16:19
11.Jeremiah 4:1
12. 2 Chronicles 7:14
13. Ezekiel 37:4
