Deputy Speaker and Basilan Representative Mujiv Hataman today called on the Filipino people to reignite the spirit of the 1986 EDSA Revolution and value the freedom gained 34 years ago, as he encouraged the “woke” generations of today to learn from the experience of those who fought hard and won against the dictatorship.
Hataman, a human rights activist, encouraged Filipino millennials and those belonging to the so-called Generation Z to “seek true stories” of the past and not be blinded by the historical revisionism prevalent in today’s digital era of fake news and half-truths.
“Noong araw, may iba kaming tawag sa pagiging ‘woke.’ Sa amin, ‘mulat’ ang equivalent nito, yung mulat ka sa nangyayaring injustice sa paligid mo. Yung may kamulatan ka para ipaglaban ang iyong mga karapatan. This is why I encourage the youth to dig deeper and find truth and wisdom in the 1986 People Power Revolution,” the former governor of the now-defunct ARMM expressed.
“I call on the next generations to stand for their rights, and seek true stories of how there came to be an EDSA People Power Revolution, and how Filipinos gained their freedom as a result. Finding the true meaning of EDSA People Power will give the youth more understanding of what their rights are as citizens,” he added.
The Basilan legislator said that the youth of today are more assertive of their rights and have more ways to express dissent and their grievances given the free access to social media and the Internet.
“If you study the lessons of EDSA, you can discern that the enemy of democracy is oppression. Then you will know what to fight for when the time comes to stand as one against tyranny. I also call on the parents of our youth to explain to their children what EDSA was and what it represented,” Hataman, a former community organizer, said.
He also said the “truth” about EDSA is now being blurred, as even in school textbooks, history is being obscured.
“Let us not glorify people and sinners of the past. There are now books in school that even hail the oppressors during martial law. Let us not allow these people to blur the truth and propagate their own version of what happened,” said Hataman.
“I am hoping that one of these days, there will be justice against the oppressors of the past, and that the new generation should continue to demand accountability for abuses and excesses that were committed. Let us all do our part so that none of these dreadful events be repeated in their time,” he added.
“Pag walang accountability, maaaring mangyari sa panahon ninyong mga millennials ang malagim na nangyari sa panahon ng aming mga magulang noong namamayani pa ang kamay na bakal. That is why it is important to learn the true meaning of EDSA.”