On eve of 50th anniversary of Martial Law, Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Robin Padilla say Filipinos must “move on” regarding ML atrocities

Two senators who ran in the May 2022 elections under the current administration’s UniTeam party have said that Filipinos need to “move on” from the issue of Martial Law atrocities, when asked how the country should remember the 50th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law by the late President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos, father of the sitting president.

Senators Robin Padilla and Jinggoy Estrada, who ran under President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s Uniteam slate, said that the rest of the nation must “move on” as the recent electoral victory of the Marcoses is a clear indication that 31 million Filipinos already have.

“What is there to apologize for?” Estrada said. “Mag move on na tayo (Let’s move on). Imagine, President Marcos got the highest number of votes in Philippine history, 31 million. Hindi pa ba sapat ‘yon? (Isn’t that enough?)”

Estrada explained that the 31 million votes prove that the Marcoses have nothing to apologize for.

Sen. Padilla’s viewers are similar. He emphasized that the heirs should not be blamed for their father’s faults.

“Kung may kasalanan man ang dating pangulo hindi po kasalanan ng anak ‘yon. Kahit po sa Islamic faith, Catholic faith, ‘yung kasalanan ni Adan hindi naman kasalanan natin,” Padilla said. “Pag hindi tayo nakaalis diyan sa Marcos issue at martial law issue, kailan pa tayo mag-grow?”

[Translation: If the former president committed sins, these are not his children’s. Even in Islamic faith, Catholic faith, Adam’s sins are not ours. If we are not able to move from the Marcos’ and martial law issues, when will we grow?]

Estrada added that human rights victims during the martial law era are free to speak up, but it is ultimately up to the President to listen to them.