At the time when the barricades were first raised across University Avenue, then second year AB Psychology student Carol Pagaduan was studying for an examination. It was only because of an activist friend’s persuasion that she finally got convinced to join the students who were already guarding the barricades. That moment marked the beginning of a life dedicated to activism for her.
In a phone interview with the Collegian, Dr. Carol Pagaduan Araullo recalled what it meant to be an activist at the dawn of the Marcos dictatorship, and what those lessons mean today as the country, once again, faces an administration slipping towards authoritarianism. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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What finally urged you to join the Commune?
That time, 1971, I was already in the College of Arts and Sciences Student Council, but I wasn’t really an activist at that time. Nung nagwo-walk out na yung mga estudyante dahil dun sa oil price hike, at meron nang balita na magse-setup ng barricades sa University Avenue, I was studying for an exam. I was intending not to get involved, but an activist friend of mine told me “Anong klaseng student-leader ka? Nagwo-walk out na yung mga estudyante, andyan ka pa, nag-aaral.” Kaya, sumama ako at pumunta kami sa University Avenue. We witnessed the shooting of Pastor Mesina by Prof. Inocente Campos. I was just actually a bystander at that point.
What do you think are the differences between the unrest before Marcos’s Martial Law and today’s issues?
Ang atmosphere ngayon, undeclared martial law. Yung tindi ng demonization sa mga progressive individuals, iba siya sa martial law in the sense na biglaan noon e. Dati, ipinasara lahat: media, Congress, the judiciary; bawal magtipon-tipon, at may mass arrest. Mistulang martial law in the sense na ang modus nila ay yung pag-demonize sa certain individuals. Halimbawa niyan yung sa war on drugs, and then pinagpapapatay nila, expecting that there will be no public outcry because, anyway, they are dispensable, diba.
Ngayon, hindi na “anti-communist” ang programa ng gobyerno, kundi ipinapalabas na “anti-terrorist.” Kaya, yung mga aktibista, “guilt by association,” kesyo “front” sila ng CPP/NPA, kaya terorista rin sila. Kaya, everybody is vulnerable to being attacked physically; illegally or legally sa pamamagitan ng mga demanda o kaso.
How is Marcos and Duterte different with regard to how they imposed their rule?
Noong Martial Law, nawala sa isang iglap. Marami sa mga aktibista noon ang napilitan mag-underground; pumunta sa probinsya at nag-organize dun o namundok. Pero toward its end, napu-push na yung limits ng protest. Parang kahit Martial Law pa, yung restraint on dissent ay medyo hindi na ganun kumagat; dahil umaalma na yung mga tao. Ang diperensya, ngayon, hindi nila ma-impose ang martial law in its blatant form because they can’t do it. They have to justify it before Congress and the Supreme Court. Kaya ang ginagawa nila, shock and awe: naninindak, nananakot.
Tapos ngayong may Anti-Terror Law, nabigyan na nila ng ligal na ngipin yung kanilang pamamasista. Mayroong similarities in the sense na yung repression matindi, pero mayroong differences because this government is trying to maintain a veneer of legality. Of course, Marcos did that too, pero noon kasi, huhulihin ka basta-basta. Kagaya ko, ako nahuli nun tapos nag-invoke ako ng aking rights, pero ang sinabi sa akin ng nanghuli sa akin, “tumigil ka, Martial Law ngayon, wala na yung mga rights na yan.” Ngayon, they can’t do it exactly. Without having to declare martial law, they can suspend your rights by using the Anti-Terror Law.
If there had been an Anti-Terror Law in 1971, do you think the Commune would have happened?
Even with the Anti-Terror Law, I think the major factor kung bakit hindi nag-e-explode ang malalaking mobilizations ay dahil sa COVID-19. Sa dinami-dami ng kapalpakan ng gobyerno, I think, by now, mass protests would have exploded. Swinerte lang si Duterte dahil nagagamit niya yung pandemic na maghigpit at ma-justify ang militaristang aksyon.
But before, there was an Anti-Subversion Law; there was a counterinsurgency program then. Pero, hindi kakayanin with those laws to prevent the First Quarter Storm. At tingin ko, ngayon din. If it were not for COVID-19, tingin ko sasambulat din ang mass protests.
What were the barricades for you?
The barricades were the symbol of resistance ng nagkakaisang mamamayang lumalaban sa pasismo. Ipinakita nito yung kung anong magagawa kapag organisado dahil it was basically the students, the Diliman communities, at iba’t ibang mga sektor na nagpakita ng solidarity. ●
The article was first published online on February 2, 2021.
