Who Is Marshall Lo?

Today is the anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law.

My memories of that day are vague. For some time I wondered who Marshall was and why his law was so powerful. My older brother was angry because all TV stations were off-air for several days. All you could see on TV was snow.

However I remember the repercussions of Martial Law in the years that followed. I don’t remember a lot of fear from my parents, just caution, as if Big Brother was watching. Well, the police and military at that time were watching and listening.

My parents always whispered “martial law” as the reason why we cannot make a lot of noise, why we had to be home by six, why you cannot say anything bad about the Marcoses, why we had to obey. When Malacañang ordered people to place flags on their gates, we did. When they said, “Let’s go Green Revolution!” we planted petchay in our backyard. When they established a curfew, we were home by six p.m. When our cousins from the U.S. stayed with us for vacation, they brought along their Boston terrier named Imelda. Our parents made us promise not to address the dog by name in public.

Too bad Imelda the Boston terrier is long dead. I’d love to have her visit the Philippines again, and this time I’ll be calling her by name in public. “Imelda, sit!”

Meanwhile this country’s economy is going to the dogs. Hay naku.