Lest We Forget
by AKP

As we commemorate the 26th anniversary of the People Power Revolution that ousted a dictator, let us take time to remember the victims that made February 25, 1986 a date to be remembered.

The Martial Law years will forever remain to be a dark patch in Philippine history. The people we lost, the loved ones that are still missing, the lives that were forever changed by the conjugal dictatorship that ruled with shamelessness and greed, are forever documented by photographs. Their stories, which have been told for thousands of times, still deserve to be told, and shown, a thousand times over.

The 21 years of Marcos rule, nine of which under martial law, are years defined by fear, neglect, repression and abuse. According to cold statistics, over 100,000 people have been either incarcerated, killed, disappeared, and tortured. Many are still missing, even up to this day.

These photographs present a very small percentage of the entire number of Martial Law victims. But through them we hope that the old may remember and the young will know, that there was a period in Philippine history that called for heroes, and many have risen up to the challenge. They gave up their identity, their liberty, their lives, so that we may enjoy the “blessings of independence and democracy”.
And for that, with respect and reverence, we remember.

Topmost photos (left to right) Ceferino Flores, Disappeared. Fr. Tulio Favali, Murdered. Teddy Rabelista, Disappeared. Center photos (l-r) Danilo Deldoc, Summary Execution. Atty. Hermon Lagman, Disappeared. Atty. Zorrp Aguilar, Murdered. Bottom photos (l-r) Prof. Judy Taguiwalo, Incarcerated. Vilma Riopay, Tortured. Dr. Aurora Parong, Incarcerated.
See more photos @ akpimages.com

AKP Images is a collective of photographers based in different parts of the Philippines. Their cameras are their tools in injecting change in our society. AKP strive to be agents of change in our own communities. The stories we share are the struggle of the people we serve.