Vilma Santos and Piolo Pascual will be part of an upcoming virtual discussion about topics that revolve around film, tyranny, and resistance during the time of the Martial Law.
The discussion is called “Ganito Kami Noon, Ganito Pa Rin Ba Ngayon? Pelikula, Paniniil, Pagpalag” and the posters were posted by the Facebook pages of ‘AKTOR – League of Filipino Actors’ and ‘Dakila’ which is a group composed of modern heroes coming from artists, students, and individuals who are committed to advocating social consciousness to the people.
The following posters on Facebook mentioned that Vilma and Piolo will be joined with actress Glaiza de Castro, film director Joel Lamangan, screenwriter Ricky Lee, and novelist Lualhati Bautista on the upcoming virtual discussion. It will be moderated by historian Xiao Chua and writer Lourd de Veyra.
Lamangan was imprisoned and tortured for about four years during the implementation of Martial Law under late president Ferdinand Marcos. Bautista was also arrested and tortured during the time of Martial Law.
https://www.facebook.com/aktorph/posts/140746884392042
https://www.facebook.com/dakila.philippines/posts/10157371947152461
The Martial Law was implemented by then-president Marcos on September 21, 1972, on the entire country. The one-man rule led the country to rampant corruption, human rights abuses, and extrajudicial killings (EJK) that lasted for 14 years before Marcos was forced to step down on February 24, 1986, due to the nonviolent revolution of people called the People Power Revolution or the EDSA Revolution.
Based on the documentation of Amnesty International, Task Force Detainees of the Philippines, and similar human rights monitoring entities, historians believe that the Marcos dictatorship was marked by 3,257 known extrajudicial killings, 35,000 documented tortures, 77 ‘disappeared’, and 70,000 incarcerations.
Marcos made September 21 as a National Thanksgiving Day by Proclamation No. 1180 s. 1973 to commemorate the date as the foundation day of his New Society.
The virtual discussion will be held live ahead of the 48th anniversary of Martial Law’s declaration on Sunday, September 20 from 2 to 5 pm, which will be available on the Facebook pages of AktorPH, Dakila Pilipinas, and Regional Filmmakers Network.
Vilma Santos is a well-renowned actress that has gained various recognition in acting like being the first Filipina actress to be bestowed the title of Enduring Grand Dame of the Philippine Film Industry by a foreign critic at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. She has starred in the drama film called Dekada ’70 along with Piolo Pascual. The film was based on the acclaimed novel by Filipino author, Lualhati Bautista. Santos is also a politician and has served s governor of Batangas for three consecutive terms and as mayor of Lipa for three consecutive terms as well. She was also elected as the Representative for the Lone District of Lipa, Batangas in 2016.
Piolo Pascual started his career in 1994 when he became a part of the variety show That’s Entertainment. Since then, he has been a part of several TV series like Mara Cara (1995), Sa Puso Ko Iingatan Ka (2001), Lobo (2008), Noah (2010), Apoy sa Dagat (2013), and Since I Found You (2018).
He also starred in several Filipino films such as Milan (2004), Paano Kita Iibigin (2007), Every Breath U Take (2012), Starting Over Again (2014), The Breakup Playlist (2015), and Last Night (2017).
