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Nationalism, Heroism, and Humanity: The Rediscovering of the lives of Martial

Law Heroes; Liliosa Hilao and Edgar Jopson

Submitted by:
Jainal, Michaella Jemaine
Mitra, Maria Sarah Luciae
Pantig, Angelo Mohan
Salalila, Mary Grace
Suratos, Stephanie

Section:

B-111

Submitted to:

Professor Romel

Combis

February 10, 2022

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INTRODUCTION

The issue representing the historical cause between the two martial law heroes

is that this state of law is unduly cruel, and people of that time were more likely to be

radical. Which is the reason why Edgar Jopson was slapped with a massive price on

his head. Jopson and Hilao had sought nationalism for the country's interest, which

is a presiding democracy, and they both perished while saving it from the merciless

treatment of martial law. Liliosa and Edgar both fought for the country's democracy

and both died as martyrs. Their deaths have made them heroes for standing alongside

their countrymen to fight the tyranny of Ferdinand Marcos. These heroes have also

illustrated that they possess humanity, wherein they see it as the best possibility for

resolving all the inequalities that are produced in Philippine society. These heroes

have had their names stated and are remembered along with all the brave martyrs of

the country Philippines (Bantayog ng mga Bayani, 2016).

Martial law is a massive matter or issue that the researchers have identified, but

through secondary sources, the following clarifications have been identified: According

to Article VII, Section 18 of the Philippine Constitution, martial law may be

implemented since this constitution may grant the current President of the Philippines

power to implement martial law. However, as stated in Article VII, Section 18, this

declaration will not exceed the time period of 60 days. An additional claim is that the

exhibition of torturous punishment is still present in some countries. It is by

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international law that torture is to be degraded, yet other countries still practice torture

methods. In the Philippines, as stated in law by Republic Act No. 9745, the Philippine

government will penalize any citizen of the Philippines committing this act and other

brutal, inhumane, and damaging processes. Like with the two heroes of the martial

law eras, they experienced inhumane acts and were put in jail, and Hilao was

discovered with marks of torment and gang rape (Katerina Fransico, 2017). While in

other countries, torture or kidnapping are just petty crimes nowadays, in the

Philippines even with some cases still present, the congress has taken action to

illegalize this inhumane treatment (Amnesty, 2015).

This research seeks to delve deeper into the past to learn more about what

occurred during the Martial Law Era, which began on September 21, 1972. As similar

events that happened before still exist in the present; it is important that we have an

idea of what might be the outcome of them. The lives of Liliosa Hilao and Edgar

Jopson served as examples of brave Filipinos who strived to fight against the injustice

of martial law. They both died trying to speak out about what the country was facing

during that era. As the May 2022 elections draw closer day by day, it is urgent that we

look back to previous generations for us to have a brighter idea and a clearer vision of

what lies ahead as we have the responsibility to vote for the next leader of the

Philippines. The study's researchers have agreed that it is in everyone's best interests

to provide reliable information, unbiased opinions, and honest perspectives to the

readers.
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To better serve the purpose of this study, as well as in accordance with the view

of recited circumstances, we, the researchers will administer to the following:

1.To recognize the difference of the two chosen heroes' approaches in

activism that recognizes their heroism.

2. To describe the lives of the two martial law heroes in the context of nationalism.

3. Show the comparison and humanity of the works attributed to the two heroes.

Review of Related Literature

Martial Law in the Philippines

This law of state was implemented by the late President Marcos on the date of

September 21, 1972. When he declared this law, President Marcos was already in his

second and constitutionally ending four-year term. He was engrossed in a greed for

power for the sole purpose of gaining legitimate power and transient conditions of the

1973 Constitution of the Philippines. The legal document for this law was written in the

official residence of the president, the Presidential palace. Heavy military and armed

forces surrounded the palace while this law was made into a legal document

(Wurfel, 1977).
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President Marcos recognized "martial law" as an extended motion to the

persistent crisis of escalating discontent amongst academic students and other sectors

of Philippine society. He identified the improvement of the allegations set against him

with regard to the dramatic rises in his individual wealth by implementing this "martial

law." President Marcos also saw it as an underlying solution to the limit of the

presidential term that was legally stated by the 1935 Constitution (Malabed, 2018).

The implementation of this law imposed a significant influence of colonialism

and dramatically downplayed any threats that were in refusal to the Martial Law. This

declaration has led to the deterioration of Filipino society. President Marcos frequently

acknowledged the uprising of a "new Philippine society" as well as the establishment

of a democratic rebellion. This law, after the regime of the Americans in the Philippine

country, has left substantial results. Americans have left the country, leaving expertise

in literacy, educational systems, and the proper use of a variety of media and

technological networks in Southeast Asia. However, after the colonization of the

Americans, the country of the Philippines also encountered a separation from its own

Asian heritage (Tilman, 1976).

The dictatorship of President Marcos caused great institutional deterioration.

The Philippines was not provided with sufficient and stable resources to improve the

state of economic growth. This is not merely in terms of democracy and the economy,

but by the virtue of other related dictatorships that caused great success in terms of

the country’s development. The damage this law has done is not only in the sectors of
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politics, but the whole Philippine institution had carried on well ahead of the collapse of

Marcos’ regime. The democratic government next in line suffered the consequences

and the left-behind damage of the dictatorship of Marcos (De Dios et al., 2021).

Liliosa Hilao

Liliosa Hilao was a student activist and writer for the Pamantasan ng Lungsod

ng Maynila. She, having been an academic achiever, had a very courageous mindset

to pursue justice. Hilao was a known activist, but she did not participate in heavy

violence and rallies. One reason is because of her ongoing medical issues. She

ultimately chose to show her emotions and her heroism through the virtue of writing.

A few of the papers Liliosa had written are "The Vietnamization of the Philippines" and

"Democracy is Dead in the Philippines under Martial Law" (Bantayog, 2015).

Hilao was known to be respected by her fellow schoolmates due to the fact

that she dreamed of a better future for herself and her fellow countrymen. She has

often shown great humanity. Hilao used to offer her own personal belongings to those

who were in need of such things. During her time, she frequently donated her

belongings to the people who resided near her academic institution (Gutierrez, 2021).

This was because of her interest in and concern for the families who lived in oppressed

situations. In the diary she kept, this was written down. She devoted herself to

assisting this group of unfortunate surviving individuals near the university campus in

Intramuros, Manila (Hilao-Gualberto, 2007). Hilao was also very active in her school
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and held many positions in the various organizations present in her school

(Pedroso and Medina, 2015).

Hilao wrote brilliantly; her talent as a writer of literature was well-known.

In light of nationalism, she was a strong, religiously devoted woman who had strong

principles and ethics. Hilao also had excellent insight into the future; she surrendered

herself to safeguard more families' souls at risk when she was purposefully questioned

(Hilao-Gualberto, 2007).

Edgar Jopson.

Edgar Jopson, one of the most well-known figures in the student movement

prior to the martial-law period, was president of the National Union of Students of the

Philippines (NUSP), the largest student formation at the time, with members from 69

schools. Jopson, also known as Edjop, was the driving force behind the NUSP's

involvement in current issues. When two barrios in Bantay, Ilocos Sur, were burned

down as a result of a feud between local politicians, Edjop and his group went to get

the terrified residents out of the area and housed them on campus until their safety

was assured. Similarly, when massive floods in 1972 submerged large areas of

Luzon for weeks, Jopson sought the support of government and business groups for a

project in which hundreds of youths worked for several weekends to reforest parts of

the Sierra Madre mountains, only stopping when martial law was declared. The NUSP

was the driving force behind the massive rally held in front of the Congress Building
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on January 26, 1970, as Marcos delivered his "state of the nation" address.

One memorable anecdote from that time was Jopson and other student leaders

going to Malacanang to meet with Marcos shortly after the rally. There, the boyish

Jopson insisted that the most powerful person in the land promise not to run for a third

term in office, and that he put it in writing. Marcos became enraged and refused to

agree to such a demand from a mere "grocer's son."

The most controversial aspect in the student movement at the time was

whether a radical/revolutionary or a moderate/reformist approach to social change was

preferable. Jopson, who was widely regarded as a "moderate," preferred to emphasize

that the two sides were, in fact, united in their goals. “Solutions to our problems may

divide us but [such divisions] should never override the unifying need for these

solutions. It is this need that unites us in the student movement; it is this need that

unites us ultimately with other progressive sectors in our society,” he said in 1970,

after being named one of the country's Ten Outstanding Young Men by the Philippine

Jaycees.

Heroes

Heroes are abundant in narratives and widespread dialogue, yet not much is

known about the intellectual interpretations of these protagonists (Kinsella et al. 2015).
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They are referred to as the people who can help salvage a failing situation into a

means of joy and hope by risking all their breath and limbs to perform philanthropic

duty (Eagly, 2013). In all that is around us, heroes have been stated as a state of

complete nothingness that is then turned into a powerful call for the meaning of life

(Coughlan et al., 2017). This notion brings to life the hypothesis that people turn to

the function of heroes as a foundation for the meaning of their lives.

In the Philippines, many Filipinos have risked their entire being to ensure their

"kababayans" have a better and safer future. They were Filipinos who had shown

great valor and fortitude (Velasco, 1997). Each of these people committed the better

half of their lives to performing honorable acts for their countrymen and for the greater

glory of the country (Velasco, 1997). Many people in the Philippines are seen as the

pillars of the freedom of this beloved country. Many have died in order to preserve the

country’s name in order to be able to have its own clear build of independence. Many

Filipinos are regarded as modern-day heroes in the country nowadays (Haven,

2021). Representing the fact that one does not need to shed blood or a sword to be

named as a person depicting heroic actions.

Nationalism.

Political scientists have extensively defined the term nationalism. It is sufficient

to emphasize its fundamental dual nature — passive and active. The former denotes a

sense of common bond among people centered on a motherland; it can be classified

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as religious, literary, educational, symbolic, or economic nationalism. Active

nationalism is sparked in response to a national threat. Its shape and intensity as a

strategy for removing the external element vary depending on the type of external

pressure. In a close interaction, passive nationalism reinforces active nationalism,

which is often aroused and crystallized by it. Both of these elements have been

present in Philippine nationalism, which, despite its unique chronology, has always

possessed characteristics similar to those found in other nationalist movements

(Mahajani, 1964).

Humanity

Slim (2019) stated that, the current expression of the principle of humanity is a

textbook case of speciesism in ethics. It is only concerned with one species: ours. We

could argue that the principle of humanity is a niche ethic for calamitous human

situations that, in extreme cases, should take priority over broader ethical

considerations, but this is neither true nor realistic. It is not true because the principle

of humanity already takes the natural environment into account in the laws of war and

disaster response norms, recognizing the importance of non-human life both in and of

itself as a means to human life. It's also unrealistic at a time when our most pressing

existential challenge as a species stems from our interactions with the non-human

world around us.

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Heroism

Heroism is noted as an articulation of self-actualization and is regarded as one

of the highpoints of the social state. This is recognized as being of vital importance to

human-centered consciousness. (Franco et al., 2016). Even though a person is purely

to act heroically as they are to act in the righteousness of morality, political

psychologists have only paid such attention to heroism. Which is termed as a person’s

responsibility to an honorable objective, usually intended to enhance the welfare of

others. This also involves the commitment of a person to accept the consequences of

achieving the certain purpose, they are aiming for. Important issues are still present

and continue to persist, in particular about how heroes may be discovered in advance

and how such behavior may be effectively studied and promoted (Jayawickreme, E.,

& Di Stefano, P. (2012).

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METHODOLOGY

Relevant Theories (Theoretical Framework)

There are four major theories about how to perceive nationalism: primordial and

socio-biological theories, instrumentalist theories, modernization theories, and

evolutionary theories. In this study, only the modernization theory of nationalism is

used. Modernization theories argues that nationalism arose as a result of modern

processes such as industrialization and favorable political, cultural, and socioeconomic

conditions (Llobera, 1999, as cited in Silvia 2017). As a result, theorists who support

this claim, such as Kohn, Kedourie, and Gellne, regard nationalism as a modern

invention. This idea can be found in concepts such as civic nationalism and ideological

nationalism. Civic nationalism (also known as progressive nationalism) advocates for

social unity as well as individual rights and liberties. This type of nationalism is based

on the concept of a non-xenophobic society that values all of its citizens and strives for

equality and social justice (Hall, 1998, as cited in Silvia 2017).

In light of the activism they led, which later became the foundation for the

recognition of their heroism, Hilao and Jopson are a product of their nationalism. This

study assumed that the context of nationalism is critical in attempting to describe the

lives led by two martial law heroes, Liliosa Hilao and Edgar Jopson.
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According to Katerina Francisco (2017), at 23, Hilao was the first female activist

to have passed during the martial law era. She wrote for the student newspaper,

penning critical essays with titles like "The Vietnamization of the Philippines" and

"Democracy is Dead in the Philippines under Martial Law." She was known to be an

Active scholar and leader. In which she was elected different positions in her school’s

Academic organizations. She was declared dead by the reason of her committing

suicide after there were cigarette burns on her lips, bruises on her body, and injection

marks on her arms. On the other hand, according to Shala Martinez (2016), in 1891,

Edgar Jopson was arrested 2 years later, and a bounty of P180,000 was placed on his

capture, making him one of the most wanted people in the country. He was seized a

year later during a military raid in Davao City. He was then shot while trying to escape,

and died a day later, 10 years after the declaration of martial law. Sarah LaBelle (2021)

states that the two people described as victims of the long period under Marcos' martial

law in the September 21, 2017, article were actually born on the 45th anniversary of

the start of martial law in 1972.

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The paradigm of the study reveals the relationship between the subjects—

Liliosa Hilao and Edgar Jopson—with all three main variables of the research. The

three main variables assist in establishing the distinction and comparison, but also the

similarities and connection between the two chosen heroes and their roles during the

martial law regime.

For the researchers to collect the data needed from primary and secondary

sources, they used the method of secondary research. The method used, secondary

research or analysis of qualitative data is the usage of existing information to find

solutions to research objectives that are separate from the initial research problem of

the original study (Long-Sutehall, 2010).

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For the researchers to be guided on how to execute this study, they indulged in

the following:

1. To have an in-depth comprehension and knowledge of the context of the given

topic, the researchers gathered and organized detailed information of related literature.

2. The researchers then analyzed what references could be used as primary and

secondary sources.

3. Prepared the research title and problem intended for the purpose of executing

this research study.

4. The researchers used qualitative methods to collect relevant information for

supporting evidence for the importance of the study.

5. Interpreted and studied collected data to provide arguments that help clarify the

issues present in this research.

6. Finally, the study was finalized by the researchers.

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