Alaala: A Martial Law Special, airs this September 17 on GMA Network!

More than four decades after former President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law, human rights victims still cry for justice.  And the Martial Law years seem all but forgotten.

Human rights groups estimate that during Martial Law, 70,000 people were imprisoned.  34,000 were tortured.  3,240 were killed.  884 disappeared involuntarily, from which 612 are still missing.

And those who survived those dark years urge Filipinos to “Never forget.”  Now is the time in Philippine history where this phrase rings urgently more than ever.

In the 45thanniversary of President Marcos’ declaration of Martial Law, GMA offers a special documentary, one that follows the journey of award-winning screenwriter Bonifacio Ilagan. Named after national hero Andres Bonifacio, we will join Boni in his journey from his days as an idealistic youth, upon the declaration of Martial Law and his eventual capture and torture under the hands of the Philippine Constabulary.

His recollections will be put to life in a short film written by Boni himself.  Kapuso star Alden Richards will lead the cast as the young Boni.  Gina Alajar, Bianca Umali, and Rocco Nacino also join in recreating the tumultuous period in Philippine history told through the eyes of Boni.

A film within a documentary, the documentary team will shadow the short film’s production, with behind the scenes clips.  Interviews from personalities who experienced the Martial Law atrocities first hand, as well as historians, will provide the big picture of how it was during the Martial Law era. King Rodrigo, son of late Senator Soc Rodrigo tells us how they took the parliament to the streets and how the opposition fought against the dictator.  JC Mijares-Gurango, grandson of Primitivo Mijares reveals the secrets his lolo discovered as propagandist of the Marcos family.  He shares the inner workings of the conjugal dictatorship.

Under their rule, around 800 cases of desaparecidos were recorded --- students, activists, in the prime of their youth who suddenly disappeared without a trace, assumed abducted and killed.  One of them was Rizalina Ilagan, Boni’s own sister.

Don’t miss Alaala, A Martial Law Special this Sunday, Sept. 17, on SNBO.