Take it from Heneral Luna: John Arcilla talks about terror during Martial Law years

A few days after the country commemorated the 30th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution, John Arcilla, the actor who played Antonio Luna in the historical epic “Heneral Luna”, talked about what life was like for him and his family during the Martial Law years.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Arcilla said that his family had to leave for Baler, Aurora weeks after the late President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law because of restlessness in Metro Manila.

“I remember when I was young, there will be some unidentified dead bodies found around the vicinity of our neighborhood in Baranca Pasig every now and then. But these will not be reported on newspapers, radios or TV - it is prohibited to broadcast such negative news - no one will risk,” he wrote.

Arcilla also addressed young people and told them that the terror that ordinary people experienced during those years was real, although “unimaginable and unfathomable.”

He then warned them of being complacent to the point of letting those atrocities happen again. He said that Martial Law is not something that they should let happen again.

“I must tell YOU right now, at this very moment, that I can still feel that paranoia while I'm writing this,” he said.

His post came after Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who is running for vice president, dismissed critics of his father's regime, saying that it is best to leave the assessment of the Martial Law years to the historians.

In response to the younger Marcos’ call, faculty members of the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) released a collective statement saying that the Martial Law period was one of the darkest in Philippine history. — Trisha Macas/BM, GMA News