La Salle’s Luistro: ‘Matutulog pa ba uli kayo ngayong gabi?’

Jee Y. Geronimo

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La Salle’s Luistro: ‘Matutulog pa ba uli kayo ngayong gabi?’

LeAnne Jazul

'Ang bayang akala nila'y nahihimbing ay nagising na,' says De La Salle Philippines President Armin Luistro on the 45th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law

MANILA, Philippines – On the 45th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law, De La Salle Philippines President Armin Luistro urged Filipinos to stay awake after a year of “deep slumber.” 

In his speech on Thursday, September 21 at the Manlaban Para sa Karapatan concert rally, Luistro compared the past year under the Duterte administration to a night during which many Filipinos have chosen to “go to sleep.”

Without mentioning names, he recalled the things that happened in the country since a new president was elected a year ago: the prevalence of political turncoatism, and how political appointments based on relationships were met with silence. 

Ang karamihan sa atin ay natulog nang patuloy dahil sabi ng iba mapayapa daw naman ang siyudad ng Davao. Marami raw nagawa at napakagaling na mayor. Bumalik tayo sa ating pagkakahimbing,” the former education secretary said.

(Most of us continued sleeping because some said Davao is a peaceful city. They said its mayor is very good, and he has already done so much for the city. We went back to our sleep.)

Luistro said for more than a year, many Filipinos, including himself, hid in their own “fortresses,” saying “ganyan talaga ang pagbabago (that’s really what change is like).”

He added: “At sa kalaliman ng gabi, habang akala ng administrasyong ito lahat ay natutulog, lalo nilang pinaigting ang kanilang pakikibaka para tuluyan nang masupil ang lahat ng oposisyon.” (In the deep of the night, while this administration thought we were asleep, they ramped up their campaign to suppress those in the opposition.)

Luistro then talked about how this administration considers illegal drugs as the country’s biggest problem.

“‘Yan ang bagong problema na wala ni isa sa ating mga nakalipas na mga pangulo at mga administrasyon ang nakakita. Ngunit dahil tayo ay nahihimbing, hindi natin ito nilabanan, at sinabi natin sa ating sarili: ‘Baka tama. Droga, droga ang salot ng bayan. Lahat ng krimen sa Pilipinas, ang gumagawa ay adik.’

(That’s the problem that none of the past presidents and administrations saw. But because we were asleep, we did not resist this, and we told ourselves: “Maybe that’s right. Drugs, drugs are the menace of society. All crimes in the Philippines are committed by addicts.”)

‘Masarap maghimbing’

As the number of extrajudicial killings rose, Luistro said Filipinos tried to convince themselves the deaths were justified because these involved addicts.

Okay lang ‘yan dahil adik naman sila. Noong una nating marinig ‘yan, noong unang lumabas ito, ang ating mga kasama sa media, frontpage headline. Tatlo lang ‘yung namatay, frontpage na. Nang makalipas ang ilan pang gabi ng pagkakahimbing, napagod na rin ang mga nagre-report sa ating mga kasamang media. Mula sa frontpage, pumunta na lang dun sa inner pages, at patuloy tayong lahat nahimbing,” he said.

(That’s okay because they’re addicts anyway. When we first heard about that, when this first came out, the media featured it as a frontpage headline. Only 3 were killed, but the news still made it to the frontpage. But after a several nights of deep slumber, even the media got tired of reporting. From the frontpage, the news only made to the inner pages, and we all continued to sleep.)

What else happened while Filipinos were “asleep”? Luistro said Chinese flags were planted in our islands, China became the country’s friend, and women were cursed at and disrespected.

Sabi ko, ganito pala yung bayang Pilipinas na aking kinalakihan. Wala naman pala tayong pagtingin sa mga babae. At sabi ko, baka ako ‘yung mali. Bakit ako ‘yung nababagabag sa aking puso? At nagpatuloy ang lalim ng gabi, at marami sa atin – pati ako hindi ko alam kung anong gagawin – natulog na lang. Masarap maghimbing.”

(I said, so this is what the Philippines I grew up in is like. We have no respect for women after all. And I said, maybe I’m the one who’s wrong. Why am I the one who’s bothered? And the night continued, and many of us – even I did not know what to do – decided to sleep. It’s good to sleep.)

But recent events, according to Luistro, have woken up those who were sleeping: the burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani, the death of 17-year-old Kian Loyd delos Santos, and the slashing of the Commission on Human Rights’ (CHR) 2018 budget to a measly P1,000.

Ang bayang akala nila’y nahihimbing ay nagising na. Matutulog pa ba uli kayo ngayong gabi? (The nation they thought was still sleeping is now awake. Will you still sleep tonight?)” Luistro told the audience as he ended his speech. 

The concert rally at the CHR was just one of the many activities and protests that marked this year’s remembrance of the Martial Law declaration. President Rodrigo Duterte also declared last Thursday as a National Day of Protest. – Rappler.com

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Jee Y. Geronimo

Jee is part of Rappler's Central Desk, handling most of the world, science, and environment stories on the site. She enjoys listening to podcasts and K-pop, watching Asian dramas, and running long distances. She hopes to visit Israel someday to retrace the steps of her Savior.