Acception In Eric Gamalinda's The Empire Of Memory

It is overwhelming impressive how the human mind can store substantial information, perform complex recollection, but on the other hand, can also choose to turn against facts laid down by “authentic” history—history that is definitely not a victim of deception, not instigated by the seduction of dictatorship, and not twisted to fit and give glory to a specific family’s narrative. The truth is, a country’s story is not just chronicled in History books which some aim to misinform; more so, it is with more clarity and authenticity that we can see stories narrating the harsh realities of life of the Filipino people, during certain periods of our history, with the help of literature. Eric Gamalinda’s The Empire of Memory is one of the few literary

It was the Proclamation 1081 which placed the entire Philippines under Martial Law for over a decade, and it was signed by former president Ferdinand Marcos on September 21, 1972. Two days after, September 23, at exactly 7:15 P.M., his appearance on the television marked its formal announcement. To justify such declaration, he cited the rising threat of communism. Marcos also released six general orders and one letter of instruction to implement his rules. The letter of instruction called for the closure of privately owned media facilities. As per Marcos’

However, the Amnesty International reported about 70,000 people who were imprisoned, 34,000 who were tortured, and 3,240 who were killed from 1972 to 1981, all because of the same cases charged against them—subversion. Moreover, I was able to read Lualhati Bautista’s Desaparecidos before and it was such a disturbing yet a good eye-opener to the atrocities and injustices that took place during the Martial Law era. People were electrocuted, strangulated, and gunned while some suddenly went missing and whose bodies still weren’t found up until now. What “golden age” are they even talking