CHR to continue pressing for truth amid attempts at historical revisionism — Gascon

Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chairperson Chito Gascon on Monday said his agency will continue to press for truth amid what he branded as an "attempt at historical revisionism" by former Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., who recently held a one-on-one interview about the Martial Law years.

"Obviously, this attempt at historical revisionism will continue on the part of those who want to forget that sad part of our history," Gascon said.

"But memorialization, knowing what happened during those dark days of martial law, is not only about the past, it's also about the future. It's also about ensuring that there will be non-repetition of these atrocities," he added.

During the interview, Enrile said that very few were arrested and inconvenienced during the Martial Law years, and that they were later released.

He also claimed that no one was arrested for criticizing Bongbong's father, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

But while Bongbong and Enrile seem to believe in the aphorism "a lie said a million times becomes the truth," Gascon said a lie will remain a lie, especially if there are facts out there that prove it is a lie.

"That's why we need to continue to press for the truth. That's why there have been over 11,000 victims who have been paid reparations in a law that even Mr. Enrile had signed and Mr. Marcos had voted for when he was in the Senate," he said.

"They cannot deny these facts and we will continue to press for an accounting and a reckoning of what actually happened during the dark days of martial law for all of the country to resolve this issue once and for all," he added.

Malacañang likewise stated that Bongbong and Enrile cannot twist the truth, as court decisions show that indeed human rights were violated during martial law. — BM, GMA News