Juan Ponce-Enrile celebrated his 100th birthday today and it has prompted a lot of content about timelines and relevant dates to show or mock how he seems to be immortal. Speaking of dates with real relevance here are some: having been born in 1924, Enrile was 48 years old when he faked an ambush against himself which became the excuse for the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Sr to declare Martial law in 1972. Enrile was 53 years old when Filipino student activist Archimedes Trajano was murdered by state security forces in 1977.
Tag Archives: Martial law
#NeverAgain Bundle by Adarna House
Back in May, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency Director General Alex Paul Monteagudo red-tagged Filipino book publisher Adarna House when it offered to sell book bundles about the late Ferdinand Marcos Sr’s dictatorship, describing it in a Facebook post as part of a plan to “subtly radicalize” Filipino children to rise up against the government.
The outrageous and dangerous insinuation that Adarna House, a respected book publisher founded by no less than National Artist Virgilio Almario, has ties to the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing the New People’s Army.
Even acclaimed English author Neil Gaiman weighed in:
It cannot be stressed enough that red-tagging is dangerous and there have been activists that were murdered after being red-tagged.
More to the point, publishing books about important historical events especially in a format aimed at younger readers is not only noble work, it is essentially public service.
So to support Adarna House, I bought their #NeverAgain Bundle which consists of the following books:
- “Ito ang Diktadura” (2017) by Equipo Plantel
- “Edsa” (2013) by Russell Molina
- “Isang Harding Papel” (2014) and “Si Jhun-Jhun, Noong Bago Ideklara ang Batas Militar” (2001) by Augie Rivera
- “The Magic Arrow” (2021) by Bolet Banal
After a little over a month, the books finally arrived yesterday and the wait was worth it. My daughter finished reading all the books in one sitting and said she really enjoyed each one.
The #NeverAgain bundle and many other good titles are available over at Adarna House’s website so grab a copy if you can. I promise you will not regret it.
Disclaimer: This is not a paid post nor am I connected to Adarna House, Inc in any way.