3. • What do you know about
Martial Law and Ferdinand
Marcos?
• Why are the people who post
Facebook statuses are
nostalgic about martial law?
• As a new generation of
Filipinos, what can we learn
from this period in our
history?
4. BACKGROUND
KNOWLEDGEMartial law began in September 21, 1972 under the Proclamation
No. 1081, and the Marcos babies (those were born from 1964 to 1986)
are only beginning to write about this segment of the past. When martial
began, there was not much resistance to it, as people believed that it
would curb the insurgency of various rebel groups at the time. Although it
did lessen crimes in the country, anyone who went against President
Marcos was jailed, and in many cases, disappeared without a trace.
According to Philippine – History.Org, 30,000 politicians, students, and
journalists were “detained by military compounds under the President’s
command,” and many news publications and television news broadcasts
were closed and controlled by Marcos government. Numerous human
rights violations were made during this time.
The following poem explores the experience of martial law and
what came after it. It is written using a child’s point of view and is
complicated by his relationship with his father.
6. APO ON THE WALL
by Bj Patino
p1
1. There’s this man’s photo on the wall
2. Of my father’s office at home, you
3. Know, where father brings his work,
4. Where he doesn’t look strange
5. Still wearing his green uniform
6. And colored breast plates, where
7. To prove that he works hard, he
8. Also brought a photo of his boss
9. Whom he calls Apo, so Apo could,
10. You know, hang around on the wall
11. Behind him and look over his shoulders
7. p2
12. To make sure he’s snappy and all.
13. Father snapped at me once, caught me
14. Sneaking around his office at home
15. Looking at the stuff on his wall – handguns,
16. Plaques, sword, medals, a rifle –
17. Told me that was no place for a boy,
18. Only men, when he didn’t really
19. Have to tell me because, you know,
20. That photo of Apo on the wall was already
21. Looking at me while I moved around,
22. His eyes following me like he was
23. That scary Jesus in the hallway, saying
24. I know, I know what you’re doing.
8. 1. Who is Apo in the poem? Cite evidence to support
your answer.
2. How would you describe the relationship between
the persona’s father and Apo? What does this tell us
about father’s perspective about martial law?
3. Why is Apo compared to the “scary” Jesus in the
hallway? What do they seem to have in common?
4. What does the last line mean? How does it regulate
the persona’s behavior?
GUIDE
QUESTIONS
9. In order to help you analyze the poem, fill in the blanks
in the worksheet below. The first row has been filled out for
you.
Character Details about
the Character
Conclusion
Persona Sneaking in the
office
“Boy,” not a man
Scared of Jesus
The persona is a child.
He is afraid of his father.
He is afraid of authority figures like his
father.
He doesn’t always follow his father.
Persona’s Father (1) (2)
Apo (3) (4)
10. Based from the poem, draw an image that illustrates what
Martial Law period was like. You may also ask from your parents or
grandparents.
wall
