A Closer Look on the State of Science During the Marcos Era
The Aurum
With 94.23% of precincts already accounted for, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the only son and namesake of the late Philippine dictator, is the presumptive winner of the 2022 presidential elections in the Philippines.
Here is a list of the common scientific and technological misconceptions related to Ferdinand Marcos Sr. during his regime
The Nutribun controversy
Photo of Nutribun from EsquireMag.
“Paborito ko non ang nutribun. Dati hinihingan ko ang ate ko — malaki. May laman pa. Gusto ko ibalik yun para matikman ng apo ko,” one BBM supporter stated
The Nutribun is a bread prepared during the Marcos era as a way to battle starvation and malnutrition among young children. It is prepared as a “ready-to-eat” complete meal.
This controversial bread is usually credited as one of the initiatives of the Marcoses; however, contrary to popular belief the Nutribun project is a product of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) during the 1970s.
“USAID Nutrition was responsible for development of the formula to justify a claim for nutritious snack food…. The local commercial bakeries formulated and blended local and donated ingredients, baked, and delivered the Nutribuns to the schools,” according to their document.
The development was done in and by the United States, not in the Philippines and certainly not initiated by the Marcos administration. In the book of Nancy Damman, a worker from USAID, most aid came from them were processed through Imelda Marcos and was just plastered with slogans saying “Courtesy of Imelda Marcos — Tulungan project” despite having no contribution in the project in the first place.
According to a report by UNICEF, about 1 million Filipino children do not have any access to food and about 140,000 of them in Negros Occidental experienced third-degree malnutrition during the years of 1984 to 1986.
(READ: Nutribun Fact Check)
The failure of Bataan Nuclear Power Plant
Photo of Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. From Inquirer
One of the rare platforms that Bongbong Marcos disclosed was the rehabilitation of one of his father’s long-forgotten projects: the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP).
“We really have to look at nuclear power,” Marcos Jr. said in March, insisting at least one plant was needed to cut exorbitant electricity prices in the country.
“Let’s look at it again,” he said.
The $2.2-billion Bataan plant was completed back in the 1980s, standing in Morong, Bataan atop Napot Point, overlooking the West Philippine Sea, and sitting 18 meters above sea level. It is near a fault line and volcanoes in the PH.
Much of the failure of the power plant was attributed to succeeding president Cory Aquino, however, despite being one of the few advancements of the PH on renewable resources, BNPP never achieved its goal of generating 623 MW of electricity and was eventually shut down. Additionally, due to safety concerns following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, as well as corruption and fraud issues that plagued the project, Aquino shut down the project.
(READ: MISLEADING: Bataan Nuclear Power Plant ‘wasted by Cory Aquino’)
So even in its own accord, the power plant was yet another expensive inefficient project from the regime, riddled with corruption and graft.
Even years after, rehabilitation initiatives of Arroyo, a now ally of the Marcoses, in 2009 on the BNPP are put into question as religious sectors, environmentalists, and scientists protest that the revival is costly and unsafe. They surmise that the nuclear power plant, from which the former dictator Marcos and his cronies earned $80 million in kickbacks, is being revived to become another source of corruption.
“The most probable reason why the Arroyo government, particularly the Department of Energy, is reviving the nuclear option is that it is a multibillion dollar project where fat and grease money will come in from foreign energy corporations and international financial institutions.”
(READ: Revival of Bataan Nuclear Power Plant a Source of Corruption?)
Anti-environment Projects
During the 2016 election period, several environmentalists and pro-environment organizations have gathered and protested to express their adamant dissent against Marcos Jr. who was running for a vice president position. Despite the promises of Marcos Jr. for a greener government, they believe that the implementation of anti-environment projects would continue under his reign as the Marcos family refused to recognize or show any remorse for the atrocities and crimes they have done in the past.
In his 2022 presidential campaign, Marcos Jr. has stated the importance of protecting the environment, however, still pushes for the consideration of reopening the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. The power plant is not only considered unsafe due to possible leakage of radioactive materials, but also very expensive to rehabilitate because of its outdated materials and the requirement of importing nuclear fuel.
Aside from the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, among the anti-environment projects implemented during the Martial law which Marcos Jr. ignores to address are:
- Calaca Coal-fired Plant (READ: Environment group detects signs of ‘dangerous pollution’ near Batangas coal-fired power plant)
- Chico River Dam Project
- Kaliwa-Kanan Dam (READ: Haribon: Kaliwa Dam remains a threat to biodiversity)
Calaca Coal-fired Plant and Kaliwa-Kanan Dam, up to now, remain dangerous to the environment and the local communities as they still are ongoing despite the continual protests of the locals.
In the past six years, Marcos Jr. did not show any kind of support for environmental activism, not until he campaigned once again for a seat in a government which only demonstrates traditional politician “trapo” behavior of giving false promises and insincerity to public service.
Health and Research Institutions as a facade masking billions of corruption
Indeed, a lot of big infrastructures that up to now still exist were constructed during Martial law and this is at the top, if not the very first, reasons why Marcos apologists call the 21 years of Marcos Sr. ‘s presidency the “golden era” of the Philippines. Among the infrastructures that were built during the Marcos era were health and research institutions such as the Philippine heart center, the Lung Center of the Philippines, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, and Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).
However, these constructions were heavily funded by a mountain of foreign loans. In fact, RITM was not even funded by the Philippine government but by the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The International Monetary Fund reported that the foreign debt of the country went up from $360 million (before Marcos’s reign) to $28.3 billion (after ousting Marcos in 1986).
Despite the huge debt and the massive infrastructures that should have progressed the country, the economy yielded a negative growth of -6.86% in 1985. Healthcare was also neglected and doctors were censored to reveal the true health condition of communities such as the widespread malnutrition, high child and infant mortality from unsanitized birth deliveries, measles epidemic, high cases of tuberculosis, schistosomiasis and polio.
Looking at a bigger image of the Philippines, Filipinos , even the younger generations that have not experienced Marcos’s presidency, suffer from paying the debt that was used in building these infrastructures when in truth these were used as illusions and propagandas for the Marcos family and his cronies to plunder money from the commissions in building these infrastructures. A new term referred to as “Edifice complex” was even coined to describe the Marcos’ practice of using the public fund, the money of the Filipino people, for excessive projects that were only used as propagandas.While Filipino people agonized from poverty and suppressed to complain, relatives, close friends, and close associates were appointed with government positions and received protections and subsidies. This so-called golden era led the country to a great economic downfall.
The academics we lost along the way
Photo of the Diliman Commune. Courtesy of UP
At a time wherein anything radical can get you imprisoned and critical thinking could mean suffering, the martial law has stunted academic progress and culture altogether
In a published article called “Research Under Martial Law: The Tasks and Risks of the Filipino Social Scientists,” researches in social studies face additional risks on accuracy of their findings, their professional and personal integrity and their roles as citizens. Additionally, they may face official sanctions; researchers interested on the government projects’ effects on ethnic minority were unlucky, getting detention or even exile.
Artistic and literary works were banned for their subversive nature, some explicitly uncovering the injustices and corruption of the Marcoses such as “The Conjugal Dictatorship by Primitivo Mijares” and “The Untold Story of Imelda Marcos by Carmen Pedrosa.” Other nonobvious works are also censored such as “Voltes V” for having undertones of revolution and resistance as well as “Manila by Night” that edited out scenes that portrays Manila badly to the international film community.
Lastly, one of Marcos most brutal and atrocious act in the academic sphere was the killings of young leaders, scientists, and students.
With 11,103 victims of human rights violations and 2,326 killings and disappearances under martial law, Marcos has robbed the Philippines the chance for a generation of bright leaders and scientists.
- Liliosa Hilao — Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila
- Archimedes Trajano — Mapua Institute of Technology
- Edgar Jopson — Ateneo de Manila University
- Juan Escandor — University of the Philippines
- Emmanuel Lacaba — Ateneo de Manila University
- Ishmael Quimpo Jr — University of the Philippines
- Maria Lorena Barros — University of the Philippines
(READ: Gone too soon: 7 youth leaders killed under Martial Law)
Marcos and their idea of progress
Marcos Sr. has also stated in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) that science should be at the forefront for progress in the Philippines.
“The advancement of science and technology shall have priority in the national development.” stated during the amendment of the 1973 Constitution
Yet despite such an address, Marcos had never the public in mind when it comes to the sciences.
In the documentary “The Kingmaker,” an excerpt from Sandro Marcos revealed that the late dictator urged Bongbong to switch from the sciences to politics as there is no money in science.
(WATCH: The Kingmaker (~21:00))
The science that Marcos had in mind was never in the name of progress, but rather for him to be branded as progressive. Even in that field, most of the claimed progressive technology was either fraudulent at worst and unfruitful at best.
Science was and is always political.
The Marcos disregard to facts, information, and history is a disservice for all scientists and academics who have made their lifelong goal for the pursuit of truth and excellence.
The presumptive return of the Marcos is a terrifying thought for most of us that remembered or learned the atrocities of martial law.
It is critical for us as a nation to understand that weaponization of technology and social media was brought the Marcoses back to leading another rule; that science, at the wrong hands, can spell suffering for another generation.
It is imperative that the struggle is not focused towards the misinformed public but redirected to the people at top that instigated it.
May science serve the people
