A scene from Antoinette Jadaone’s film “Alone/Together” resurfaced on social media on the same day that the nation observed the 48th year of Martial Law‘s declaration.
Black Sheep Productions, a film studio under ABS-CBN, shared a clip from the 2019 romance-drama that featured Liza Soberano‘s fictional character giving a lecture about history as part of her job as a part-time museum guide.
Her character, Tin, is talking to schoolchildren about the importance of history as she tours them in front of Juan Luna‘s masterpiece, the “Spolarium.”
“Luna’s Spolarium reveals to use the tragic character of our own history. Of the colonized, the oppressed. The very substance of our collective memory. Our history is tragic. But no matter how tragic the past is, we must not forget,” Soberano’s character says.
“Tin” looks directly at the camera and then repeats her words with a stronger tone: “We must never forget.”
“To forget is to deny the present any significant meaning,” she concludes.
The clip then shows the studio’s logo together with the hashtags “#NeverForget” and #NeverAgain.”
“Tin’s speech, relevant as ever,” part of its caption reads.
It also included the two hashtags in the tweet posted on Monday, the same day that the nation recalled the date which plunged the country to a nine-year martial rule under late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
The clip has since gone viral, reaching more than 335,000 thousand views, 6,500 retweets and 21,500 likes on the microblogging platform as of this writing.
It also earned the approval of some Filipinos who watched the scene in the context of the commemoration of Martial Law’s declaration, especially since it was accompanied by hashtags associated with the battle cry against the darkest period in Philippine modern history.
“Tin did not stutter when she said #NeverForget,” wrote a Twitter user who retweeted the clip.
“THE GOOSEBUMPS— Will always be my favorite movie,” commented another online user.
“I LIVE FOR THIS. MABUHAY KAYO, @Black_SheepPH. This is really Monumental in Digital Age. #NeverForget. #NeverAgain. #MarcosIsNotAHero,” another Filipino tweeted with a series of clapping emojis.
“Liza walked and talked, and stopped to say ‘we must never forget’ while looking at the audience directly. That? That is what makes a movie even better than it already is,” wrote a Twitter user.
“Alone/Together” is a film that follows the story of two individuals who crossed paths years after their breakup as lovers who met in college.
Meanwhile, the country on Monday commemorated the 48th year that Marcos had declared Martial Law on Sept. 21, 1972 via proclamation to supposedly quell communist insurgency and restore peace.
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The nine-year period saw the curtailment of civil liberties, extrajudicial killings and unsolved disappearances, media oppression and economic recession, among others.
It resulted in an “era of impunity” where activists, human rights defenders and mere civilians were arrested by emboldened uniformed personnel with the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus.
London-based human rights organization Amnesty International said that “some 70,000 people were imprisoned and 34,000 were tortured; over 3,200 people were killed” from 1972 to 1981, during the years that Martial Law was imposed.