UNIT 2/ LECTURE

Dekada ‘70
LUALHATI BAUTISTA / CHITO S. ROŇO

I HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: Philippine Martial Law (1972-1981)

On September 23, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos issued Proclamation 1801 declaring
martial law in the Philippines under the guise of protecting the nation from radicals and
political dissenters. However, protecting the country consisted of policing individuals and
groups that posed a threat to government authority.

Martial law is when the military’s services and presence becomes intertwined with state
government affairs and functions. The nation becomes a militaristic state, where the military
and other authoritative institutions go beyond their required duties to keep the nation in line.

When Marcos declared martial law, he closed down both houses of Congress, expanded and
generously funded the military to maintain their support of his policies, imposed media
censorship to silence journalists that critiqued him, and turned society into a police state.
Philippine martial law is infamously associated with a downward economic spiral, human rights
violations, extreme government corruption, and the lavish lifestyle of the Marcoses.

Yet, other nations did not openly intervene. For example, the United States did not criticize
President Marcos for declaring martial law since the Philippine leader did so under the guise of
saving democracy from insurgents. The U.S. actually benefitted economically and militarily
under Marcos. During martial law, Marcos liberalized the Philippine economy and allowed
foreign investors like the U.S. to come and invest in the Philippine economy. On the military
front, Marcos allowed the U.S. military to continue using the military bases on the islands in
exchange for foreign aid from the U.S.The U.S. needed the bases as a military tactical advantage
because of the Cold War (1947 – 1991) hence the lack of intervention against martial law.

II WHAT MAKES “DEKADA ’70” A HALLMARK IN THE STUDY OF PHILIPPINE LITERATURE?

When martial law trickled into the domestic sphere, it complicated the relationships of the
family unit. At home, men solidified their roles as fathers and heads of the household by
keeping their families in order. Men took their role as the dominant gender in public and
brought it to the private space to highlight the gendered hierarchy.

In both public and private spheres, a common belief amongst Filipinos is that a woman and her
womanhood are contingent upon her traditional roles as wife and mother. When martial law
happened, women not only continued performing their traditional roles like good Filipino
citizens, but had to adapt their duties as wives and mothers vis-à-vis the militarization of their
households.

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“Dekada ‘70” was truly revolutionary piece of literature well because it is a take on Philippine
history from the point of view of a woman, specifically, a mother—the character of Amanda
Bartolome. In her eyes, the story unfolds while initially setting herself as the silent spectator but
not until the death of her son.

Even though the family and the main protagonists are fictional persons, their experiences are
not. The film’s narrative and essentially Amanda’s life narrative represent many people’s stories
during martial law and somehow, the Bartolome family serves as a microcosm of Philippine
society.

The father, being a professional with a very masculine type of job (in the novel he is an
engineer, in the film he is an architect), reflects the ideals of the middle-class. Truly a
conservative, Julian Bartolome Sr. is preoccupied with nothing else but the maintenance of
status quo. Julian Bartolome Jr. is his opposite. A high-profile activist, he represents the
idealism of the youth who have gone disenchanted with the government’s abuse of power.
Interestingly, there is also Isagani who joined the US Navy. And much to the chagrin of his
brother, Isagani is a reminder to the on-going “special relations” between the U.S. and the
Philippines. Emmanuel typifies the journalists of that time, many of whom did turn to
underground writing. Jason would come to represent the deseparacidos—victims of
extrajudicial killings and summary executions. In several parts of the film, he may had provided
us with some comic relief with his witty yet mischievous character but his most important role
was to serve as a catalyst to Amanda’s feminist awakening.

Amanda of course would remind us of the “Mater Dolorosa,” the suffering mother who in turn
could be the archetypal “Inang Bayan.”

III THEMES:

1. Militarism as an institution

Militarism as an institution has a strong link to hegemonic masculinity, and a tumultuous

relationship to femininity. As a patriarchal institution, the military strongly favours
masculinity and masculine traits such as strength, valour, aggression, and stoicism.
When men enter the service, they become immersed in the militaristic culture of
discipline and conformity. In times of conflict when society becomes militarized,
characteristics of masculinity carry over into the public realm and become integrated
into everyday lives of citizens.

During this process, it becomes more apparent that masculinity is the ‘norm’ and
femininity is not. Acts of emotion, compassion, or nurturance are labelled weak and
feminine. In such a way, the ideals of masculinity and nationhood legitimize the use of
violence.

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 Such notion is evident in the following statement by Julian Bartolome Sr.:

“Hindi ko laging naiintindihan ang anak natin. Pero karapatan niyang hanapin ang sarili
niya. Hanapin ang sarili niyang katotohanan. Mamatay sa sarili niyang paninindigan
kung kinakailangan. Maging isang tunay na lalaki. Every man should have something
he’d die for. A man who has nothing he’d die for is not fit to live.”

And also in the statement of Mara, Julian Bartolome Jr.’s wife:

“Kapag pinag-aralan mo kasi ang kasaysayan mom, makikita mo na kasi eh. Sinasanay
sa kaharasan ang lalaki. Ng sarili niyang kultura.”

2. Articulation of masculine micro (everyday) and macro (political) cultures.

Or simply put, the personal is political.

One of the ways in which citizens would show support for their nation was through the
increased production and performance of traditional gender roles. Through this
production and performance, men tended to dominate women in both the public and
private spheres. In public, men were in positions of power or making decisions regarding
politics or military. Women were not part of the decision making process to go to war
nor did they participate in the discussions regarding domestic conflicts.

In the private sphere, if men were not soldiers, they were home ensuring their
leadership position as true heads of the household. Women needed to manage the
household and adhere to their husbands’ choices concerning their family and how to
engage with the government and military institutions.

Such is the case when the farther has forbidden Amanda to get a job in the advertising
industry. He also further reiterates that her place is either in the kitchen or in the
bedroom when he abruptly said, “Umakyat ka na, iwan mo na iyan kay Mely!” To which
the wife retorted: “Bakit nga? Bakit hindi mo sabihin kung bakit?” With his final reply
—“Alam mo na iyon!”—audiences get the clue.

3. Institutionalized motherhood

The Bartolomes are introduced as a nuclear family living a peaceful life in the suburbs.
Amanda Bartolome appears to be the typical housewife and mother – she is mainly seen
at home, caring for her children, and managing the household. She is responsible for
maintaining the home’s order and disciplining the children. She is not expected to go
beyond those roles. There are a few instances where she tries to step out of her
traditional gender roles, such as expressing the desire to seek outside employment and

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 gauging her husband’s opinion on couples separating; however, her husband dismisses
her desires and thoughts. Amanda is the epitome of a woman that buys into the notion
of institutionalized motherhood, where patriarchal structures (i.e. the Catholic Church
and the state) have socialized her to believe that her full capacity as a person is limited
to being a wife and mother.

But in the following lines by Amanda, we can sense her rebellion against such restrictive
societal norm:

Amanda: “Ang hirap sa iyo akala mo lahat nabibili ng pera. Ni hindi mo nga ako
maintindihan. Kasi buong buhay ko puro nanay lang ako. Hindi naman ako mahusay na
ina, ah! Alam ko. Nababasa ko sa iyo. O ano ngayon, Julian? Gusto mong isumbat sa
akin kung mahusay akong ina sana gising ako buong magdamag kung hindi pa umuuwi
ang isa kong anak! Na dapat naramdaman ko yung nangyayari kay Jason katulad nung
naramdaman ko na may nangyayari kay Jules! Bakit hindi mo isumbat sa akin ng diretso
na hindi ko mahal ang mga anak ko ng pantay-pantay na tulad ng pagmamahal ko sa
panganay kong anak para masabi ko sa iyo na hindi totoo iyan! Hindi totoo
iyan!...”Akala ko lang kasi may kailangan ako ng anak kong panganay. Mas marami
siyang ibinibigay sa akin na pag-aalala. Iyon lang naman kasi iyon e. Pero hindi mo pa
rin naiintindihan. Kasi buong buhay na mag-asawa tayo ang isip mo nasa kung tama
ba o mali ang ginagawa ko. Kung nakakasunod ba ako sa panuntunan mo o hindi.
Kung eksakto sa kinikilos mo ang sinasabi ko!”

Julian: “Sadali!”

Amanda: “Sandali lang din! Tapos na ako diyan, Julian! Can’t you stop being proud of
me! Nagsawa na ako sa ganoon. Gusto ko naman ngayon, ako mismo. Just for a
change. Maging proud sa sarili ko.”

4. Maternal nationalism

Or simply put, mothers as peacemakers.

In order for Amanda to help enact change in her nation, she needed to define herself as
a citizen, wife, and mother on her own terms. Framing her activism around maternal
nationalism made Amanda a more effective political agent because she was able to
balance her political agency with traditional notions of Filipino womanhood. Not
completely abandoning her traditional gender roles made combining her nationalism
and feminism easier because she was not choosing one consciousness over the other.

Shifting roles from traditional wives and mothers to political agents engaging the public
sphere has not been an easy transition for most women. However, in times of conflict,
women re-conceptualized and re-appropriated their traditional gender roles and sense
of citizenship for survival and social change. Like Amanda, many mothers developed

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methods to exercise their sense of maternalism while balancing their nationalistic
identities.

In a way, the women were mothering and nurturing society to help make the violence
stop and bring about peace to their communities and their countries at large. Their
identities as mothers were no longer conceptualized as oppressive or identities that held
them back; instead, their maternal identities became their source of political
empowerment during tumultuous times in their countries. This is evident in the
following lines:

Evelyn: “Mom, wala rin naming magagawa si Dad kay Jason eh.”

Amanda: “Hindi naman ang dad niyo ang sinasabi ko e. Sarili ko. Buong buhay ko iyan
na lang ang sinasabi nila sa akin. Wala kang magagawa, eto ang gusto ng asawa mo.
Wala kang magagawa eto ang kapalaran mo. Wala kang magagawa dahil dapat…putris
naman, dapat hindi ganoon. Tapos sasabihin ng daddy ninyo, hindi lang ang anak mo
ang pinatay. Hindi lang ang anak ko ang dinukot. Lalo akong nanggigigil. Lalo akong
nagagalit. Dahil kung nanay ka lang talaga hindi ka lang dapat nanganganak. Kung
hindi naipaglalaban mo din yung anak mo. Dapat kaya mong pumatay para sa anak
mo. Gusto ko lang naming malaman, bakit nila pinatay ang anak ko?!”

This idea of feminist vigilance would be reiterated in the ending scenes when the
Bartolomes changed the lyrics of the Lupang Hinirang from “ang mamatay ng dahil sa
iyo,” to “ang pumatay ng dahil sa iyo.”

But besides activism, Amanda would also offer a kind of spiritual nurturance to her
husband thus exploring the need for gender equality in the process:

Julian: “Salamat.”

Amanda: “Para saan?”

Julian: “Para sa lahat-lahat. Para sa akin, para sa mga anak natin. Hindi kita pipigilan,
Amanda. Pero gusto ko lang malaman mo na hindi rin madali ang maging lalaki.
Maraming emosyon ang iniipit na lang dito. Kasi hindi daw bagay sa lalaki ang
masyadong emosyonal. Hindi rind aw bagay sa lalaki ang masalita. At lalong hindi
bagay sa lalaki ang umiiyak. Kaya kung minsan, umiiwas. Hindi humaharap. Hindi
tumitingin. Lalo na sa sarili niyang asawa. Amanda, hindi lang ikaw ang nagtatanong ng
sarili mong pagkukulang, Ako din.”

Amanda: “Julian, bakit ka tumatalikod? Umiiyak ka ba? Puede naman tayo umiyak na
magkasabay...puede natin pagusapan ang lahat. Ang lipunan, ang buhay, puede tayong
magpakitaan ng puso’t kaluluwa.”

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Finally, the film brings to us the idea of woman as source of strength within and outside
home. The following lines glorify once more, women’s power to give life and become
beacons of hope:

Opening lines:

“Ang mga kamay daw na nag-uugoy ng duyan ay ang mga kamay na nagpapa-ikot ng
mundo. Sapagkat iyon ang mga kamay na umaakay sa sanggol, hanggang sa matuto
siyang lumakad at maglikot, tumuklas at magtanong, at mangatwiran. Hanggang sa
lumaki siya at maging ganap na mamamayan ng kanyang bansa. Pero ang kamay na
nagmamay-ari ng nag-uugoy ng duyan ay mamamayan din ng kanyang bayan. Hindi
siya dapat manatili lamang sa maliit na silid. Sapagkat nananahan din siya sa daigdig.
Ang kanyang mga kamay ay hindi lamang sa pag-uugoy ng duyan. Kung hindi para
din tumulog magtawid sa bangka ng pagbabago.”

Closing lines:

“Ang mamayang Pilipino ay bilanggo pa rin sa loob at labas ng mga rehas na bakal.
Ngunit araw-araw ay isinisilang ang mga anak at magulang na magtatawid sa bangka
ng pagbabago. Sapagkat ang payapang pampang ay para lang sa mangangahas
sumagupa sa alon sa panahon ng unos.”

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