Say Their Names... Bantayog ng mga Desaparecido (Monument to the Disappeared)

Bantayog ng mga Decaparecido (Monument to the Disappeared)

Baclaran Church, Pasay City, Philippines MAP
(...all photos by Kokoy except where indicated otherwise...)

In the southwestern corner of the grounds of the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, popularly known as Baclaran Church in the National Capital Region of the Philippines, solemnly stands "Flame of Courage," a monument to memorialize many who have involuntarily disappeared. Etched into a series of black granite plates are hundreds of names, starting in 1971, the year before the Marcos dictatorship declared martial law, and spanning four subsequent presidencies (Aquino, Ramos, Estrada, Arroyo) over three decades through 2003, the year before this monument was erected. No doubt, there have been countless others since then.

Say their names...