Draft:Project Gunita

Project Gunita

Project Gunita
TypeNongovernmental archiving & research organization
Founded2022
FoundersKarl Patrick Suyat, Josiah David Quising, Sarah Gomez
PurposeCountering historical distortion of Martial Law-era history
Websiteprojectgunita.com

Project Gunita is an academic-research organization based in the Philippines. It was founded shortly after the 2022 Philippine elections following the electoral victory of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and is dedicated to the preservation and digital publication of historical archival material about the Marcos dictatorship.

History

Origins (2022)

Project Gunita launched as a nongovernment archiving initiative shortly after the 2022 Philippine elections, co-founded by Karl Patrick Suyat, then a 19-year-old University of the Philippines student, along with Atty. Josiah David Quising, and Sarah Gomez.[1] According to the founder's own account, the idea arose on election night in May 2022, as it became clear Ferdinand Marcos Jr.—son and namesake of the ousted dictator—would win the presidency. The group named itself "Gunita," the Filipino word for memory, to reflect its mission of preserving historical record. [2]

Early archiving work

The organization began by digitizing books, news clippings, fact-finding reports, and other Martial Law-era materials procured through donations of historical material and monetary donations sourced through crowdfunding. The collected materials were mostly sourced from Filipiniana booksellers or private citizen's collections. Over the span of two months, the organization had expanded to over 30 youth volunteers dedicated to also fighting against the rampant disinformation in social media. [3]

The group is primarily focused on the preservation and digitization of the "mosquito press" publications, a term attributed to Ferdinand Marcos Sr. who used it to dismissively describe critical publication as easy to "swat down like mosquitoes."[4] Project Gunita had reportedly amassed 450 items within two months, the collection includes government reports (including one on the assassination of opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr.) and international coverage from magazines like Time and Newsweek. Materials are digitized and then published online as part of their initiative to popularize the historical materials and use it as references to debunk disinformation about Martial Law.

Expansion into public programming

Concluding that digitizing and publishing historical materials alone was insufficient against the scale of disinformation and historical denialism, the group expanded into public-facing activities. On August 21, 2022 the group launched a history fair on the grounds of Bantayog ng mga Bayani to commemorate the Plaza Miranda Bombing of 1971 and the assassination of Ninoy Aquino in 1983. Several notable organizations were invited such as the August Twenty One Movement (ATOM), Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN), and the Campaign Against the Return of Marcoses and Martial Law (CARMMA) along with Martial Law survivors Satur Ocampo, Fides Lim, and Cecilia Oebanda.[1]

Recent activities

Project Gunita's online presence is by either through direct response in recent national issues[5] and commemoration of historical events. On November 30, 2024, it hosted a special screening of Alipato at Muog, a film revolving around Jonas Burgos who was forcibly disappeared in 2007 by suspected military personnel, connecting it to the issue of forced disappearances during the Marcos dictatorship. On several occasions, the organization held exhibits, publicly displaying its historical materials such as the "Road to EDSA" exhibit that presents a visual timeline of events that led to the ouster of the Marcos dictatorship on February 25, 1986.[6] It had also recently launched a role-playing card game called Diktador! to aid with educational discussions on Martial Law as part of its drive to expand its reach to youth and students in partnership with the Concerned Artists of the Philippines.

Archives

The organization keeps their digital archive in a Google Drive repository that can be accessed through their official website. These include ephemera such as protest pamphlets from the League of Filipino Students (LFS), newspapers and magazines from publications such as Mr&Ms, Balita, and Malaya, official reports, private collections, and retrieved documentaries.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Gomez, Sarah; Quising, Josiah David (August 29, 2022). "Project Gunita: Keeping the stories of Martial Law victims alive". Rappler. Retrieved July 31, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ "'Project Gunita': Safekeeping Pages of the Marcos Regime's History". Our Brew. 2022-07-29. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
  3. ^ Cuyco, Jan. "'Not ending with archives': What's next for Project Gunita?". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
  4. ^ "フィリピンで歴史の「負の記憶」も継承 若者たちが史料集めて活動｜with Planet｜朝日新聞". with Planet (in Japanese). Retrieved 2026-07-31.
  5. ^ Sigales, Jason (2025-09-20). "Project Gunita: Marcos, Duterte not 'anti-corruption advocates'". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2026-07-31.
  6. ^ Zamora, Fe B. (2025-03-02). "Project Gunita: 'Edsa' headlines school exhibit". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2026-07-31.

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