ON Sept. 21, 1972, — 42 years ago — President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law in the Philippines to suppress increasing civil strife and the threat of communist takeover following a series of bombings in Manila.
“My countrymen, as of the twenty-first of this month, I signed Proclamation No. 1081 placing the entire Philippines under Martial Law…” Marcos said in a televised speech.
The formal announcement was made about 22 hours after his commandment to the military to start arresting his political opponents and to start shutting down all media and retail establishments.
Marcos’ decree had a huge impact in how society circulated. Under the law were orders, such as the strict curfew from midnight to 4 am, and the prohibition of rallies, demonstrations, strikes and picketing.
Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, Defense Chief at the time, recalled his first hand experience during the Martial Law regime, describing it to have “brought sweeping and dramatic changes.”
“As soon as it became clear to the general public that the country was under martial rule, law and order was restored to a great extent. People became more disciplined, peaceful and orderly. Their neighborhood and streets were safe. The citizenry worked together to clean their communities,” Enrile wrote.
“Political noises and wrangling were dissipated. Rallies and demonstrations disappeared from the street. Congress was closed. Schools, colleges and universities were also initially closed right after the declaration of martial law but after a month, classes resumed except in a number of colleges and universities. The radio airlines and television broadcasts were cleared of the incendiary and bombastic attacks of commentators. They were silenced,” the memoir said.
The economy, according to Enrile, flourished and stabilized while the crime rate was almost zero.
Veteran political activist Linggoy Alcuaz, however, tells another side of the story.
Alcuaz believed that the communist rebels were small in number then, and putting order in the country wasn’t really the agenda of a president who was becoming unpopular to his people. Even if the Charter was amended to allow Marcos to seek another term, Alcuaz said, there was a strong possibility that he would lose.
Manuel F. Almario, a veteran journalist and lawyer, recalls it as the era of deception, asserting that Marcos lied to the people since the day he became president.
“He was very ambitious, wanting to be president forever. That’s how he went wrong. He had no idea on how to run this country and where he was going,” Almario said.
“But he (Marcos) was a smart lawyer and he said the country is facing a communist rebellion and a Muslim armed secession in the south,” he reiterated. “When you want to impose dictatorship, you’re going to lie to the people and tell them that they are going to get peace and order, justice, economic progress.”
The common belief was that the economy was strengthening, but Almario disagreed: The economy appeared to have improved because he was borrowing from the World Bank so he had money to show.”
And so the story goes on…Ninoy Aquino was assassinated for being a prominent critic of the Marcos administration. People Power years later took over the dictatorship and restored some sense of democracy in the country.
How is the Philippines faring today?
Forty-two years after the choking powers of the dictator, Filipinos have learned to love their freedom– some even to the extent of taking it for granted.
Rallies are becoming a common sight meters away from Malacañang Palace. Citizens can freely voice their opinions on issues affecting the country, without fear of persecution.
However, we must not forget that Filipinos were imprisoned by an abuse of power and the basic democratic rights we enjoy today were once limited.
(AJPress)
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