TOPIC 6 – THE MARTIAL LAW YEARS

By Sharon Bunn

MVP History Course Independent Period

1946-1986

Background to Martial Law

• Failure to amend 1935 Constitution

• Economy in decline

• First Quarter Storm

• Threat of Muslim uprising

Background to Martial Law

• OPlan Sagittarius – revealed to congress by Senator Aquino

• September 22nd 1972 “Ambush” on Juan Ponce Enrile’s Car

• September 23rd 1972, Marcos issues Proclamation 1081 declaring Martial Law in the Philippines

• Proclamation actually dated September 21st due to Marcos’s obsession with the number 7!

Immediate Impact of Martial Law

• Arrests:

– Senator Benigno Aquino – Fiercest opponent of Marcos – widely tipped to run against him in the next presidential election

– Jovito Salonga – Liberal Senator and close ally of Ninoy Aquino

– Jose Diokno – Senator and advocator of human rights

– Ramon Mitra, Liberal Senator

– Joaquin “Chino” Roces – owner of the Manila Times

– Teodoro “Teddy” Locsin

– Hernando Abaya of the Civil Liberties Union

Immediate Impact of Martial Law

• Around 30,000 arrested in the first months of Martial Law

• Both houses of Congress closed down

• Universities closed

• Media shut down, though eventually state approved newspapers and TV stations allowed to resume service

• Dusk to dawn curfew

• Ban on gatherings of more than five people

• Gun ban – around 500,000 guns turned in

New Society

• Martial Law a necessary step in the

creation of the “New Society”

• Marcos wanted to “save the Republic and

Reform our society”

• Would be achieved by ending government

corruption; break-up of the Oligarchies;

law and order; strengthening the economy;

land reform

Dismantling the Oligarchies

• Dismissed 6,000 government employees

• Lopez Family, headed by Eugenio Lopez Sr:– Brother, Fernando Lopez was Marcos’s Vice

President

– Sugar Industry

– ABS-CBN News

– Meralco

– Rivals of Marcos – had run anti-Marcos editorials and cartoons in their newspapers

– Eldest son arrested – forced to hand over businesses to secure his release

– No one immune to Marcos Policy

Crony Capitalism

• Businesses turned over to Marcos Friends

and Family – Crony Capitalism

• Marcos issued Presidential Decrees which

favoured his Cronies – guise of legality

• Marcos received millions of dollars in kick-

backs and commissions

Crony Capitalism

• Eduardo Cojuangco– First cousin of Corey

Aquino

– Close ally of Marcos

• Took control of:– Horse racing and basketball franchises

– Manila Hilton

– First Philippine Holdings

– Filsov Shipping

– San Miguel Corporation

– Coconut Industry

Crony Capitalism

• Roberto Benedicto

– Long term friend and close ally of Marcos

• Took control of:

– Sugar Industry

– Republic Planters Bank

– Shipping & Transport companies

– Hotels & casinos

Crony Capitalism

• Some other beneficiaries:

– Benjamin Romualdez, Imelda’s younger brother – Meralco

– Pacifico Marcos – Ferdinand’s brother –Insurance, Banking & Real Estate

– Fortuna Barba Marcos – Ferdinand’s sister –Shipping

– Rodolfo Cuenca – Construction & Development Company of the Philippines (CDCP) – awarded infrastructure projects

Law and Order

• Dramatic drop in crime under Martial Law

– Curfew

– Gun Ban

– Disbanding of Private Armies

• Made and example of Lim Seng

– Marcos overruled Judge – sentenced Lim to

death

– Powerful message to other criminals

Economy

• Economy strong during most of the 1970’s

• Increased foreign investment

• GNP grew at an average of 7% for first 5

years of Martial Law

• Increased income from Agriculture

• Most Filipinos not feeling the benefits –

unemployment rose

Land Reform

• Marcos launched most comprehensive Land Reform ever attempted in Philippines

• Declared whole of the Philippines to be a Land Reform Area though this was later clarified as only rice and corn lands

• Holdings over 7 hectares to be parcelled out to individual tenants who would pay off the value of land over 15 years

• Sharecroppers on holdings less than 7 hectares to be converted to leaseholders paying fixed rates

Land Reform

• Reforms considered to be a failure

• Broke up old Haciendas of Central Luzon

• Not much effort put into implementing the

system in other areas

• Poorly managed and subject to graft and

corruption

1973 Constitutional Convention

• Marcos finally able to amend political

system from Presidential to Parliamentary

• Citizens Assemblies – ratified new

constitution January 17th 1973

• Marcos became Prime Minister - no limit

on number of terms Marcos could serve

Imelda

• 1975 – appointed Governor of Metro Manila

• 1978 – Minister of Human Settlements

• By 1981 she controlled funds equivalent to half the government’s budget

• Infrastructure projects:

– Cultural Centre of the Philippines

– Coconut Palace

– International Convention Centre

Imelda

– Heart & Lung/Kidney Centre

– Highway building

• Imelda as Chief Ambassador – met with Presidents, Generals, Film Stars

• 1976 – Met with Muammar Gaddafi and signed Tripoli Agreement – committed 13 provinces to the Autonomous Region in Mindanao

• Raised profile of the Philippines

Long Term Impact of Martial LawHuman Rights

• Marcos used anti-subversion laws to arrest political opponents and anyone who spoke out against the regime

• Torture common place in the internment camps

• Murders and disappearances

• Figures:– 70,000 jailed

– 34,000 subjected to torture

– 3,000 killed

Long Term Impact of Martial LawHuman Rights

• Primitivo Mijares

– Former ally of Marcos but defected and went

to the US

– Wrote “The Conjugal Dictatorship” – revealed

abuses of the regime

– Disappeared after the books publication,

never to be seen again

– 5 months later, his son Boyet was found

murdered

Long Term Impact of Martial LawThe Media

• Philippine Media previously known as “the freest in the world”

• When Martial Law declared, all newspapers and television stations closed down

• Some newspapers and TV stations eventually allowed to resume service but subject to severe restrictions –Department Order No. 1.

Long Term Impact of Martial LawThe Media

• First newspaper allowed to resume publication was the Daily Express, owned by Roberto Benedicto

• Daily Express was fervently pro-Marcos

• Other publications allowed publish during Martial Law:– Manila Bulletin, owned by Hans Menzi, a former

Marcos aide

– The Times Journal, owned by Benjamin Romualdez, Imelda’s brother

– Who Magazine – also owned by Hans Menzi’s company, Liwayway. This was one of the boldest publication of the era, closed down after Menzi died

Long Term Impact of Martial LawSummary

• Dream of a New Society did not become a reality for ordinary Filipinos

• Dismantling of the Oligarchies only served make Marcos and his Cronies richer

• Tough Law and Order measures used to keep opponents imprisoned

• Economic reforms ultimately failed as Marcos received kick-backs and commissions

• Local farmers forced to sell produce for low prices

• Many living in poverty while Marcos and his Cronies amassed unimaginable wealth

Martial Law Lifted

• Martial lifted on January 17th 1981 –

Proclamation 2045

• Precursor to visit of Pope John Paul II

• Little changed – Marcos still retained the

powers he had gained under Martial Law

• It would be another 5 years before the

Marcos Regime finally came to an end

References

• America’s Boy, James Hamilton-Paterson

• The Story of the Filipino People, Kasaysayan

• Some Are Smarter Than Others, Ricardo Manapat

• The Marcos Dynasty, Sterling Seagrave

• Excerpts from Presidential Plunder: The Quest for the Marcos Ill-Gotten Wealth, Jovito R Salonga

• Philippine Presidents 100 Years, Rosario Mendoza Cortes

• Country Studies: Philippines

• Batas Militar, ninoyaquino.tv

• Wikipedia.org/wiki/ferdinand_marcos

• Widipedia.org/wiki/Rolex_12