103-471: Presidency Family Unexplained wealth Legacy Related [REDACTED] At 7:15 p.m. on September 23, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos announced on television that he had placed the Philippines under martial law , stating he had done so in response to the "communist threat" posed by the newly founded Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), and the sectarian "rebellion" of
206-588: A freedom park , where assemblies and protests may be held without needing a permit from local authorities, and with thousands of people crossing through it every day, it is considered Manila's version of Times Square . Despite fronting the Quiapo Church, Plaza Miranda and the streets surrounding it is known as a center for fortune-telling and the sale of lucky charms and amulets. Most fortune tellers who practice around Plaza Miranda claim that they can draw their ability to tell fortunes from their devotion to
309-418: A 35-foot (11 m) high marble obelisk topped by a statue of a woman whose outstretched arms bear a torch, representing freedom. The obelisk is flanked by two columns on each side, topped with urns made from an alloy of cast iron and bronze , which also serve as gas-fired cauldrons which may be lit for special occasions. The Manila city government declared this particular corner the "Plaridel Corner" after
412-641: A Congress speech to denounce impending martial law, and Jose W. Diokno, who held a rally with 50,000 people from the Movement of Concerned Citizens for Civil Liberties (MCCCL) at Plaza Miranda on the same day. By dawn of the following day, many of the 400 individuals listed on the military's priority arrest list—journalists, members of the political opposition, constitutional convention delegates, outspoken lawyers, teachers, and students—had been detained. Media outlets were shuttered, although those linked with Marcos crony Roberto Benedicto were allowed to reopen within
515-752: A Post-World War II geopolitical framework. After gaining independence from the US after the war, the Philippines had retained strong economic, political and military ties to the United States, manifested in a Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), Military Assistance Agreement (MAA), a US Military Advisory Group (JUSMAG), and the physical presence of several Military Bases where the US Military could conduct " unhampered US military operations " for 99 years (later reduced to 50). Filipino presidents were very politically dependent on American support, and this did not change until
618-426: A brief period in which Proclamation No. 1081 was formally in place, but without the knowledge of the public. For most of the Philippines, therefore, martial law was thus properly implemented when it was announced on the evening of September 23, 1972. The implementation of martial law began sometime before midnight on September 22, with the arrest of the two main opposition leaders, Ninoy Aquino, who on September 21 held
721-546: A cautious borrowing policy in the 1970s. Amid high oil prices, high interest rates, capital flight, and falling export prices of sugar and coconut, the Philippine government borrowed a significant amount of foreign debt in the early 1980s. The country's total external debt rose from US$ 2.3 billion in 1970 to US$ 26.2 billion in 1985. Marcos' critics charged that policies have become debt-driven, along with corruption and plunder of public funds by Marcos and his cronies. This held
824-630: A coup attempt against the Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos . However, the plot was soon discovered, and Marcos ordered Enrile and his supporters to be arrested. Fearful of being overcome by Marcos' forces, Enrile sought help from then-AFP Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen Fidel Ramos , who was also the chief of the Philippine Constabulary (now the Philippine National Police). Ramos agreed and withdrew his support for
927-559: A coup d'etat, then declare martial law or suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus – and arrest all including the legal cadres. Right now I am inclined towards the latter. On August 21, 1971, the Liberal Party held a campaign rally at the Plaza Miranda to proclaim their senatorial bets and their candidate for the mayoralty of Manila. Two grenades were reportedly tossed on stage, injuring almost everybody present. As
1030-617: A few days before Martial Law was announced on September 23, 1972. After Nixon, the Ford and Reagan administrations were similarly supportive of Marcos. While the Carter administration expressed diplomatic concerns over the human rights abuses of the Marcos dictatorship , it could not totally withdraw its support from Marcos in light of US foreign policy's need to have the lease on the US Bases in
1133-618: A fourteen-year period of one-man rule , which effectively lasted until Marcos was exiled from the country on February 25, 1986. Proclamation No. 1081 was formally lifted on January 17, 1981, although Marcos retained essentially all of his powers as dictator until he was ousted in February 1986 . This nine-year period in Philippine history is remembered for the Marcos administration's record of human rights abuses , particularly targeting political opponents, student activists, journalists, religious workers, farmers, and others who fought against
SECTION 10
#17327809821681236-625: A loss of morale among the middle-ranks of the AFP, because it meant a significant slowdown in promotions and caused many officers to retire with ranks much lower than they would otherwise have earned. As a result, Security Affairs Professor Douglas J. Macdonald noted that "near the end of the dictatorship, the Military and the Intelligence organizations were badly polarized along generational lines, as they are today." In June 1970, Marcos authorized
1339-414: A means of facilitating repression which they argued would hasten revolution." On the night of September 22, 1972, Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile was allegedly ambushed while on his way home. The assassination attempt was widely believed to have been staged; Enrile himself admitted to the assassination attempt to have been staged but he would later retract his claim. The Plaza Miranda bombing ,
1442-491: A result, Marcos suspended the writ of habeas corpus to arrest those behind the attack. He rounded up supposed suspects and other undesirables to eliminate rivals in the Liberal Party. Marcos accused the communist movement as the perpetrators of the bombing, and responded by suspending the writ of habeas corpus. Declassified documents from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency also implicate Marcos in at least one of
1545-485: A scale where 3 was the highest Defense condition. In 1971, AFP Chief of Staff Manuel T. Yan had prominently told media that the grounds for Marcos to either impose of martial law or suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus did not exist. One of the generals serving under General Fabian Ver of the National Intelligence and Security Authority later recalled that "Even when Martial Law was declared,
1648-548: A single large LED display — said to be the largest in Asia — measuring 11.5 meters (38 ft) by 24.8 meters (81 ft). The area around R. Hidalgo Street is also known as the "photographers' haven" owing to the presence of several buildings that house shops offering photography-related services, some of which have been in operation for decades. Three of the seven entrances to the Lacson Underpass are located within
1751-449: A week before martial law was declared, other generals were able to deny that they had heard of any operation under the said code title, and it was easy for Marcos to pinpoint Soliman as the whistleblower who gave the information to Aquino. Not long after the declaration of martial law, the controlled press reported that Soliman had died of a heart attack, but his family believed that Marcos had ordered that he be killed. Marcos then dissolved
1854-608: Is a public square bounded by Quezon Boulevard , Hidalgo Street and Evangelista Street in Quiapo , Manila . It is the plaza which fronts the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno (Quiapo Church), one of the main churches of the City of Manila and is considered the center of Quiapo as a whole. Inaugurated in its current form by Mayor Arsenio Lacson in 1961, it is named after José Sandino y Miranda, who served as
1957-403: Is paved with granite tiles and is surrounded by Neo-Gothic architectural details which are inspired by the Quiapo Church's architecture, particularly on the western side, which contains two grand entrance arches bearing the coat of arms of Manila. The two grand arches are separated by several smaller arches, which form a covered colonnade , incorporating into their design the sea lion found in
2060-540: Is to abort the subversive plan now by the sudden arrest of the plotters. But this would not be accepted by the people. Nor could we get the Huks (Communists), their legal cadres and support. Nor the MIM (Maoist International Movement) and other subversive [or front] organizations, nor those underground. We could allow the situation to develop naturally then after massive terrorism, wanton killings and an attempt at my assassination and
2163-736: The Lakas ng Bayan party, but they did not win any seats in the Batasan , despite public support and their apparent victory. The night before the elections, supporters of the LABAN party showed their solidarity by setting up a "noise barrage" in Manila, creating noise the whole night until dawn. The opposition boycotted the June 16, 1981, presidential election , which pitted Marcos and his Kilusang Bagong Lipunan party against retired Gen. Alejo Santos of
SECTION 20
#17327809821682266-581: The 1969 Philippine balance of payments crisis . The Marcos administration ran to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for help, and the IMF offered a debt restructuring deal. New policies, including a greater emphasis on exports and the relaxation of controls of the peso, were put in place. The peso was allowed to float to a lower market value, resulting in drastic inflation, and social unrest. In February 1971, student activists took over
2369-524: The Black Nazarene (the patron of the Quiapo Church) despite Catholic Church doctrine deploring the practice. Plaza Miranda has an area of 5,358 square meters (57,670 sq ft), bounded by the Quiapo Church to the north, Quezon Boulevard to the east, Hidalgo Street to the south and Evangelista Street to the west. The plaza proper, which has a design capacity of 16,074 persons,
2472-657: The Commission on Elections (COMELEC), declared Marcos the winner, despite a walk-out staged by disenfranchised computer technicians on February 9. According to the COMELEC's final tally, Marcos won with 10,807,197 votes to Aquino's 9,291,761 votes. By contrast, the partial 70% tally of the National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections , an accredited poll watcher, said Aquino won with 7,835,070 votes to Marcos's 7,053,068. The 1986 Philippine presidential election
2575-582: The Communist Party of the Philippines founded by Jose Maria Sison . KM members protested in front of Congress, throwing a coffin, a stuffed alligator, and stones at Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos after his State of the Nation Address . At the presidential palace, activists rammed the gate with a fire truck and once the gate broke and gave way, the activists charged into the palace grounds tossing rocks, pillboxes and Molotov cocktails. In front of
2678-527: The July 1972 MV Karagatan incident in which a secret arms shipment from China, meant for Communist Party forces, sank just off Digoyo Point in Palanan, Isabela. Numerous other incidents cited by Marcos as rationalizations for his declaration of Martial Law have either been discredited or disputed, in light of Marcos's known tactic of undertaking false flag operations as a propaganda technique. This includes:
2781-620: The Manila Police District for their "exemplary behavior and courage" and protecting the First Couple long after they had left. The death of the activists was seized by the Lopez controlled Manila Times and Manila Chronicle, blaming Marcos and added fire to the weekly protests. Students declared a week-long boycott of classes and instead met to organize protest rallies. Rumors of a coup d'état were also brewing. A report of
2884-491: The Muslim Independence Movement (MIM). Opposition figures of the time (such as Lorenzo Tañada , Jose W. Diokno , and Jovito Salonga ) accused Marcos of exaggerating these threats and using them as an excuse to consolidate power and extend his tenure beyond the two presidential terms allowed by the 1935 constitution. Marcos signed Proclamation No. 1081 on September 21, 1972, marking the beginning of
2987-540: The Nacionalista Party . Marcos won by a margin of over 16 million votes, which constitutionally allowed him to have another six-year term. Finance Minister Cesar Virata was elected as prime minister by the Batasang Pambansa . In 1983, opposition leader Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. was assassinated at Manila International Airport upon his return to the Philippines after a long period of exile in
3090-533: The Times Theater , one of Manila's oldest cinemas. Before the 1970s, a building which stood opposite the present-day Plaridel Corner featured an electronic news ticker operated by The Manila Times ; the building has since been demolished, and in its place was built the Plaza Miranda branch of Mercury Drug , whose façade features a large LED display . In 2015, the two displays were replaced with
3193-521: The nom-de-plume of Marcelo H. del Pilar , editor and co-publisher of La Solidaridad , on August 30, 2005, the centenary of del Pilar's death, and the historical plaque, written in Filipino , bears a quotation attributed to the French writer and philosopher Voltaire . The plaza is lit at night by several floodlights installed at strategic points throughout the area, both on the ground and on top of
Martial law under Ferdinand Marcos - Misplaced Pages Continue
3296-626: The " Anti-Subversion Act of 1957 ", which made mere membership in any communist party illegal. The Philippines would take three and a half decades to repeal it, through Republic Act 7636, in 1992. RA No. 1700 was originally meant to counter the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP) and its armed force, the Hukbalahap (also called the "Huks"). The campaign against the PKP and the Huks was bloody, but it had basically ended by 1954. Throughout
3399-744: The "father of the Philippine Marines" and have a Philippine Navy ship named after him. Alcaraz was forced to resign from the Armed Forces because his success in the Navy's anti-smuggling operations had come into conflict with Marcos's accommodations with alleged "smuggler-king" Lino Bocalan. In their place, Marcos appointed officers from his home region, the Ilocos, the most significant of whom had familial connections to Marcos – ensuring their familial and regionalistic loyalties to him. The practice
3502-465: The 1960s at the time Marcos took the presidency to 59% when he was removed from power. The period is sometimes described as a golden age for the country's economy by historical distortionists . By the period's end, the country was experiencing a debt crisis, extreme poverty, and severe underemployment. On the island of Negros , which suffered what came to be called the Negros famine , one-fifth of
3605-490: The 1969 election. Marcos even went to the U.S. embassy to dispel rumors that the U.S. embassy is supporting a coup d'état which the opposition, the Liberal Party of the Philippines , was spreading. While the report obtained by the New York Times speculated that story could be used by Marcos to justify martial law, as early as December 1969 in a message from the U.S. ambassador to the U.S. assistant secretary of state,
3708-506: The 1983–1984 recession. The recession was triggered largely by political instability following the assassination of Benigno Aquino Jr. , high global interest rates, the severe global economic recession , and a significant increase in global oil price , the latter three of which affected all indebted countries in Latin America and Europe, and the Philippines was not exempted. Economists noted that poverty incidence grew from 41% in
3811-412: The 60s, the remnants of the PKP pursued "a course of peaceful action" while working to rebuild their organisation, but, this was later challenged by a youth-based Maoist group within the organization created by University Professor Jose Maria Sison , who joined the PKP in 1962. Clashing with the PKP party leaders' view that armed struggle was an exercise in futility, Sison and his group were expelled from
3914-768: The AFP Chief of Staff, the AFP Vice Chief of Staff, the commanding general of the Philippine Army, the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary, the commanders of all four Constabulary Zones, and one third of all Provincial Commanders of the PC. One prominent early example of an officer forced to resign his commission was Navy Commodore Ramon Alcaraz – a World War II hero who would eventually be dubbed
4017-573: The Armed Forces. As a way of assuring that any whistleblowers would be easily accounted for, the copies of the plan were distributed with codeword titles taken from the signs of the Zodiac. The copy marked "Sagittarius" was given to General Marcos "Mark" Soliman who commanded the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency . Thus, when Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. exposed the existence of "Oplan Sagittarius"
4120-470: The August 1971 Plaza Miranda bombing ; the 1972 Manila bombings from March to September of that year; and the alleged September 1972 ambush of Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile . The social unrest of 1969 to 1970, and the violent dispersal of the resulting " First Quarter Storm " protests were among the early watershed events in which large numbers of Filipino students of the 1970s were radicalized against
4223-534: The CPP allied with Huk commander Bernabe Buscayno to create the nascent New People's Army . Although the CPP-NPA was only a small force at the time, the AFP hyped up its formation, partly because doing so was good for building up the AFP budget. As a result, notes security specialist Richard J. Kessler , "the AFP mythologized the group, investing it with a revolutionary aura that only attracted more supporters." Even in
Martial law under Ferdinand Marcos - Misplaced Pages Continue
4326-466: The Constitution of 1973. In brief, the central idea that emerged was that martial law might be earlier lifted, but to safeguard the Philippines and its people against any abrupt dangerous situation which would warrant some exercise of totalitarian powers, the latter must be constitutionally allowed, thereby eliminating the need to proclaim martial law and its concomitants, principally the assertion by
4429-663: The Diliman campus of the University of the Philippines and declared it a free commune . Protests during the First Quarter Storm in 1970 resulted in clashes and violent dispersals by the national police. During the First Quarter Storm in 1970, the line between leftist activists and communists became increasingly blurred, as a significant number of Kabataang Makabayan (KM) advanced activists joined
4532-438: The Marcos administration as official justifications, and some of which were dissenting perspectives put forward by either the mainstream political opposition or by analysts studying the political economy of the decision. In his 1987 treatise, Dictatorship & Martial Law: Philippine Authoritarianism in 1972 , University of the Philippines public administration professor Alex Brillantes Jr. identifies three reasons expressed by
4635-502: The Marcos administration, saying that martial law: The first two justifications were explicitly stated in Proclamation 1081, which cited two explicit justifications: "to save the republic" (from various plots); and "to reform society" (after the failure of American-style democracy). The third rationalization arose from the administration's propaganda, which portrayed Marcos as a hypermasculine or ultranationalist figure able to compel
4738-408: The Marcos administration. Due to these dispersals, many students who had previously held "moderate" positions (i.e., calling for legislative reforms) became convinced that they had no choice but to call for more radical social change. Other watershed events that would later radicalize many otherwise "moderate" opposition members include the February 1971 Diliman Commune ; the August 1971 suspension of
4841-408: The Marcos dictatorship. Based on the documentation of Amnesty International , Task Force Detainees of the Philippines , and similar human rights monitoring entities, historians believe that the Marcos dictatorship was marked by 3,257 known extrajudicial killings , 35,000 documented tortures, 737 "disappeared", and 70,000 incarcerations. After Marcos was ousted, government investigators discovered that
4944-740: The National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) and put a powerful super-agency, the National Intelligence and Security Authority (NISA) in its place, with steadfast Marcos follower General Fabian Ver in command. By 1971, Marcos had reached out to US Ambassador to the Philippines Henry Byroade, with the question of whether the United States, then under the administration of President Richard Nixon, would support him should he choose to proclaim Martial Law. Byroade brought
5047-411: The PKP in 1967, and on December 26, 1968 founded the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) along Maoist lines. While the PKP sought to marginalize this new group, it soon became the leading communist party in the Philippines. When Marcos became president in 1965, the PKP was a weakened organization, and the Hukbalahap reduced to "what amounted to banditry." But Marcos immediately made noise about
5150-593: The Philippines renewed by Marcos. Of the various threats cited in the Proclamation 1081 document as rationalizations for declaration of Martial Law, the most extensively described was the threat supposedly posed by Communist insurgents – specifically the newly formed Communist Party of the Philippines , a Maoist organization which had only recently broken off from the Marxist–Leninist Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas . When Marcos became president in 1965, Philippine policy and politics functioned under
5253-648: The Philippines College of Law, President Marcos declared his intention to lift martial law by the end of January 1981. The reassuring words for the skeptic came on the occasion of the University of the Philippines law alumni reunion on December 12, 1980, when the president declared: "We must erase once and for all from the public mind any doubts as to our resolve to bring martial law to an end and to minister to an orderly transition to parliamentary government." The apparent forthright irrevocable commitment
SECTION 50
#17327809821685356-588: The Philippines' Secretary of the Treasury between 1833 and 1854. Regarded as the center of Philippine political discourse before the imposition of martial law in 1972, the plaza was the site of the 1971 Plaza Miranda bombing , where two grenades were launched at a political rally of the Liberal Party , killing nine people. It later became the venue of the Movement of Concerned Citizens for Civil Liberties (MCCCL) rally led by Sen. Jose W. Diokno on September 21, 1972, where 50,000 people gathered together to protest
5459-441: The Philippines' gross domestic product (GDP) quadrupled from $ 8 billion in 1972 to $ 32.45 billion in 1980, for an inflation-adjusted average growth rate of 6% per year. Indeed, according to the U.S.-based Heritage Foundation, the Philippines enjoyed its best economic development since 1945 between 1972 and 1980. The economy grew amidst the two severe global oil shocks following the 1973 oil crisis and 1979 energy crisis – oil price
5562-451: The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee said that shortly after the 1969 Philippine presidential election , a group composed mostly of retired colonels and generals organized a revolutionary junta to first discredit President Marcos and then kill him. As described in a document given to the committee by Philippine Government official, key figures in the plot were Vice President Fernando Lopez and Sergio Osmeña Jr. , whom Marcos defeated in
5665-585: The U.S. ambassador said that most of the talk about revolution and even assassination has been coming from the defeated opposition, of which Adevoso (of the Liberal Party) is a leading activist. He also said that the information he has on the assassination plans are 'hard' or well-sourced and he has to make sure that it reached President Marcos. In light of the crisis, Marcos wrote an entry in his diary in January 1970: I have several options. One of them
5768-408: The U.S. embassy, protesters vandalized, burned, and damaged the embassy lobby resulting in a strong protest from the U.S. ambassador. The KM protests ranged from 50,000 to 100,000 in number per weekly mass action. In the aftermath of the January 1970 riots, at least two activists were confirmed dead and several were injured by the police. The mayor of Manila at the time, Antonio Villegas , commended
5871-604: The United States. This coalesced popular dissatisfaction with Marcos and began a series of events, including pressure from the United States, that culminated in a snap presidential election on February 7, 1986. The opposition united under Aquino's widow, Corazon Aquino , and Salvador Laurel , head of the United Nationalists Democratic Organizations (UNIDO). The election was marred by widespread reports of violence and tampering with results by both sides. The official election canvasser,
5974-463: The accounts: "Whether they conflict or not, all accounts indicate that Marcos's obsession with numerology (particularly the number seven) necessitated that Proclamation No. 1081 be officially signed on a date that was divisible by seven. Thus, September 21, 1972 became the official date that martial law was established and the day that the Marcos dictatorship began. This also allowed Marcos to control history on his own terms." September 22, 1972, marked
6077-512: The alleged ambush of Enrile, and the MV Karagatan landing were among the incidents used to justify the imposition of martial law. The alleged assassination attempt of Enrile together with the general citizen disquiet, were used by Marcos as reasons to issue Presidential Proclamation No. 1081, proclaiming a state of martial law in the Philippines on September 21. Facing further criticism, Marcos claimed that his declaration of Martial Law
6180-470: The arrest of opposition leaders and militant activists, including his staunchest critics Senators Benigno Aquino Jr. and Jose W. Diokno , virtually turning the Philippines into a totalitarian dictatorship with Marcos. Initially, the declaration of martial law was well received, given the social turmoil of the period. Crime rates decreased significantly after a curfew was implemented. Political opponents were allowed to go into exile. As martial law went on for
6283-488: The children under six were seriously malnourished. From the election of Marcos 1965 to the overthrowing of Marcos' regime in 1986, around 300,000 Filipinos emigrated out of the Philippines to the United States. The Philippines under martial law suffered from massive and uncontrolled corruption . Some estimates, including that by the World Bank, put the Marcos family's stolen wealth at US$ 10 billion. Plunder
SECTION 60
#17327809821686386-445: The coat of arms. A larger, more elaborate grand arch was also constructed on the plaza's south side, at the intersection of R. Hidalgo and Villalobos Streets. Two of the plaza's four corners contain historical markers. A plaque commemorating the Plaza Miranda bombing in 1971 is installed at the southwest corner, unveiled by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on August 21, 2002, while the southeast corner, fronting Quezon Boulevard, has
6489-682: The colonnade. This and a sound system are controlled electronically from a control room located within the Lacson Underpass to the southeast. Aside from the Quiapo Church, several other notable buildings surround Plaza Miranda. The most prominent buildings within the plaza's vicinity are the F&;C Tower (formerly the Picache Building), which formerly housed the headquarters of the Philippine Savings Bank , and
6592-592: The communists were not a real threat. The military could handle them." Despite historical consensus that the Marcos administration willfully exaggerated the capabilities and actions of the Communist Party of the Philippines , a few of the incidents cited by Marcos have been confirmed as genuine activities of the CPP. These included: the December 1970 raid on the Philippine Military Academy 's armory by defecting army officer Victor Corpus ; and
6695-402: The country under a debt-servicing crisis which is expected to be fixed by only 2025. Critics have pointed out an elusive state of the country's development as the period is marred by a sharp devaluing of the Philippine Peso from 3.9 to 20.53. The overall economy experienced a slower growth GDP per capita, lower wage conditions and higher unemployment especially towards the end of Marcos' term after
6798-407: The coup plotters, in the hope of preventing Marcos from annihilating them. At around the same time, Ramos and Enrile contacted the highly influential Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Jaime Sin to ask for help. Cardinal Sin went on radio and encouraged people on the capital to likewise go to EDSA to support Ramos and Enrile, and crowds, already preparing to conduct election protests, trooped en masse to
6901-453: The creation of civil militias called "Barangay Self Defense Units", which would be renamed the Civilian Home Defense Forces in 1977 through Presidential Decree 1016. At its inception, the CHDF numbered 73,000 men, and it earned a reputation as the perpetrators of the worst human rights violations during martial law. When Marcos was ready to declare martial law, copies of the plan for its implementation were distributed to key officials within
7004-456: The day. Soon after, Congress was abolished, mass activities were prohibited, political parties were outlawed, a curfew was put in place, and civil and political rights were suspended. Presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Presidency Family Unexplained wealth Legacy Related [REDACTED] The history of the Philippines , from 1965 to 1986, covers the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos . The Marcos era includes
7107-432: The days immediately before Marcos's declaration of Martial Law on September 23, 1972, the Philippine National Security Council did not consider the two communist movements to represent a sizeable threat. At around that time, the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations received notice that as of September 19, 1972, the Philippine Council had set their threat assessment at "between 'normal' and 'Internal Defense Condition 1'" on
7210-409: The deadly series of bombings in 1971. For historian Joseph Scalice, he argued that while the Marcos government was allied with the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP) in carrying out bombings in the early 1970s, "the evidence of history now overwhelmingly suggests that the Communist Party of the Philippines , despite being allied with the Liberal Party, was responsible for this bombing, seeing it as
7313-560: The declaration of martial law had also allowed the Marcoses to hide secret stashes of unexplained wealth that various courts later determined to be "of criminal origin". While Marcos's presidency began in late 1965 , this article is limited to the period in which he exercised dictatorial powers under martial law, and the period where he continued to wield those powers despite lifting the proclamation in 1981. Numerous explanations have been put forward as reasons for Marcos to declare martial law in September 1972, some of which were presented by
7416-452: The end of January, 1981, and that only in a few areas where grave problems of public order and national security continue to exist will martial law continue to remain in force." After the lifting of martial law, power remained concentrated with Marcos. One scholar noted how Marcos retained "all martial law decrees, orders, and law-making powers", including powers that allowed him to jail political opponents. The martial law era under Marcos
7519-538: The end of the Cold War in 1989, and the termination of the 1947 US Military Bases Treaty, in 1992. With its close ties to the US, the Philippines was ideologically caught up in the anticommunist scare perpetuated by the US during the Cold War. The government was not yet strongly-established, and it was "fearful of being swept away by [communism]'s rising tide", so in 1957, it passed Republic Act (RA) No. 1700, known as
7622-547: The final years of the Third Republic (1965–1972), the Philippines under martial law (1972–1981), and the majority of the Fourth Republic (1981–1986). By the end of the Marcos dictatorial era, the country was experiencing a debt crisis, extreme poverty , and severe underemployment. In 1965, Ferdinand Marcos won the presidential election and became the 10th president of the Philippines . His first term
7725-443: The first thirteen months of his presidency. American defense analyst Donald Berlin notes that this gave Marcos an opportunity for direct interaction with the AFP's leaders, and a hand in the military's day-to-day operationalization. Singaporean author and political science professor Terence Lee notes that this had the effect of "develop[ing] a patronage system within the defense establishment." Professor Albert Celoza, in his 1997 book on
7828-664: The government, siding with Enrile. Their respective forces barricaded themselves in Camp Crame and Camp Aguinaldo which were near each other on either side of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) in Quezon City . Despite their combined forces, however, Enrile and Ramos were essentially trapped in the camps, and in the words of historian Vicente L. Rafael , "became sitting ducks for Ferdinand Marcos' loyalist forces." A small contingent of Aquino supporters, led by her brother in law Butz Aquino , went to EDSA to express support
7931-558: The impending martial law declaration of the Marcos dictatorship . Martial law was quickly made official hours after the event. It underwent a ₱ 49 million renovation in 2000 after decades of neglect as a result of Manila's urban decay in the 1970s and 1980s, giving it a more modern design despite protests from various historical groups and cultural experts, with a monument erected to commemorate bombing victims and additional architectural elements installed. Currently, Plaza Miranda serves as
8034-581: The interpretation that Marcos declared martial law: In addition, some critics who ascribe an economic component to Marcos's motivations, suggesting that martial law: Although Marcos initially claimed that he had declared martial law in response to violent acts that took place in 1971–72 – such as the Plaza Miranda bombing and the alleged assassination attempt on Defense Secretary Enrile – the groundwork for its implementation had been laid down much earlier. Marcos's aide-turned whistleblower Primitivo Mijares noted that "The beginning infrastructure for martial law
8137-620: The light of events that would happen in the following decade. During the Vietnam War , Marcos strongly opposed sending military forces to Vietnam. Under intense pressure from US President Lyndon Johnson , Marcos sent a Filipino noncombatant military force to the Republic of Vietnam in 1966, under the Philippine Civic Action Group (PHILCAG). As the war was proving to be unpopular among Filipinos, Marcos ordered
8240-561: The matter up with Nixon in a conversation in January 1971. According to the US National Archives' copy of the Memorandum of Conversation between Nixon and Byroade: The president declared that we would "absolutely" back Marcos up, and "to the hilt" so long as what he was doing was to preserve the system against those who would destroy it in the name of liberty. The President indicated that... we would not support anyone who
8343-409: The military of prerogatives that made them appear superior to the civilian authorities below the president. In other words, the problem was what may be needed for national survival or the restoration of normalcy in the face of a crisis or an emergency should be reconciled with the popular mentality and attitude of the people against martial law. In a speech before his fellow alumni of the University of
8446-446: The next nine years, the excesses committed by the military increased. In total, there were 3,257 extrajudicial killings , 35,000 individual tortures, and 70,000 were incarcerated. It is also reported that 737 Filipinos disappeared between 1975 and 1985. Though it was claimed that martial law was no military take-over of the government, the immediate reaction of some sectors of the nation was of astonishment and dismay, for even though it
8549-503: The obedience of supposedly "spoiled" Filipinos. Opposition to Marcos's declaration of martial law ran the whole gamut of Philippine society – ranging from impoverished peasants whom the administration tried to chase out of their homes; to the Philippines' political old-guard, whom Marcos had tried to displace from power; to academics and economists who disagreed with the specifics of Marcos's martial law policies. All of these, regardless of their social position or policy beliefs, subscribed to
8652-417: The physical Proclamation No. 1081 document, which placed the entirety of the Philippines under martial law. Whichever the case, the document was formally dated September 21 because of his superstitions and numerological beliefs concerning the number seven. The Official Gazette of the republic of the Philippines, in a retrospective article on Marcos's proclamation of martial law, comments on the differences in
8755-399: The political economy of authoritarianism in the Philippines, notes that: "It was alleged that a plan of action had existed as early as 1965...no one opposed the plan because no one was certain that the plan would be carried out." Marcos soon carried out the "largest reshuffle in the history of the armed forces" when he forcibly retired fourteen of the AFP's twenty-five flag officers, including
8858-523: The press, etc. In a word, the martial law regime was anathema to no small portion of the populace. It was in the light of the above circumstances and as a means of solving the dilemma aforementioned that the concept embodied in Amendment No. 6, giving the President emergency power in case of a threat or imminence to issue necessary decrees, orders which shall be part of law of the land, was born in
8961-612: The stretch of EDSA between the two camps. This evolved in the largely peaceful 1986 EDSA Revolution , which ended with Marcos going into exile in Hawaii and Corazon Aquino becoming the 11th president of the Philippines on February 25, 1986. Under Aquino, the Philippines would adopt a new constitution, ending the Fourth Republic and ushering in the beginning of the Fifth Republic . Plaza Miranda Plaza Miranda
9064-522: The supposed "communist threat" – drawing on images of the bloody Huk encounters of the 1950s, and courting the Johnson administration's political support in light of the U.S.' recent entry into the Vietnam war . Marcos continued using communism as a bogeyman after 1968, as the PKP faded into obscurity and the nascent CPP became more prominent. The Armed Forces of the Philippines did likewise in 1969, when
9167-559: The withdrawal of the PHILCAG in November 1969. In 1969 , Marcos ran for a second term – the last one allowed him under the 1935 constitution which was then in effect. He won by a landslide against 11 other candidates. But Marcos' massive spending during the 1969 presidential campaign had taken its toll and triggered growing public unrest. During the campaign, Marcos had spent US$ 50 million for debt-funded infrastructure, triggering
9270-532: The writ of habeas corpus in the wake of the Plaza Miranda bombing; the September 1972 declaration of Martial Law ; the 1980 murder of Macli-ing Dulag ; and the August 1983 assassination of Ninoy Aquino . This radicalization led to a significant growth of the Communist Party of the Philippines under the Marcos administration. Writer and peace advocate Gus Miclat cites the example of Mindanao: " There
9373-521: Was $ 3 / barrel in 1973 and $ 39.5 in 1979, or a growth of 1200% which drove inflation. Despite the 1984–1985 recession, GDP on a per capita basis more than tripled from $ 175.9 in 1965 to $ 565.8 in 1985 at the end of Marcos' term, though this averages less than 1.2% a year when adjusted for inflation. The Heritage Foundation pointed out that when the economy began to weaken 1979, the government did not adopt anti-recessionist policies and instead launched risky and costly industrial projects. The government had
9476-615: Was achieved through the creation of government monopolies, awarding loans to cronies, forced takeover of public and private enterprises, direct raiding of the public treasury, issuance of presidential decrees that enabled cronies to amass wealth, kickbacks and commissions from businesses, use of dummy corporations to launder money abroad, skimming of international aid, and hiding of wealth in bank accounts overseas. The first formal elections since 1969 for an interim Batasang Pambansa (National Assembly) were held on April 7, 1978. Senator Aquino, then in jail, decided to run as leader of his party,
9579-434: Was actually laid down as early as the first day of his assumption of the Philippine presidency on December 30, 1965." Most notably, by the time Marcos declared martial law in September 1972, he had: Marcos began increasing his influence over the armed forces of the Philippines as soon as he became president in 1965 by following President Ramon Magsaysay 's precedent of concurrently hold the portfolio of defense secretary in
9682-550: Was attended by a crowd of about two million people. Aquino's camp began making preparations for more rallies, and Aquino herself went to Cebu to rally more people to their cause. In the aftermath of the election and the revelations of irregularities, Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) – a cabal of officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) – set into motion
9785-475: Was cast at the 45th anniversary celebration of the Armed Forces of the Philippines on December 22, 1980, when the president proclaimed: "A few days ago, following extensive consultations with a broad representation of various sectors of the nation and in keeping with the pledge made a year ago during the seventh anniversary of the New Society, I came to the firm decision that martial law should be lifted before
9888-665: Was claimed that the gravity of the disorder, lawlessness, social injustice, youth and student activism, and other disturbing movements had reached a point of peril, they felt that martial law over the whole country was not yet warranted. Worse, political motivations were ascribed to be behind the proclamation, since the then constitutionally non-extendable term of President Marcos was about to expire. This suspicion became more credible when opposition leaders and outspoken anti-Marcos media people were immediately placed under indefinite detention in military camps and other unusual restrictions were imposed on travel, communication, freedom of speech and
9991-502: Was generally perceived to be fraudulent, both locally and internationally. International observers, including a U.S. delegation led by Senator Richard Lugar , denounced the official results. Corazon Aquino rejected the results and held the "Tagumpay ng Bayan" (People's Victory) rally at Luneta Park on February 16, 1986, announcing a civil disobedience campaign and calling for her supporters to boycott publications and companies which were associated with Marcos or any of his cronies. The event
10094-502: Was marked by plunder, repression, torture, and atrocity. As many as 3,257 were murdered, 35,000 tortured, and 70,000 illegally detained according to estimates by historian Alfred McCoy . One journalist described the Marcos administration as "a grisly one-stop shop for human rights abuses, a system that swiftly turned citizens into victims by dispensing with inconvenient requirements such as constitutional protections, basic rights, due process, and evidence." According to World Bank data,
10197-663: Was marked with increased industrialization and the construction of nationwide infrastructure, including the creation of the North Luzon Expressway and the continuation of the Maharlika Highway (Pan-Philippine Highway). In 1968, Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. warned that Marcos was on the road to establishing "a garrison state" by "ballooning the armed forces budget," saddling the defense establishment with "overstaying generals" and "militarizing our civilian government offices." These were prescient comments in
10300-666: Was not one NPA cadre in Mindanao in 1972. Yes, there were activists, there were some firebrands... but there were no armed rebels then except for those that eventually formed the Moro National Liberation Front. When Marcos fled in 1986, the NPA was virtually in all Mindanao provinces, enjoying even a tacit alliance with the MNLF. " Several conflicting accounts about exist regarding the exact date on which Marcos signed
10403-540: Was so pervasive that it quickly earned a moniker: "Ilocanization". The most important of these appointments included Juan Ponce Enrile as Secretary of Defense, and Fidel Ramos as Armed Forces Vice Chief of Staff, who were both related to Marcos; and Fabian Ver, Marcos's townmate from Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, as Armed Forces Chief of Staff. In tandem with this "Ilocanization", generals loyal to Marcos were allowed to stay in their positions past their supposed retirement age, or were rewarded with civilian government posts. This led to
10506-448: Was supported by esteemed Philippine statesman Senator Lorenzo Tañada , who at the time was abroad representing the Philippines at international parliamentary conferences. Upon hearing the claim, Senator Tañada debunked it and clarified that he gave no such support for the declaration. Marcos, who thereafter ruled by decree, curtailed press freedom and other civil liberties, abolished Congress , controlled media establishments, and ordered
10609-523: Was trying to set himself up as military dictator, but we would do everything we can to back a man who was trying to make the system work and to preserve order. Of course, we understood that Marcos would not be entirely motivated by national interests, but this was something which we had come to expect from Asian leaders. Marcos informed the US Ambassador to the Philippines about his intent to declare Martial Law plan as early as September 17, 1972, just
#167832