AQUIAS, Francesca Regina

GACIS, Alexa Bianca

THESIS STATEMENT
Marcos close aides and advisers planned Martial Law.

INTRODUCTION

History points its finger towards Ferdinand Marcos as the only enforcer of Martial Law in
1972. People have generally believed that Martial Law was solely executed by Ferdinand
Marcos. The thesis statement goes against the assumption that it was a one-man endeavor,
and argues that Marcos had his team of cronies that helped him plan and implement Martial
Law in the Philippines. These include U.S. President Richard Nixon, the Omega 12 and Oplan
Sagittarius.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

U.S. President Nixon - Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 April 22, 1994) was
the 37th President of the United States from 1969 until 1974
Henry Kissinger- National Security Advisor of President Nixon
Martial Law under Marcos Regime - On September 21, 1972, President Ferdinand E.
Marcos placed the Philippines under Martial Law. The declaration issued under
Proclamation 1081 suspended the civil rights and imposed military authority in the
country.
Omega 12- the collective name of twelve of the closest and most powerful advisers of
President Ferdinand Marcos during the martial law years in the Philippines from 1972 to
1981
Tomas Diaz, PMA-Cl '51 - Vice Chief of the Philippine Constabulary
Juan Ponce Enrile - Minister of National Defense
Romeo Espino UP-ROTC - Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
(AFP)
Romeo Gatan - Chief of the Philippine Constabulary in Rizal Province
Alfredo Montoya, PMA Cl-'51 -Chief of the Philippine Constabulary Metropolitan
Command (METROCOM)
Ignacio Paz, PMA Cl-'51 - Chief of the Intelligence Services of the Armed Forces
of the Philippines (ISAFP)
Fidel Ramos, USMA Cl-'50; Honorary PMA Cl-51 -Chief of the Philippine
Constabulary (PC), future President(19921998)
Jose Rancudo - Chief of the Philippine Air Force (PAF)
Hilario Ruiz -Chief of the Philippine Navy (PN)
Rafael Zagala -Chief of the Philippine Army (PA)
 Fabian Ver, Honorary-PMA Cl '51 - Chief of National Intelligence Security
Authority (NISA) [1]
Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco, Jr., Honorary PMA Cl-'51 - present Chairman of
San Miguel Corporation.

7 WIse Men - Six of the 12 men in Omega 12 who knew of Marcos plans 2 months prior
its declaration, plus Marcos himself as the seventh member
Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco, Jr.\
Fabian Ver
Alfredo Montoya
Romeo Gatan
Tomas Diaz
Juan Ponce Enrile
Ferdinand Marcos

Oplan Sagittarius - the Master Plan of a multi-faceted operation for the declaration of
martial law this includes the apparatus, the scheme, the mechanism of martial law itself.

1. U.S. PRESIDENT RICHARD NIXON KNEW OF THE MARTIAL LAW PLAN OF MARCOS.

1.1 Contrary to official assertions, the United States Embassy in Manila knew that
President Ferdinand E. Marcos was about to declare martial law in 1972 and did not act
to stop him (Butterfield, 1987)
1.2 The United States Embassy in Manila knew that President Ferdinand E. Marcos was
about to declare martial law in 1972 and did not act to stop him (Bonner, 1987)
1.3 Henry Kissinger, when he was US President Richard Nixons Assistant for National
Security Affairs wrote out a memorandum on Sept. 23, 1972, regarding Ferdinand
Marcos imposition of martial law and his advice on how to proceed. Kissinger advised
that the US refrain from comment on Marcos action, regarding it as a Philippine matter.
To which Nixon wrote a note that reads K-low key it. (Ocampo, 2017)

2. TWELVE MILITARY OFFICERS, KNOWN AS THE OMEGA 12 PERSONALLY

2.1 U.S. Ambassador then to Manila, William Sullivans confidential memo dated
December 24, 1974 to the US State Department states ...Marcos chose to decorate the
twelve men of defense establishment whom he described as instrumental in deciding
and implementing martial law, (Malig, 2013)
2.2 Staged ambush of Enrile, which Marcos himself used as a justification for the
proclamation of martial law. (Hofilea, 2014)
2.3 Six of the 12 knew of Marcos' decision to impose martial law two months before the
actual proclamation.. (Zamora, 2007)
3. HIGH-RANKING OFFICIALS AND MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE
PHILIPPINES, TOGETHER WITH THE PHILIPPINE CONSTABULARY, RECOGNIZED THE
OPLAN SAGITTARIUS.

3.1 On September 15, 1972, former Senator Benigno Ninoy Aquino Jr. mentioned
during his speech that he found out a top-secret military plan led by the Marcos
administration. His discovered this multi-faceted operation through a military informant.
(Canoy, 1980)
3.2 ... He distributed the copies of the plan in sealed envelopes to the military officials
and leaders of the intelligence community. He took great care and caution to assign
different Zodiac code-names to the copies he handed out to the would-be martial law
enforcers. (Mijares, 1976)
3.3 ...It was so easy and convenient then to pinpoint Soliman as the source of Aquino.
Thus, ranking officers of the armed forces did not have to commit mental dishonesty
when they denied the existence of Oplan Sagittarius. They were not aware of any game
plan by that code-name. However, they did acknowledge to newsmen that the
contingency plan was the martial law plan itself. (Mijares, 1976)
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Bonner, R. (1987). Waltzing with a dictator: the Marcoses and the making of American policy.
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Butterfield, F. (1987, April 19). New Book on Marcos Says U.S. Knew of His '72 Martial-Law
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