This book is based on facts and evidence.

Names, characters, places, and incidents are historically

accurate.

Available under Creative Commons Licensce 3

Front cover image

All rights reserved.

Published in the Philippines by the
Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission

Originally published in softbound in the Philippines

by the Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission
a Philippine government agency created by Republic Act 10368

Visit us on the Web! thefreedommemorial.ph

For Educators and Teachers visit us at thefreedommemorial.ph/educators

This book is available in softcopy at thefreedommemorial.ph

Summary: The Essential Truths of the Marcos Declaration of Martial Law on September 21, 1972.

Printed in the Philippines

Revised First Educators Edition 2019

 i.

ESSENTIAL TRUTHS ABOUT

MARCOS’ DECLARATION
OF MARTIAL LAW
 ii.

FOREWORD

The Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission

(MemCom) was established in 2013 under Republic Act No. 10368:
“An Act Providing for Reparation and Recognition of Victims of Human Rights
Violations during the Marcos Regime, Documentation of Said Violation,
Appropriating Funds Therefor and for Other Purposes”.

Part of its mandate under RA 10368, is to:

“…establish, restore, preserve, and conserve the Memorial, Museum, Library,

and Compendium in honor of the Human Rights Violations Victims (HRVVs)
during the Marcos Regime. It shall coordinate and collaborate with the
Department of Education, the Commission on Higher Education and other
partner institutions to ensure that the teaching of Martial Law atrocities, the
lives and sacrifices of HRVVs in our history are included in the
basic, secondary and tertiary education curricula.

The series on the Essential Truths about the 1972-1986 Martial Law Era
seeks to provide teachers & instructors a quick reference guide that is evidence-
based. This series is divided into key topics and will be issued separately. The
“Essential Truths about Marcos’ Declaration of Martial Law in 1972” is the first of the
series.

The MemCom consulted a variety of sources to triangulate the truth. Facts

were carefully evaluated by experts from various disciplines ranging from economics
to political science. Historical accounts were weighed and pre-tested among teachers
and teaching supervisors from elementary to tertiary levels.

Such rigor ensured that, as much as possible, this series is evidence-based.

Myths, false truths, and propaganda were methodically debunked. Footnotes at the
bottom of the pages provide more information. References are listed for those who
 iii.

want to read up on the topic further.

We hope that the reader will have a greater appreciation of our national
history and will be able to distill the important lessons history teaches us.

For a Just and Humane Society,

Carmelo Victor A. Crisanto

Executive Director
Human Rights Violations Victims’
Memorial Commission
1 ESSENTIAL TRUTHS SERIES

INTRODUCTION

What is Martial Law?

Martial Law is the imposition of military rule in times of war
or extreme civil unrest. The 1935 Philippine Constitution provides that
the President “... may call out (the) armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless
violence , invasion, insurrection, or rebellion, or imminent danger thereof, when
the public safety requires it, he may suspend the privileges of the writ of habeas
corpus, or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law.”
 MARCOS DECLARATION OF MARTIAL LAW 2

ESSENTIAL TRUTHS
about the Marcos Declaration of Martial Law

Marcos claimed that he declared Martial Law to save the Republic from
lawlessness and anarchy arising from a serious communist rebellion and deadly
violence in Mindanao caused by armed clashes between Christian and Muslim
groups and an armed secessionist movement. The Essential Truth is that Marcos
declared Martial Law to perpetuate himself in power.

I. Justification of Marcos for the Declaration of Martial Law

On the night of September 23, 1972, Ferdinand Marcos announced that
he had issued Proclamation 1081 dated September 21, 1972 placing the entire
country under Martial Law. The 6,000-word Proclamation 1081 provided a lengthy
justification for the declaration of Martial Law.

Proclamation 10811 painted a society degenerating into anarchy and

chaos. It cited a conspiracy to overthrow the government and seize state power,
identifying the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the
New People’s Army (NPA) as the imminent threat to the Republic. Proclamation
1081 described the supposed threat in apocalyptic terms:

“…there is throughout the land a state of anarchy and lawlessness, chaos and
disorder, turmoil and destruction of a magnitude equivalent to an actual war
between the forces of our duly constituted government and the New People’s
Army and their satellite organizations…”

and that

“…the rebellion and armed action undertaken by these lawless elements of

the communist and other armed aggrupations organized to overthrow the
Republic of the Philippines by armed violence and force have assumed the
magnitude of an actual state of war against our people and the Republic of
the Philippines.”

1. Proclamation 1081 was dated September 21, 1972. It was lifted on January 17, 1981 with the issuance of Proclamation No.
2015. However, Marcos retained most of his Martial Law powers until he fled the Philippines via US airlift to Hawaii on February
25, 1986. Thus, the period from September 1972 up to February 1986 is often referred to as the period of the Marcos Martial Law
Era.
 3 ESSENTIAL TRUTHS SERIES

Furthermore, the proclamation claims that many parts of Mindanao are in

virtual state of war and that:

“there is…serious disorder in Mindanao and Sulu resulting from the unsettled conflict
between certain elements of the Christian and Muslim population of Mindanao and
Sulu, between the Christian “Ilagas” and the Muslim “Barracudas”, and between
our government troops, and certain lawless organizations such as the Mindanao
Independence Movement…(which)… is engaged in an open and unconcealed attempt
to establish by violence and force a separate and independent political state out of the
islands of Mindanao and Sulu.”

In summary, Marcos claimed that he imposed Martial Law because of

widespread anarchy and disorder caused by: (1) a communist rebellion bent on
overthrowing government and seizing state power; and (2) sectarian violence between
armed Muslim and Christian groups as well as a secessionist rebellion in Mindanao. Let
us examine the facts.

II. Context
For context, it is useful to briefly review the national and gIobal situation
before the 1972 declaration of Martial Law. A large segment of the population was
mired in poverty because of social inequality resulting from the structural problems
of Philippine society. Rural poverty was prevalent due to the unequal distribution
and control of productive land. Huge tracts of land called haciendas were still in
the hands of a few, while many of the rural folk remained landless and shackled in
virtual serfdom.

There had also emerged, a capitalist class which controlled key Philippine
industries although transnational companies dominated important sectors of the
economy. The Philippine economy was growing but remained heavily dependent
on the United States of America (US).

The country was under an American-style democracy. Two political

parties, the Nacionalista Party (NP) and the Liberal Party (LP)2, were the dominant
political forces. The two parties were almost identical in ideological orientation,
both professing adherence to liberal democracy and devoted to the preservation of
the status quo (Lande 1967).

2. According to Brittanica Online Marcos was a member of the House of Representatives (1949–59) and of the Senate (1959–65),
serving as Senate president (1963–65). In 1965 Marcos, who was a prominent member of the Liberal Party founded by Roxas, broke
from it after failing to get his party’s nomination for President. He then ran as the Nacionalista Party candidate for president against
the Liberal presidential candidate, Diosdado Macapagal.
 MARCOS DECLARATION OF MARTIAL LAW 4

Internationally, the Cold War was raging. The Cold War between
communist countries led by the USSR3 (also called the Soviet Union) and the
non-communist countries led by the US was characterized by intense rivalry and
geopolitical jockeying between the two world powers, a nuclear arms race, and
proxy wars within and between countries. In the pursuit of its national interest, the
US supported authoritarian regimes in Africa, South America and Asia.

In Asia, it supported General Lon Nol in Cambodia (Kierman 2008),

Suharto in Indonesia, Major General Park Chung-Hee in South Korea, and
successive military governments in South Vietnam. Successive US Presidents
Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan all supported the Marcos regime.

The Philippines was of great strategic value for the US during the Cold
War. It maintained military bases in the Philippines4 of which the most important
were the Clark Air Base4 and the Subic Naval Base5. The bases were a key element in
the US’s forward deployment strategy in the Philippines. (Kimlick 1990) Moreover,
the Philippines was heavily dependent on the US for its external security as well as
armaments, technical assistance and financial aid for its internal security.

3. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was born out of the October 1917 Russian Revolution when Vladimir Lenin’s
Bolsheviks succeeded in gaining control of the revolution that deposed Czar Nicolas II. The USSR actively promoted Marxism-
Leninism or what is popularly known as communism. In 1991, due to internal and external factors, the USSR was dissolved and
lost its status as a superpower. 12 of the soviet republics broke away and became independent states. These are Russia, Georgia,
Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan).
4. Clark Air Base in Pampanga was the largest U.S. military air base outside the United States and a vital connecting link with
U.S. forces in South Korea and, later, Southeast Asia. During the Vietnam War (1955–75), Clark Air Base was one of the largest
military bases of the U.S overseas and served as a strategic supply base and fighter-squadron installation.
5. Subic Naval Station in Zambales was a major ship-repair, supply, and rest and recreation facility of the U.S Navy in the Pacific
 5 ESSENTIAL TRUTHS SERIES

There was also intense rivalry between the USSR and

China for leadership of the communist world. The Partido
Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP)6 looked to the Soviet Union while the newer
Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) was ideologically aligned with China
and professed adherence to “Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse Tung Thought”. China
was in the throes of what Mao Zedong7 termed as the “Great Proletarian Cultural
Revolution” which mobilized the Chinese youth (known as the Red Guards) against
“revisionists” and “capitalist roaders”.

Mao’s “Little Red Book” became a bible of sorts among many of the
activists in the pre-Martial Law era and “Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse Tung Thought”
remains the orthodoxy within Communist Party of the Philippines. In the Third
World, the period is marked by national liberation struggles and the struggle against
neo-colonialism8.

In many places around the world, students were taking to the streets,
forming a significant portion of the international protest wave that marked the
period from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. In the United States and Europe,
activism and radical politics became the norm within the student body. Student
demonstrations, sit-ins, teach-ins, pickets and marches became common occurrences
during those times. (Barker 2008). The period also saw the women’s movement and
the civil rights movement given new impetus.

III. Was there widespread anarchy in the days leading up to the

declaration of Martial Law?

Although there was social unrest and increased social mobilization in the
time immediately before Martial Law imposition, there is little evidence that there
was widespread anarchy and chaos necessitating the declaration of Martial Law in
September 1972.

As Elumbre (2012) pointed out, the Philippines was not in the brink of
collapse from a civil and internal war. Then AFP Chief of Staff General Manuel
Yan did not believe that there were extraordinary circumstances that would merit
such extraordinary measure as the declaration of martial rule (Quoted in Batas
Militar, 1997 cited by Elumbre, 2012).
6. The PKP was founded on November 1930 by Crisanto Evangelista and other labor leaders of the Congreso Obrero de Filipinas.
The primarily urban-based PKP acquired a peasant base when it merged with Pedro Abad Santos’ Socialist Party of the Philippines
(SPP). The merged entity was still called the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas.
7. Mao Zedong was one of the revolutionary leaders of the People’s Republic of China. He ruled China (as Chairman of the
Communist Party of China) from 1949 until his death in 1976. The older romanized version of his name was Mao Tse Tung.
8. Neo-colonialism refers to the indirect control of less-developed countries or former colonies by developed countries or their
former colonizers. The term also refers to the indirect control of developing countries by transnational corporations or international
financial institution. Philippine nationalists and student activists during that period often referred to the Philippines as an American
neocolony.
 MARCOS DECLARATION OF MARTIAL LAW 6

It is undeniable that Philippine society during the second term of Marcos

as President, which started in 1969, was in turmoil. Election overspending during
the 1969 elections resulted in a spike in inflation9 causing more widespread
disenchantment which further fueled an upsurge in militancy by workers, farmers,
and student organizations.

By late 1960s, student activism was reaching its peak. Student

demonstrations were becoming bigger, more frequent, and more militant. Student
activists were broadly divided into “radicals” and “moderates”. The largest radical
groups were the Kabataan Makabayan (KM)10 and the Samahan ng Demokratikong
Kabataan (SDK), which espoused revolutionary change and national democracy.

The National Union of Students in the Philippines (NUSP), Lakasdiwa,

and the Kapulungan ng mga Sandigang Pilipinas (KASAPI)11were the moderate
student groups. These groups espoused peaceful means to effect social change.

The student movement was initially dominated by moderates and their

demands were largely reformist. Eventually however, the radicals gained ground.
(Parsa 2000). In any case, both moderate and radical groups were becoming more
militant. Their concerns were transcending student demands and were becoming
more encompassing and societal.

Some of the demonstrations turned violent because in many cases, the
police over-reacted and some students died in clashes with the police. Student
activism reached its peak in January-March 1970 in what has become known as the
First Quarter Storm.

A series of bombings rocked Manila and its suburbs in the early 1970s. On
August 21, 1971, two grenades were lobbed at the miting de avance of the Liberal
Party’s senatorial slate at Plaza Miranda, killing a number of people and wounding
several others including prominent LP politicians.

9. From 2% in 1969, the inflation rate jumped to 14.4% in 1970 and increased even more to 21.4% in 1971.
10. Those espousing national democracy are known as national democrats or natdems or NDs. National democracy is a
revolutionary program seeking to unite the masses in the struggle against imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism. NDs
were not averse to using violent means to achieve social change. The principles of national democracy were first articulated by
Jose Ma. Sison and became the guiding principle of the KM, SDK and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).
11. KASAPI, Lakasdiwa, and the Katipunan (later Partido) ng Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas (KDSP) were the organizations
of social democrats (also known as socdems or SDs), the main ideological competitors of the national democrats.
 7 ESSENTIAL TRUTHS SERIES

Using the pretext of the Plaza Miranda bombing12, Marcos suspended the
writ of habeas corpus13 on August 21, 1971 through Proclamation 889.

Subsequent Proclamations (889-B, 889-C and 889-D) issued weeks apart,

partially lifted the writ suspension in selected places. Finally, Proclamation 890
lifted the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus entirely because

“…on the basis of continuing assessment of the situation, the

privilege of the writ of habeas corpus may now be fully restored”.

In other words, the situation that prompted the suspension of the writ of
habeas corpus had been addressed.

Proclamation 1081 cited the series of bombings as one of the signs of the
breakdown of society. But the only arrest made during that time was a Philippine
Constabulary personnel for planting a bomb in one of the shopping centers. No
thorough investigation was conducted regarding these bombings (Brillantes, 1999
cited by Elumbre, 2012).

The incident that Marcos said prompted him to declare Martial Law was
the supposed “ambush” of then-Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile. In his diary
entry (see next page) for 9:50 p.m. of September 22, 1972, Marcos wrote:

“Sec. Juan Ponce Enrile was ambushed near Wack-Wack at about 8:00 pm tonight …
This makes the martial law proclamation a necessity.”

This raises the question: How can an ambush which happened on

September 22, 1972 be a justification for Martial Law whose declaration was dated
September 21, 1972.

Furthermore, on February 22, 1986, Enrile admitted before the crowd

at EDSA during the People Power Revolution that the ambush that triggered the
declaration of Martial Law was fake (see PDI, February 23, 1986 and The Age,
February 24, 1986 as cited in Rappler September 23, 2018).

12. Marcos was accused of being the mastermind of the Plaza Miranda bombing. Later researchers would, however, pin the blame
on the communists. See example, Gregg Jones’ Red Revolution: Inside the Philippine Guerilla Movement (1989)”.
13. The writ of habeas corpus is a court order demanding that a public official produce an imprisoned individual to the court and
show a valid reason for that person’s detention. This Constitutionally-guaranteed right is meant to protect citizens against indefinite
detention without being charged.
8
 9 ESSENTIAL TRUTHS SERIES

In 2012, Enrile, in his autobiography, changed his story and stated that
the ambush did indeed happen stating that a speeding car overtook his convoy and
“opened several bursts of gunfire towards my car…” (Enrile 2012). In the succeeding
paragraph, he also wrote that

“Whether I was ambushed or not, martial law in the country was already and
irreversible fact…I honestly did not know why Marcos suddenly decided to cite my
ambush in justifying the declaration of martial law…”

The Essential Truth is that, there was little evidence that there was
widespread anarchy and chaos necessitating the declaration of Martial Law in
September 1972.

IV. Was there an imminent danger of a communist takeover?

Inspired by the writings of Mao Zedong, young radicals of the old Partido
Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP) broke away from their elders and founded (re-
established is their preferred term) the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)
on December 26, 1968 with Jose Ma. Sison as founding Chairman. On March
1969, the New People’s Army (NPA) was established with Bernabe Buscayno
(Kumander Dante) at its helm, a “ragtag army of 35 (regular combatants) and just
10 rifles.”(Datinguinoo 2006).

Proclamation 1081 devoted long passages on the communist threat. It

claimed that communists have taken control of the student movement and other
societal groups to foment anarchy and have built an army, the NPA, to launch a
rebellion and overthrow government.

But Proclamation 1081 itself put the NPA’s strength at that time at only
7,900 of which only 1,028 were regular combatants (the rest were said to be combat
support and service support). In contrast, the Armed Forces of the Philippines had
57,100 regular troops not counting the Philippines Constabulary and irregular
forces such as the Civilian Home Defense Force (IISS, 1971)14.

For comparison, the Huks15 during its peak in the early 1950s, had an
army of 12,000 to 13,000 regulars with a mass base of over 100,000 in Central
Luzon. In the mid-1950s, the Huks controlled large swaths of central and southern
Luzon (Azama 1985). By all accounts, the Huk
14. In 1971, the London based Institute of Strategic Studies noted that the total strength of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
comprised of 57,100 regular forces. The database holds no statistic as to the number of irregular forces that accompanied them
(Philippine Constabulary, Civilian Home Defense Forces, Integrated National Police, Reserves, etc.) Institute for Strategic Studies,
The Military Balance, 1971-1972 (London: Institute of Strategic Studies, 1971), 30.
15. Huk is the popular term for fighters of the Hukbong Magpapalaya sa Bayan (HMB), the predominantly peasant army of the old
Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP). The Huks were formerly the anti-Japanese guerilla army called the Hukbo ng Bayan Laban
sa Hapon (HUKBALAHAP) during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines.
 MARCOS DECLARATION OF MARTIAL LAW 10

rebellion posed a more serious threat to the Republic during its heyday but the
sitting President, Elpidio Quirino, did not find it necessary to resort to Martial Law.

The Essential Truth is that, although the CPP-NPA had launched its
people’s war during the time that Marcos declared Martial Law, it was not an
imminent threat to the Republic.

V. Was there an imminent danger of a successful secessionist

rebellion in Mindanao?

Proclamation 1081 also cited the violent conflict in Mindanao and the
threat of “lawless elements such as the Mindanao Independence Movement” as a
reason for the imposition of Martial Law. But this justification is not supported by
historical facts. It is true that violence perpetuated by armed Muslim and Christian
groups spiked during the early 1970s.

The violent incidents were, for the most part, sectarian in nature and
consisted of armed Christian groups or armed Muslim groups attacking Muslim
or Christian communities. (McKenna 1998). The armed bands of Christians were
known as the Ilaga while the armed Muslim paramilitaries were known as the
Barracudas in the Lanao provinces and Blackshirts in the Cotabato area.

The roots of the conflict can be traced to government-sponsored and
assisted immigration of Christian settlers from Luzon and the Visayas16 that
produced a demographic shift17 and resulted in significant changes in the land
ownership pattern in Mindanao (McKenna 1998, 114-115).

Inevitably, the dislocation of Muslims from productive land and

government neglect of Muslim-majority areas produced conflict and fueled Muslim
resentment against Christian settlers and the government. Starting around 1968,
the formerly peaceful coexistence between Christian and Muslims was shattered by
sectarian violence which reached its peak in the two-year period from 1970-1971
triggered by Ilaga attacks on Muslim communities.

16. The first wave of large-scale government-sponsored immigration occurred in 1935 during the Commonwealth period and
accelerated in the 1950s as part of government effort to defeat the Huk Rebellion and defuse agrarian unrest in Luzon and the
Visayas.
17. In Cotabato, for example, Muslims comprised 64.53% of the population in 1918. By 1970, they consisted only 37.37% of the
people in Cotabato (Source: O’Shaghnessy 1975 cited by McKenna 1998)
 11 ESSENTIAL TRUTHS SERIES

Proclamation 1081 did not mention the Moro National

Liberation Front (MNLF)18 as the Muslim secessionist group.
It was only after the declaration of Martial Law that the MNLF grew in
prominence with Nur Misuari at the helm and eventually led the Moro
secessionist rebellion in Mindanao. Proclamation 1081 only mentioned
the Mindanao Independence Movement (MIM)19 as the main secessionist rebel
group.

The first major clash between government troops and Moro fighters
occurred in October 1972. The conflict was triggered by the Marcos regime’s effort
to confiscate guns in the hands of civilians (Doral n.d.) Based on the evidence
during that period, the situation in Mindanao at that time did not warrant the
declaration of Martial Law. The MIM had been inactive for around a year prior to
September 1972 and did not have a secessionist army at its command.

Sectarian violence has tapered off and no serious incident had happened
in the six months prior to the declaration of Martial Law. (McKenna 1998, 156).
McKenna (1998) would add that

“The imposition of martial law was, in fact, the proximate cause,

not the consequence, of an armed Muslim insurgency against the
Philippine state…”

The Essential Truth is there was no imminent danger of a successful

secessionist rebellion.

VI. Was Martial Law Premeditated?

As early as March 1968, Marcos and Imelda opened four bank accounts
at the Credit Suisse and deposited a total of $950,000. To hide their identities, they
used the pseudonym William Saunders and Jane Ryan respectively. These wer the
first of many secret Swiss bank accounts that would be opened after the declaration
of Martial Law. (The Guardian, 2016).

18. The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) was founded by Nur Misuari who was a youth leader of the MIM.
19.The Mindanao Independence Movement (MIM) founded in 1968 by Cotabato’s retired governor, Datu Udtug Matalam with the
goal of secession of Muslim Mindanao from the Philippine Republic. But the MIM never actively pursued secession aside from
issuing manifesto which attracted national media attention. The MIM, however, attracted young Muslim activists, such as Nur
Misuari (the founder of the MNLF) and Hashim Salamat (the founder of Moro International Liberation Front), who would later
launch an armed secessionist rebellion.

*Image description
Two Swiss Credit Bank Documents, with the names and signatures of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos alongside each of their
pseudonyms - William Saunders and Jane Ryan. Retrieved from Ruben Caranza (posted on his social media) who served from
2001–2004, as the commissioner in charge of litigation and investigation in the Philippine commission that successfully recovered
$680 Million in ill-gotten assets of the family of Ferdinand Marcos hidden in banks in Switzerland, the U.S. and other foreign
countries.
12
 13

Imelda Marcos is seen at her apartment in Manila on June 27, 2007, as she sorts through bank statements and gold certificates that she
says prove the Marcos’s wealth is legal, adding that she has nothing to be ashamed of.
- Romeo Gacad, correspondent at L’Agence France-Presse (AFP)
 MARCOS DECLARATION OF MARTIAL LAW 14

Primitivo Mijares, Marcos’ media czar recounts in his book The Conjugal
Dictatorship of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos that

“I began to realize that Marcos imposed martial law, not to save the country from
a Communist rebellion and to reform society, but to hold on to the presidency for
life — and as a dictator. (Mijares 1976)

Further, Mijares claimed that Marcos had been contemplating on staying
in power indefinitely much earlier and immediately implemented a program to
make this possible.

“Upon his assumption of the presidency on Dec. 30, 1965, Mr. Marcos positioned
himself for a long rule beyond the constitutionally allowable two-term tenure which
should have ended on Dec. 30, 1973. His master plan called for winning reelection in
1969 “at all cost,” declaration of martial law “at least one year” before the expiration
of his second and last term on Dec. 30, 1973, packing the Supreme Court and the
defense establishment with his hand-picked followers, capture of the local governments,
and contriving crises after crises to justify a Marcos-led military putsch.” (Mijares
1976)

Enrile admitted in his autobiography that he prepared the Martial Law

documents in the last quarter of 1970. He said

“Before I left for Hong Kong (New Year of 1972), I visited President Marcos in
Malacanang. I delivered to him a large brown envelope, The brown envelope contained
sixteen documents: (1) the draft of a proclamation to declare martial law, (2) the draft
of seven general orders, (3) the drafts of several letters of instruction, (4) the draft of
my appointment as deputy commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
President Marcos asked me to keep them after I prepared them in late 1970. I kept
them in my steel safe at home…Except for President Marcos, no one knew that the
documents existed…” (Enrile 2012, 350-351)

The 1935 Philippine Constitution limits the term of any President to

eight (8) consecutive years.20 In 1972, Marcos was nearing the end of his second
term. He cannot be reelected to a third term21 unless the Constitution was changed
or his term is extended by Martial Law.

He did both.

20. Article VII, Section 5 of the 1935 Constitution states that: “No person shall serve as President for more than eight consecutive
years.”
21. Ferdinand Marcos was elected to his first four-year term as President in 1965 and was reelected in 1969.
 15

This is the Sunday edition of the Daily Express owned by Roberto S. Benedicto. Mr. Benedicto was one of President Marcos closests
friends and would later figure prominently in controlling other media outlets during the era.
 MARCOS DECLARATION OF MARTIAL LAW 16

With the imposition of Martial Law, Marcos was able to rule by decree.

Curfew was imposed, group assemblies were banned, and media outlet critical
of Marcos was shut down. Marcos ordered the arrest of his political enemies and
critics (including then-Senators Benigno Aquino, Jr., Jose Diokno, and Soc Rodrigo),
several journalists; activists; labor leaders; and even delegates to the Constitutional
Convention.

To further legitimize his authoritarian rule, the Constitutional Convention

was reconvened in 1973. With the opposition effectively silenced, the Constitution
was amended with a Transitory Provision that in effect insitutionalized Marcos’ rule.
Section 3 of Article XVII:

Transitory Provisions of the 1973 Constitution stated that:

“SEC. 3. (1) The incumbent President of the Philippines … shall continue to exercise his
powers and prerogatives under the nineteen hundred and thirty-five Constitution and the
powers vested in the President and the Prime Minister under this Constitution until he
calls upon the interim National Assembly to elect the interim President and the interim
Prime Minister, who shall then exercise their respective powers vested by this Constitution.

(2) All proclamations, orders, decrees, instructions, and acts promulgated, issued, or done
by the incumbent President shall be part of the law of the land, and shall remain valid,
legal, binding, and effective even after lifting of martial law or the ratification of this
Constitution, unless modified, revoked, or superseded by subsequent proclamations, orders,
decrees, instructions, or other acts of the incumbent President, or unless expressly and
explicitly modified or repealed by the regular National Assembly.”

The Esssential Truth is that, Marcos would rule as dictator

for the next 14 years until millions of Filipinos took to the
streets to oust him in what is now known worldwide as the
People Power Revolution.
17 ESSENTIAL TRUTHS SERIES

REFERENCES
Azama, Rodney S. 1985. The Huks and the New People’s
Army: Comparing Two Postwar Filipino Insurgencies.
Virginia: Marine Corp Command and Staff College.
https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/
report/1985/ARS.htm.

Barker, Colin. 2008. “Some Reflections on Student

Movements of the 1960s and Early 1970s.”
Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais, 43-91. Accessed
February 19, 2019. https://journals.openedition.org/
rccs/646#bodyftn15.

Constantino, Renato. 1969. “The Reelected Duo.” Graphic

Christmas Number, December 17: 18.

Datinguinoo, Vinia M. 2006. 20 Filipinos 20 Years after People

Power. Web Article, Philippine Center for Investigative
Journalism. Accessed December 21, 2018. http://pcij.
org/stories/bernabe-kumander-dante-buscayno/.

Doral, S. Sothi Rachagan and Richard F. n.d. The Conflict

in Mindanao: Perspective from South of the Border.
http://116.50.242.171/PSSC/index.php/agt01/article/
download/1692/1589.

Elumbre, Adonis. 2012. “Revisiting Histories, Reclaiming

Memories: Narratives on Dictatorship and Democracy
During the Marcos Regime.” In For Democracy and
Human Rights: Rekindling Lessons from Martial Law &
People Power Revolt, edited by Marlon Lara Cornelio
and Alvin Rabe Quintans, 8. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.

Enrile, J. P., & Navarro, N. A. (2012). Juan Ponce Enrile

A Memoir. Quezon City: ABS CBN Publ.

Laquian, Aprodicio A. 1974. “Martial Law in the Philippines

to Date.” Xth Annual Meeting, Association of Asian
Studies. Boston, Massachusetts. 32. Accessed
December 12, 2018. https://idl-bnc-idrc.
 MARCOS DECLARATION OF MARTIAL LAW 18

Leary, Virginia, A.A. Ellis, and Dr. Kurt Madlener. 1984. The
Philippines: Human Rights after Martial Law. Report
of a Mission, Geneva: International Commission of
Jurists. Accessed December 21, 2018. https://www.
icj.org/wp-content/uploads/1984/01/Philippines-
human-rights-mission-report-1984-eng.pdf.

McKenna, Thomas M. 1998. Muslim Rulers and Rebels:

Everyday Politics and Armed Separatism in the
Southern Philippines. Berkely: University of
California Press. http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/
ft0199n64c/.

Mijares, Primitivo. 1976. The Conjugal Dictatorship

of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. Jobo Elizes with
permission.

Parsa, Misagh. 2000. States, Ideologies & Social

Revolutions: A Comparative Analysis of Iran,
Nicaragua and the Philippines. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.

Wurfel, David. 1976. “Martial Law in the Philippines: The

Methods of Regime Change.” Pacific Affairs.

Images

ABS-CBN News Photo of Imelda Marcos

https://news.abs-cbn.com/focus/09/21/17/marcos-gold-bars-
fact-or-fiction Retrieved on 19 May 2019

Philippine Official Gazette c/o Philippine Diary Project photo of

Marcos Diary Entry https: https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/
featured/declaration-of-martial-law Retrieved on 19 May 2019

Philippine Official Gazette photo of Sunday Express Front Cover

https: https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/featured/declaration-
of-martial-law Retrieved on 19 May 2019

Ruben Carranza Photos of Swiss Bank Documents

Originally posted on Facebook Retrieved on 19 May 2019
19 ESSENTIAL TRUTHS SERIES

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
For the development of the materials for the series, we are grateful to the
following:

• Sr. Marietta Banayo, M.A – President, Assumption College of Davao

• Neil Martial Santillan, PhD : Chairperson, Department
of History, University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman
• Armando M. Medoza, Jr., PhD –University Professor,
Department of Political Science, UP Diliman
• Meynardo P. Mendoza, PhD – Faculty, Department of
History, Ateneo de Manila University
• Jan Carlo Punongbayan, UPSE Summa Cum Laude –
PhD Candidate in the School of Economics, UP Diliman
• Michael Charleston “Xiao” Chua, PhD Candidate - Assistant Prof.
Department of History, De La Salle University
• John Ray Ramos, MPA, Faculty, Department of History,
Far Eastern University Diliman
• Atty. Fely Arroyo – Human Rights Lawyer, Producer of
the documentary “Batas Militar”
• Dr. Aurora Parong – Former Board Member of the
Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board (HRVCB)
• Atty. Byron Bocar – Former HRVCB Board Member
• Ester Isberto – Former Board of Trustee Member of
the Bantayog ng mga Bayani
• Marian Pastor-Roces – Filipino Curator, founder of TAO, Inc.
and curator of the Bangsamoro Museum
• Jess Pasibe – Chief of Staff, Commissioner-in-Charge
for Research and Development, Presidential
Commission on Good Government (PCGG), 2010 – 2015
• Rolando Librojo – Research Consultant, Memcom
• Joel Sarmenta, Consultant, Commission on Human Rights

Special mention is given to Jimmy dela Vega, Executive Director of the

Davao Association of Catholic Schools (DACS) who was instrumental in securing
approval of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) for the Essential Truths
Course for teachers to earn Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points.
NOTES
ESSENTIAL TRUTHS ABOUT

1972-1986MARTIAL LAW ERA