CASE STUDY: PHILIPPINES DURING MARTIAL LAW

AND 1986 EDSA REVOLUTION

In Partial fulfillment of the Requirement for the Subject

Readings in Philippine History

Submitted by:

Ribano, Camille N.

Submitted to:

Sir Janflor McLouie S. Ullero

Professor
I. Backdrop of Martial Law

Proclamation No. 1081 was signed on September 21, 1972. There are many

gossips about why Marcos wanted to declare martial law. Many believed that it was

because he wanted to stay in his position for power. During that time, the 1935 Philippine

constitution only allowed presidents with a maximum of two consecutive terms. Marcos,

Sr. was elected in 1965 and was reelected in 1969. So Marcos Sr. was no longer eligible

to run as president at the end of his term. Aside from thinking of implementing martial

law to the Philippines he also wanted to make the Philippines Parliament so he can be the

prime minister. Declaring martial law is one of his choices to remain his power, and to

continue to suppress his rule in the country.

Marcos stated that the purpose of the Martial Law is to build a new society. The

declaration of martial law is highlighting the need for the additional ruling power caused

by the growing threat of communism and insurgency in the country. Therefore, the main

objective of the proclamation is the preservation of national security. Another thing is to

affect the political, social and economic stability and development of the Philippines.

Thus bring a big transformation to the society of the country with a great sense of order

and discipline.

Since the declaration of martial law in the Philippines it has been associated with

military or law and order. The whole country becomes more disciplined due to the

curfew, and if someone violates the rule they will be given a disciplinary action. During

the regime of Marcos in time of martial law an unprecedented number of infrastructure

projects happened in the Philippines. This includes construction of roads, bridges, public

facilities, hospitals and more.

 In opposition to the positive effects of the proclamation, the implementation of

martial law had a significant negative effect on the country and its people. As we all

know the implementation of martial law decreases the crime rates, but there are

assumptions that if you violate the law during that time you will be captured and tortured

by the army. Martial law resulted in several serious human rights abuses such as forced

disappearances, torture, and more. Many people such as political activists, unarmed

citizens, and journalists were arrested, detained, and tortured without having enough

shreds of evidence that they violated the law. Also, the declaration of martial law leads to

the suppression of civil liberties. People do not have the right to speak negatively to the

government. People do not have the freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and more.

During this time Media outlets were censored and shut down. People were afraid to speak

up about their opinions about martial law since they might be arrested and get tortured by

the armies.

Despite the claim that the Marcos era was a golden age for the Philippines, we

cannot ignore the fact that the Marcos Regime’s economic policies led to a decline in the

Philippine economy. Based on the data, the martial law museum stated that poverty

worsened during that era, workers' wages decreased, and prices of goods and services

increased significantly. The country’s international debt increases, which leads to the

effect that we feel and still pay for up to this day.

As a Filipino, we should remember that Martial law plays a significant role in

Philippine history, as it represents an important juncture that impacted the nation's

political, social, and economic status. It is important because it helps the importance of

choosing the right leader for our country. Martial law history will serve as the basis for
 all the Filipino and younger generations that unity is possible despite the difficulties that

you are facing. Lastly, it reawakened patriotism and it taught the Filipino people to

choose the right leader, and that human rights should not be compromised to achieve a

common goal.

II. Humanitarian Violence during Martial Law

Under Martial law, many people were illegally arrested, thousands of filipino

people, including activists, innocent people were subjected to extrajudicial killings.

Thousands of Filipinos are being tortured, imprisoned and disappeared and nowhere to

be found. Moreover, martial law led to suspension of basic civil liberties such as

freedom of speech, freedom of speech and more. During martial law the government

becomes more strict and they have the power to control the media. The government was

limiting the freedom of press by disseminating the critical information about the

government.

Moreover, there are various forms of physical torture inflicted during that time

which are, beatings, burning or being heated with different kinds of objects, suffocation,

sexual abuses such as rape and degradation, and waterboarding wherein they will put

pouring water over a cloth placed on the victim faced which can lead to a drowning of the

victim. Another form of torture is Psychological torture which they threat the victim that

they will harm their family members which can lead to psychological manipulation of the

victim. These are some of the several examples of how cruel and human rights are being

violated during Martial law.

5 accounts of humanitarian violence during martial law:

 The case of Liliosa Hilao: Liliosa Hilao was an activist, and paper editor in her

school, she wrote essays about the death of the democracy of the Philippines during the

martial law. In 1973, she was arrested because she was involved in some protest against

Marcos. In her detention, she was tortured and sexually abused by the soldiers. She died

and the authorities claimed that she killed herself by drinking muriatic acid. This is one of

the numerous symbols of human rights during Marcos regime.

Massacres: Aside from the particular people who stood against the government

during Martial law, many notable massacres happened during that time, there were five

recorded massacres all over the Philippines. These are the.Culasi, Guinayangan, Tudela,

Las Navas and Daet massacres.

Forced disappearances: according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer net, many

students, leaders, teachers, and farmers are activists who went missing during martial

law. They shared a common fate, which disappeared during the regime of Marcos,

nowhere to be heard and found.

Torture: Many political activists and innocent people were subject to physical

and psychological abuses. Benjamin Pimentel’s The Unusual Journey of Edgar Jopson is

one of many examples of humanitarian violence during martial law according to

Remollino, Jopson was heavily tortured since he was repeatedly slapped and punched

during his interrogation and also experienced sexual abuse.

Arrest without warrant: the late senator “Nene” Pimentel Jr. stated in the

interview in the Philippine Daily Inquirer net that he was arrested twice during the regime

of Marcos without knowing the reason why. The anti-terrorism law authorizes the
 enforcers to arrest people with a warrant of arrest by the court. Meaning to say just by the

personal determination of the enforcer. You can be captured because of this order.

Overall, According to the group Amnesty International, about 70,000 Filipinos

were imprisoned because of their political actions, 34,000 people were tortured, an

estimated 3,240 were killed, and over 1600 disappeared, and nowhere to be found.

III. 1986 EDSA Revolution

The people power EDSA Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution of

1986, is a non-violent movement, where millions of Filipinos gather and march along

Epifanio de los Santos Avenue also known as EDSA. To end the removal of President

Marcos Sr. from his position and for the Filipinos to start a new era to feel true freedom

and real democracy.

The main goal of the EDSA revolution was political change in the Philippines.

The main goal of the EDSA revolution was to remove Marcos Sr., who had power in the

Philippines for over 20 years. The EDSA revolution aimed to put an end to widespread

human rights abuses, corruption, and authoritarian rule during that time. Another thing is

to establish a government that would address issues of corruption, promote transparency

to the people, and also give value to human rights. Since Martial Law, there have been

many human rights abuses committed during that period so people wanted reform and

accountability for it. Lastly, the Filipino people wanted to replace Marcos Sr. with

Corazon Aquino as the new President of the Philippines.

With this, the EDSA revolution is very important to the history of the Philippines

and also to the Filipino people as it was the trigger to start a worldwide peaceful or non-

violent revolt that overthrew dictatorial regimes around the world. Moreover, it is widely
considered one of the most iconic events that happen in Philippine history, as it ends the

authoritarian rule and it restores freedom and democracy in the Philippines. The Filipinos

continue to celebrate the EDSA revolution as a national holiday since Filipino view it as

a symbol of hope and unity.

Moreover, the EDSA revolution had significant effects on the Philippines in

different aspects. One of the most significant effects of the EDSA Revolution was the

restoration of democracy in the Philippines which led to political reforms. That aims to

strengthen democratic institutions and endorse good governance. That helped establish a

new system and protection against abuses. Another effect is the restoration of freedom of

speech or expression and freedom of the press. The new government allows people and

journalists to report and be more transparent about their news and opinion to the

government. After the EDSA revolution, many people saw the importance of human

rights, so it led to the creation of the Commission of human rights which protects

peoples, cultural, social, and political rights.

During the martial law and the EDSA revolution we learned that Freedom, Rights,

and Democracy are very essential not only in every country, but to the lives of the people

as well.

Freedom was defined as the power to freely act, speak and think. It's a natural law

which means it was freely given and natural since we're born and no one shall violate it;

as it was equal to how we value life.

Rights refer to the entitlement or privilege we hold in purposes to protect and

preserve every individual's humanity and dignity. It's a privilege we enjoy and exercise;
 hence this privilege has limits if violated and has equivalent consequences punishable by

law.

Democracy grants the people’ power and authority over the government than

those in the position in the government. Overall, freedom, rights, and democracy are

important to every country because it's balanced and distributes the 'power' in the country

without discrimination, manipulation, or predominantly others over another. With

freedom, people can express freely to act, speak or think; to have a choice. While the

rights allow people to exercise their freedom, but bound them to the limits of what they

shouldn't cross to enjoy their rights. And lastly, the democracy which allows people to

have power against officials with authority.

Furthermore, after the regime of Marcos, the country faced economic challenges

since during his regime, the Philippines had a lot of international debt and political

instability. Though Corazon Aquino's administration is focused on restoring, and

stabilizing the economy. But despite these efforts, we cannot ignore the fact that the

Philippine economy faced numerous challenges after the Marcos regime. The idea of the

“Golden Age or Era” under the Marcos regime was not true, especially when you look at

the data during that time. Over the years, it's still quite odd that one single man with great

power for the whole country can bring the society and economy down for decades'.

IV. Marcos’s Ill-Gotten Wealth

During the regime of Marcos Sr, there were many allegations of corruption. After

his regime, many pieces of evidence arose showing that the Marcos family accumulated a

lot of public funds from the Philippines government. So the ill-gotten wealth of Marcoses
has been a significant topic to the Philippines and its people. Since it was a big

controversy and was investigated for so many years. One of the alleged Marcos ill-gotten

wealth was their Swiss bank accounts. It contains millions of money which is suspected

to be from corruption. Another thing is their art collection. Some of their collection was

worth of billion pesos like the missing Picasso painting which is spotted in their house

which according to Bautista is just one of the around 300 expensive paintings along with

luxury jewelry and properties that Marcos acquired using the resources of the country

Philippines.

Therefore, on February 28, 1986, former president Corazon Aquino issued her

first order and she established the Philippine Commission on good governance (PCGG).

PCGG, is a government agency of the Philippines whose primary purpose was created for

recovering the ill-gotten wealth accumulated by the Marcoses during the twenty years of

the dictatorship of the former president Ferdinand E Marcos; They are also responsible

for preventing the dissipation of the assets involved on Marcoses. According to Rappler.

PCGG estimated the ill-gotten wealth plundered by former President Ferdinand E Marcos

and his family is worth 10 billion US dollar, equivalent to 589 billion pesos, from 1965 to

1986. Based on the report of PCGG, the estimated amount of the ill-gotten wealth of the

Marcoses was not enough to pay the Philippines’ Debt, which was 13.021 trillion in total.

Up to the present, the worth amount recovered by PCGG was estimated to be 174

billion pesos so far. Including the recovered wealth on Swiss bank and legal settlements

of Marcos’ cronies.As of now, Antonio Carpio, former court associate justice, alleged

that there’s still 208 billion US dollars still owed by the Marcoses to the government for

the estate tax; in which he said that Bongbong Marcos refuses to pay.
V. Analysis on Martial Law and EDSA Revolution

As a student, studying historical events or especially martial law is very

significant for us to improve our knowledge about how things work the way they work

today. We should know the life of our fellow citizens and the status of the country during

the Martial Law period. So that as a student it will help us to choose and pick the right

leader for our country. So that from the things that happened in the past, we can learn a

lesson from them and it will also help us to avoid making the same mistakes and it will

help our country to become a better society.

There are many lessons we can get from the martial law and EDSA Revolution as

it plays a significant role in the history of the Philippines. The lesson First lesson that I

get upon doing this case study about Martial law and EDSA Revolution is that one

country can achieve everything with the help of unity. Like what happened in the EDSA

Revolution since people shared the same goal, and supported each other. They achieve

what they desire. Lastly, we should keep in mind that real changes begin in our hearts,

together with action we can achieve our desire.

Moreover, we all know that the Marcos regime lasted for almost 20 years. During

his term, Marcos has many economic and infrastructural projects which aim to improve

the economy and modernize the Philippines. However, those infrastructure and buildings

are nothing without the foreign debt that we are still paying up to this day. Based on the

data and articles that I read online, the Philippines already failed in progress and

economic growth during Marcos regime since he stole trillions of money, and because of

the widespread human rights abuses the Filipino people faced.

 Marcos should not be glorified for all the infrastructure that he built during his era

since as a President, it is your responsibility to serve the people and the money he used

was not from his pocket, but from the taxes paid by the Filipinos and also from the

foreign debt that we are still paying today.

VI. Is Marcos a hero? Why or why not?

A dictator whose regime was characterized by widespread human rights abuses,

killings, tortures, and corruption. Cannot be considered a hero. We all know that he

contributed a lot to the country in terms of building infrastructure and establishments, but

it doesn’t make him a hero.

According to the Department of Culture, a person may be considered a national

hero if they have courage, outstanding achievement, and noble qualities. And someone

who has a significant positive contribution to the country’s/people's growth and

development. Also, had struggled in achieving the nation’s freedom. All of these

statements and characteristics stated by the Department of Culture oppose how Marcos

treated the Filipinos during his regime. In conclusion, Marcos should never be considered

a Philippines National hero.

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