EXPLAINER | Before and behind the powers of Martial Law

When we remember the 21 years of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in power through the declaration of Martial Law, we look back to the time during that dictatorship. Many remember it as a time full of atrocities, violations, and suppression, while others describe it to be the “Golden Era of Philippine Politics.”

While we remember the events that happened during that era and the outcomes it caused so that we may never face them again, let us also take a few steps backward to remember how the abuse of power through Martial Law was permitted.

Under Article II, Section 1 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the Philippines is a democratic country wherein power and sovereignty lies in the hands of every Filipino. However, there was a time when this liberty was challenged not by foreign colonizers, but by our very own countrymen.

As we have seen through the recent efforts to change the Constitution, we also see that amendments to the Constitution are not simple. So how did Marcos manage to use his constitutional powers to stay in power for so long? How was he able to turn a nation of democracy into a nation deprived of it?

In 1969, Ferdinand Marcos Sr. won his second term in office—being the first Philippine president in the third republic to do so.

During the 1960s, the Philippines was spiraling into a crisis. Growing debt, rising poverty incidence, election fraud, corruption, and cronyism plagued the Marcos administration. On top of these issues, America’s influence on the country to join the Vietnam War in the guise of humanitarian missions was threatening the country’s neutrality in the Cold War.  

Even before the imposition of Martial Law in 1972, student-led rallies were already on the rise. One of the most prominent activist organizations back then was the Kabataang Makabayan (KM) which staged a lot of demonstrations condemning the US’ involvement in the Vietnam War, clamoring for national democracy, the end of foreign dependence, and dismantling of the upper class.

Marcos’ ambition for a prolonged—or even an eternal stay in power was first proclaimed in his 1969 inaugural speech. He expressed his intent to change the 1935 constitution in favor of a new one that would be drafted through a constitutional convention.

However, it was not his inaugural speech that instigated the First Quarter Storm of 1970, but the events of his State of the Nation Address on January 26, 1970. Student leaders headed by Edgar Jopson demanded that Ferdinand Marcos not seek a third term and put it in writing; which he angrily declined. This resulted in the Battle of Mendiola considered as Manila’s most violent night in its post-war history which resulted in attacks against unarmed protesters and bloodshed.

The president’s reluctance and violent reaction to the students’ demands caused a series of protests, demonstrations, and uprisings from January to March of 1970. During this event, activist organizations condemned the state’s perpetration of low wages, union busting, militarization of rural areas, and oil price hikes. It was clear that civil unrest was likely.

With piling issues such as the First Quarter Storm of 1970, and the growing communist insurgency of the late 1960s threatening his authority, Marcos wants to know the extent of his power to respond to these threats. Foreseeing the escalation of instability, he discretely ordered then Justice Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile to study the powers of the President as Commander-in-Chief under the 1935 Constitution. Marcos also tasked Executive Secretary Alejandro Melchor and Jose Almonte to analyze how military rule was implemented in different parts of the world and its consequences. The results of their analysis concluded that although it may foster a degree of development, it will ultimately debilitate the Philippines because of division in politics and the immense power it will offer to Marcos.

In 1969, the New People’s Army (NPA) was founded by the Communist Party of the Philippines in response to the worsening political and economic climate in the country. The armed group was a manifestation of the party’s commitment to an armed struggle whose goal was to overthrow Ferdinand Marcos’ regime. This insurgency grew in numbers as widespread injustice loomed over the country.

Down south, another rebellion was brewing. After news of the Jabidah Massacre reached the shores of Mindanao, the already escalating Muslim separatist movement in the area grew even fiercer. This incident fueled the anger of the Moros who had for decades been undermined, exploited, and discriminated against by the central Philippine government which resulted in a rebellion in the area.

Marcos saw these upheavals as an opportunity to forge a plan that would let him remain in power.

On August 21, 1971, a bombing happened during the Liberal Party’s miting de avance in Plaza Miranda. Two hand grenades were thrown at the stage killing nine people and injuring a hundred. Marcos attributed the attack to the growing communist insurgency and suspended the Writ of Habeas Corpus, allowing suspected enemies of the state to be arrested with no warrant.

The last incident that led to the declaration of Martial Law was on September 22, 1972, when then-Defense Secretary Jose Ponce Enrile was ambushed. According to his 2012 autobiography, they were suddenly attacked by gunfire, and out of shock, his men were not able to shoot back.

On September 23, 1972, he publicly announced the declaration of Martial Law in the whole country, Through Proclamation No. 1081, s. 1972, he established the communist rebels as the reason for the declaration; explaining that they were a threat to peace and stability. He claimed that the Plaza Miranda bombing and Enrile ambush were the doings of the NPA as part of their greater ambition to topple the government. Framing the declaration of Martial Law as a means of quelling rebellions to maintain peace and order in the country.

He used the provisions of the 1935 Constitution, Article VII, Section 11, Paragraph 2 which gave him the power to put the Philippines under military rule in the name of public safety. The clause “The President shall be commander-in-chief of all armed forces of the Philippines and, whenever it becomes necessary, he may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion, insurrection, or rebellion, or imminent danger thereof” was utilized to justify the imposition of Martial Law and using the communist guerillas as scapegoats.

During the first days of Martial Law, many media outlets were shut down, and arrests of activists, journalists, intellectuals, and members of the opposition were made. 

Prominent media outlets like the ABS-CBN Network and Channel 5 along with other local and regional radio stations and publications were forcibly closed. Philippines Free Press publisher, Teodoro Locsin Sr., Manila Times publisher, Chino Roces, and several other journalists like Amando Doronila, Luis Beltran, Maximo Soliven, Juan Mercado, and Luis Mauricio were imprisoned during the first hours of Martial Law. The Marcos regime justified these arrests by accusing them of “causing the discredit of or distrust in the government” and being “against the government.”

Even so, the media was not completely shut down but were now in the hands of Marcos and his cronies. The Kanlaon Broadcasting System and The Philippine Daily Express, both owned by Marcos crony Roberto Benedicto, and several television channels were allowed to continue operations. However, they were to broadcast only “the good, the true, and the beautiful” and were not allowed to report anything that has no positive national value.

Although it was on September 23 that the declaration of Martial Law was broadcast and made public, it was signed on the 21st; hence, the reason why the commemoration of the anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law falls on the latter date.

Looking back at the Enrile ambush, the incident happened on the 22nd, the day after signing the declaration and the day before the public announcement. This meant that the Enrile ambush was staged for Marcos to have a justification for implementing military rule. Enrile revealed after the EDSA People Power Revolution of 1986 that the ambush was fabricated.

On the other hand, some argue that the September 21 date is part of the Marcos propaganda, and it is on September 23rd that the Martial Law Declaration must be commemorated because that is when the Filipino people came to know of this change. They believe that the declaration was post-signed and dated September 21st because of the Marcoses’ supposed superstitious belief in numerology; they considered 21 as an auspicious number. Nevertheless, they argue that the Martial Law anniversary should be commemorated on the 23rd because as far as the Filipino people at that time were concerned, it was on that date that the Martial Law started.

Based on Article VII, Section 2 of the 1935 Constitution, “The President shall hold his office during a term of four years and together with the Vice-President chosen for the same term, shall be elected by direct vote of the people.”

Marcos will not be able to prolong his stay in the seat of power. By 1972, he was already in his sixth year as president and was on his second four-year-long term which was the maximum.

Marcos’ constitution was born through the 1971 Constitutional Convention wherein around 300 delegates from different parts of the country gathered to draft a new constitution that would replace the 1935 Philippine Constitution.

In December 1972, the 1973 Constitution the delegates of the 1971 Convention who were tasked with its creation finished drafting the new charter and submitted it to the president. Marcos then handed it to the people for the ratification of the 1973 constitution. Instead of a plebiscite, Marcos utilized citizen assemblies to ratify his new constitution through Presidential Decree 86.  Under this decree, the ratification process did not involve secret ballot voting but through open voting through show of hands in barrio centers where they were collectively asked if they approve of the new Constitution, and if they would like for a plebiscite to be held at a later date.

The ratification of the 1973 Constitution through citizen assemblies was conducted from January 10 to January 15, 1973 wherein two questions were asked: “Are you in favor of adopting the proposed (1973) constitution?” to which 14,976,561 (90.67%) voted in favor of, and “Are you in favor of holding another plebiscite to ratify the Constitution?” wherein 14,298,814 (90.96%) voted against. This method of ratification was immediately challenged by critics like Josue Javellana who, in the Javellana v. Executive Secretary case, questioned the authority of the president to create the Citizen Assemblies and its compliance with the 1935 Constitution. 

Vidal Tan, J. Antonio Araneta, Alejandro Roces, Manuel Crudo, Antonio U. Miranda, Emilio de Peralta, Lorenzo M. Tañada, Eddie Monteclaro, Napoleon V. Dilag, Alfredo Salapantan Jr., Leonardo Asodisen Jr., and Raul M. Gonzalez also filed petitions against the validity of its ratification claiming that the citizen assemblies were conducted with force and deception due to the mode of voting used which was open voting by Viva Voce or raising of hands, and their argument that there was no freedom as the country was under military rule. Gerardo Roxass, Ambrosio Padilla, Jovito R. Salonga, Salvador H. Laurel, Ramon V. Mitra, and Eva Estrada-Kalaw also followed suit, arguing that the Constitutional Convention of 1971 was not a free forum due to the declaration of Martial Law in the following year. 

However, all these ratification cases were dismissed by the Supreme Court because by the time that these cases were filed the 1973 charter was already ratified and in effect, thereby any issues regarding its ratification were now deemed invalid.

Under the new constitution, the Congress which was bicameral (composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives) was replaced by a single-chambered Batasang Pambansa composed of elected lawmakers, a prime minister, and a president. The president now has legislative, executive, judiciary, and military. On the under hand, the prime minister inherits the powers and functions of a president in the 1935 constitution. Furthermore, the Batasang Pambansa acts as the congress of this new constitution. However, instead of having two houses: an upper and a lower, the Batasang Pambansa operates as a whole. 

The Batasang Pambansa was just merely the dictator’s stamp pad. According to the Ateneo Martial Law Museum, “his word was law” because of his extraordinary legislative powers, backed by the 1973 Constitution, laws come in the form of presidential decrees. Throughout his stay in power, he had issued 1941 decrees, 1331 letters of instruction, and 896 executive orders. Examples of these are Presidential Decree no. 81 which authorizes Marcos to borrow money from foreign governments on behalf of the Republic of the Philippines, and Presidential Decree no. 86 which dictates barangays to conduct Citizens Assemblies wherein constituents gather to hold referendums about local and national issues.. Furthermore, the new constitution allowed him to take control of the legislative, executive, judiciary, and military powers, effectively eliminating a system of checks and balances.

In 1973, he abolished the 1935 Constitution and in its place a new constitution that would ensure his longevity in power. The old two four-year terms of the 1935 charter were no more and were now replaced with six-year terms with the constitution making no mention of the number of terms a president can have in contrast to the 1935’s limit of two terms. This change in term limits and numbers made it easier for Marcos to stay in power longer because of less frequent presidential elections.

Although the beginnings and the context of Martial Law under the Marcos regime are not often overlooked, it is as equally important as its effects. It tells us the whys and hows of a dictatorship aimed at consolidating power.

The crisis in the 60s together with insurgencies and political instability created the best atmosphere for a dictator to hold power and put a whole nation in darkness. This resulted in tens of thousands of Human Rights violations, and debt reaching up to $28.36 billion in the span of a 21-year dictatorship.

In fear of repeating the past, the 1987 constitution has updated its provisions concerning the imposition of Martial Law. In the current constitution, the President may only declare military rule that would not exceed 60 days and has to submit a report to Congress within 48 hours. The congress now have the power to either accept or reject the declaration of Martial Law.