Declaration of Martial

Declaration of Martial L

Martial law

In September 1972 Marcos declared martial law, claiming that it was the last
defense against the rising disorder caused by increasingly violent student
demonstrations, the alleged threats of communist insurgency by the new
Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), and the Muslim separatist
movement of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). One of his first
actions was to arrest opposition politicians in Congress and the Constitutional
Convention. Initial public reaction to martial law was mostly favourable except
in Muslim areas of the south, where a separatist rebellion, led by the MNLF,
broke out in 1973. Despite halfhearted attempts to negotiate a cease-fire, the
rebellion continued to claim thousands of military and civilian casualties.
Communist insurgency expanded with the creation of the National
Democratic Front (NDF), an organization embracing the CPP and other
communist groups.

Ferdinand MarcosFerdinand Marcos, 1972.Slim Aarons/Getty Images

Under martial law the regime was able to reduce violent urban crime, collect
unregistered firearms, and suppress communist insurgency in some areas. At
the same time, a series of important new concessions were given to foreign
investors, including a prohibition on strikes by organized labour, and a land-
reform program was launched. In January 1973 Marcos proclaimed the
ratification of a new constitution based on the parliamentary system, with
himself as both president and prime minister. He did not,
however, convene the interim legislature that was called for in that document.

General disillusionment with martial law and with the consolidation of

political and economic control by Marcos, his family, and close associates grew
during the 1970s. Despite growth in the country’s gross national product,
workers’ real income dropped, few farmers benefited from land reform, and
the sugar industry was in confusion. The precipitous drop in sugar prices in
the early 1980s coupled with lower prices and less demand for coconuts and
coconut products—traditionally the most important export commodity—
added to the country’s economic woes; the government was forced to borrow
large sums from the international banking community. Also troubling to the
regime, reports of widespread corruption began to surface with increasing
frequency.

Gregorio C. Borlaza

https://www.britannica.com/place/Philippines/Martial-law

Pdf

MARTIAL LAW IN THE PHILIPPINES: THE ROAD AHEAD

https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP79R00967A000500030010-6.pdf

author : Secret

https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/19386/1/MartialLawAll.pdf