Declaration of Martial Law

THE NIGHT OF THE DECLARATION

On the night of September 23, 1972, Ferdinand Marcos spoke to the nation by television and by radio to
make it known that he had declared Martial Law in the Philippines.

Proclamation no. 1081 eloquently described a state of lawlessness that had gripped the country and place
the Filipino people in peril.
 Specifically, Marcos cited a sizeable Communist force that had obtained weapons from China that sought to
overthrow the government and violate the peaceful lives of ordinary Filipinos. Marcos even compared the current
state of the nation to a war, one which he intended to put a stop to.
In response, Marcos declared that he would place the Philippines under a state of Martial Law, as according
to the president’s powers described in the 1935 Philippine Constitution. Such powers included command over the
Armed Forces of the Philippines to maintain law and order, as well as exclusive decision-making powers for
whether a person would remain detained for any crime.
Furthermore, Marcos promised that he would use the special powers he was given in Martial Law to lead
reforms that would lead the Philippines to prosperity and peace. Those who did not oppose his vision would live to
see it come to fruition; on the other hand, those who dared to offend his rule would suffer just as any rebel would.
Though the announcement was made on September 23, the actual document had been signed September 21,
1972, due to a special superstition Marcos had about numbers.
 
DUBIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES
When Marcos declared Martial Law in the Philippines, specific events that he cited to justify his decision
were the Communist insurgency and the ambush of his Minister of Defense Juan Ponce Enrile outside the Wack-
Wack subdivision. Both reasons, of course, fall within the scope of the imminent threat that necessitates the
declaration of Martial Law.
However, independent reports suggest that at the time, there were only about 1,000 NPA guerrillas, whose
arms were old-fashioned. In the NPA’s own history, only 350 men with first-line rifles were documented at the
time of Martial Law. Other analyses suggest that it was in fact the declaration of Martial Law in 1972 which
caused membership in these radicalized groups to swell. Reports on the increased following of the radical
movement emphasize the role of idealistic youth, fed up with the abuses committed during the regime. Toward the
end of Martial law, recorded numbers had grown from about 1,500 in 1976 to 35,000 in 1985.
On the other hand, the story of Juan Ponce Enrile’s ambush has also been called into question—by none
other than Juan Ponce Enrile himself. In an interview after Marcos was ousted from power, Enrile admitted that the
entire affair had been a hoax to steal power.
The original story claimed that Enrile had only escaped certain death because he happened to be riding his
bodyguard’s car instead of his usual vehicle. In reality, given Enrile’s admission at the end of Marcos’s rule, it is
more likely that the bullets riddling his car had been staged. Enrile had known about the plan the entire time. As
Marcos’s former media man Primitivo Mijares tells it, the night of the incident, Marcos told Enrile over the phone:
“Make it look good. Kailangan siguro ay may masaktan o kung mayroon mapatay ay mas mabuti. O, hala,
sige, Johnny, and be sure the story catches the Big News or Newswatch and call me as soon as it is over.”
 
References
Photo from Xiao Chua.
Mijares, P. (1976). The conjugal dictatorship of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. New York, NY: Union Square
Publications.
Proclamation no. 1081. The Official Gazette of the Philippines. Retrieved from this site.
The 1935 Constitution. The Official Gazette of the Philippines. Retrieved from this site.
Radio-TV address of President Marcos. The Official Gazette of the Philippines. Retrieved from this site.
1. What does the document/artifact says?
As per the written document earlier in this section, it summarizes how martial law was decided to declare
and how it began. It recounted the story of President Ferdinand E. Marcos signing Proclamation No. 1081 on
September 21, 1972, declaring martial law in the Philippines. According to some source materials, Marcos signed
the proclamation on September 17 or September 22, but the document itself was dated September 21. The
declaration issued under Proclamation 1081 suspended civil rights in the country and imposed military authority.
Marcos defended the declaration, citing the need for additional powers to combat the alleged communist-caused
surge in violence. The urgent situation rule was also aimed to sever the roots of revolution and promote a rapid
trend of national development. The autocrat assured the country that Martial Law was legal, emphasizing the
importance of maintaining control over civil disobedience that demonstrates lawlessness. According to Marcos,
who cited provisions from the Philippine Constitution, Martial Law is a strategic approach to legally defend the
Constitution and protect the welfare of the Filipino people from the dangerous threats posed by Muslim rebel
groups and Christian vigilantes, which puts national security at risk at the time. Marcos clarified that martial law
was not a military takeover, but rather the only alternative to resolve the country's dilemma on rebellion, which
causes national chaos and threatens the country's peace and order. According to Marcos' plan, the emergency rule
would usher the country into a "New Society."
All through the Martial Law era, Marcos created a cult around September 21, declaring it National
Thanksgiving Day though the Proclamation No. 1180 s. 1973 to commemorate the occasion as the founding day of
his New Society. The propaganda campaign was so effective that many Filipinos, particularly those who did not
witness the events of September 23, 1972, continue to believe that martial law was declared on September 21,
1972. It was not the case.
 
2. What was the provenance or source of the document/artifact?
The above-mentioned report was posted by the Martial Law Museum, and all of the references came from
Ticong, who is the source of the Martial Law story. Ticong cites as his primary source or authority for the martial
law data no less than the extraordinary author of Proclamation 1081: Ferdinand Edralin (Ferdie, Andy, Apo, Tuta,
Hitler) Marcos, who in 1980 or eight years after the event found the gall, cost, and ghost to write, in Notes on the
New Society, now mercifully out of print, that “the instrument ‘Proclaiming a State of Martial Law in the
Philippines’ had been signed on the 21st of September and transmitted to the Defense Authorities for
implementation…clearance for which was given at 9:00 p.m., 22nd of September, after the ambush of Secretary
Juan Ponce Enrile at 8:10 p.m. at Wack Wack Subdivision, Mandaluyong, Rizal.”

3. Who authored it (if applicable)?

The above Martial Law Museum article describes the best-laid plans that led to the Philippines' dark
history: the imposition of declaring martial law in 1972 and the similar schemes that developed and maintained its
infrastructure. Martial Law Museum uses data from his work as Marcos' mainstream media adviser prior to his
defection in 1975 to show how the Filipinos suffered underneath the regime that left the country in ruins. Forty
years after the original publication, the book, in its revised and annotated edition, reminds Filipinos of their past,
which continues to be a threat.

4.What was the context of the primary source's production?

The context of the article was about the Martial Law wherein:

“Specifically, Marcos cited a sizeable Communist force that had obtained weapons from China that sought
to overthrow the government and violate the peaceful lives of ordinary Filipinos. Marcos even compared the
current state of the nation to a war, one which he intended to put a stop to.
In response, Marcos declared that he would place the Philippines under a state of Martial Law, as according
to the president’s powers described in the 1935 Philippine Constitution. Such powers included command over the
Armed Forces of the Philippines to maintain law and order, as well as exclusive decision-making powers for
whether or not a person would remain detained for any crime.
Furthermore, Marcos promised that he would use the special powers he was given in Martial Law to lead
reforms that would lead the Philippines to prosperity and peace. Those who did not oppose his vision would live to
see it come to fruition; on the other hand, those who dared to offend his rule would suffer just as any rebel would.
Though the announcement was made on September 23, the actual document had been signed September 21, 1972,
due to a special superstition Marcos had about numbers.”
Matter of fact, it has been 47 years even before Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in the Philippines,
and it remains one of the greatest tragedies in our history of this country to this day. Many Filipino people bore the
brunt of the Marcos family' as well as those who worked for him's wrath of corruption and greed: rampant
violence, government abuse, suspension of the writ of Habeas Corpus, the plight of the media and journalists, and
many more. People have put their lives in danger and lost loved ones as a result. 
History's experiences are never completely overlooked, but most of us have completely neglected the true
significance of those dark times. There was more than just brutality against with the Filipino people, particularly
for those who did not live to see those times. The government's actions toward the country were inhumane, corrupt,
and fueled by greed, selfishness, and power.
There are numerous stories available online and in various media articles, but these books will provide in-
depth narratives of the harsh realities of the martial law era. However, some of these are not for the faint of heart.