DIRECTIONS: Write an essay/reflection about the impact of Marcos

regime in the protection of human rights of the Filipinos . Are these rights
really violated? Are you in favor of the so-called Martial Law? Answer all these
questions in only one essay/reflection.

The Marcos era was one thrill of a ride for the Philippines. On one side it's an
era of implementing projects and programs for infrastructure, creating laws that
would be beneficial to the Philippines; yet on another side, it's an era of outrage - of
pain, of great distress: an era of public outcry. It is a piece of Philippine history that
left both a sweet tooth and a painful mark in the pages of Philippine history books.
Why did Ferdinand Marcos declare martial law in the first place? To answer
such a question, let us look back to events prior to the declaration of martial law.
Marcos' presidency prior to the declaration of martial law was clean and effective.
His reforms revolutionized the Philippine economy, even giving us the tag "The
Rising Tiger of Asia". Presidential Decrees, which he revolutionized, are still in use
as of today. Marcos' move to impose tax on certain educational institutions gave us
free education on the secondary level (public high schools). A lot of people trusted
him for presidency, even electing him as President of the Republic for two
consecutive terms. During Marcos' second term, tensions with communist groups,
particularly the CPP-NPA, arose. Such groups posed a threat to take over the
country and rule with their communist ideals, and, in reaction to such a threat,
Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law on September 23, 1972.
Marcos' primary measures upon the declaration of Martial Law were the
following: 1.) Eliminate the threat of such communist groups in the country, 2.)
Eliminate the oligarchs ruling in the country, and 3.) Develop a comprehensive
economic reform. These considerations, if executed correctly, shall lead to a better
future for the Philippines, but as what we have seen from the history books, it didn't
happen. As to how historians put it, Ferdinand Marcos' ideas were GREAT, but the
EXECUTIONS were bad. Let's start with his economic reform. The idea was to wait
for the value of the country's currency, the Philippine Peso, to depreciate, so as to
give rise to the value earned from exporting goods. This economic maneuver is
certainly a display of Marcos' wit, as increased value in exported goods would make
room for flourishing industries in the Philippines to export more goods to other
countries, which in turn would result in the overall rise of the GNP of the country.
As good as it may sound, Marcos' plan failed, primarily because his focus on exports
wasn't from flourishing industries in the Philippines, but instead, he focused on
exporting the goods of his cronies.

His fight against communism and the oligarchs were a mess. A lot of human
rights violations were committed, chaos ensued, and people were revolting, which
lead to the historic EDSA People Power Revolution. Consistent with the declaration
of martial law was the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus. The
suspension of such writ is very critical, as the military, or any government authority
can put you in jail without following due process. Freedom of speech was absent
and, to some extent, the government controlled the media. Those who opposed the
government were labeled as "communists". Many of those who have been put to jail
without the benefit of due process were just citizens fighting to reclaim such rights.
There were cases of such people mysteriously disappearing, and is believed to have
been killed by the authority. Torture methods, which are a clear violation of human
rights, were used to force information out of detainees. Such methods include
electric shock, cold torture, water cure, animal treatment, etc. During martial law,
people were tortured, beaten to death, activists were mysteriously killed, and people
were not just deprived of their civil rights, but also human rights. Human rights
violations were apparent during the Marcos regime; people were fed up with the
system, which eventually led to the overthrow of the Marcos government in the
historic event that is the EDSA People Power Revolution.
The declaration of Martial Law encompasses all the powers of the
government into one single person. As such, it is very prone to abuse such powers,
which could eventually steer the country into a helpless void of downfall. Those who
were tasked to outline the current Constitution learned from the lessons provided by
Marcos' martial law, and established a Constitution that is more cautious, if such a
need for another declaration arises. For starters, I am not entirely in favor for
another declaration of martial law. I am not in favor for another authoritarian leader
to rise up and abuse his powers, eventually leading to the violation of the law by
abusing his people for the sake of his own political agenda. On the other hand, I
would be in favor for martial law IF AND ONLY IF: 1.) It shall be the only way, the
last resort to resolve the chaos ensuing in the country, and 2.) It is declared for the
sake of public safety, and not for the sake of staying in power.
Ferdinand Marcos was a good leader for the country. Economically speaking,
he has done a lot for the country during his time. He has crafted laws that are
beneficial for the country. His wit was the catalyst for the rise of the Philippine
economy. Ferdinand Marcos has done a number of good things for the country, but
you cannot deny the fact that he is dictator, he is corrupt, and he definitely abused
his power. He robbed the Filipino people of their life, liberty and property. Ferdinand
Marcos' declaration of martial law left the Philippines in turmoil. It did not even come
close to defeating the communists, but rather their numbers grew, because enraged
citizens felt that joining the communists was the only way to reclaim their rights and
fight back to the abusive government. We must learn from our history. We must
learn from the Marcos era. Say NO to an authoritarian government. Say NO to
dictatorial rule. Say YES to freedom. Say YES to democracy.