MARTIAL LAW, THE

DARK CHAPTER IN
PHILIPPINE HISTORY
He remarked over the phone, “I spent four years in
prison because I demanded the return of student
councils and the school paper.” During the martial
law, a Filipino civilian cries,”I was severely
abused.”

By:
Leahn Allera
Sheena Guanizon
Divine Delos Santos
Jhomel Rocero
Jhon Paul Sabuya
• Mr. Marcos on Sept. 23, 1972
announced on national television
that he had placed the country
under martial law, citing an alleged
communist threat. Proclamation
1081, which was dated two days
earlier, abolish Congress and
allowed him to consolidate power
by extending his tenure beyond the
two presidential terms allowed by
the 1935 Constitution.
More than 70,000 people were jailed, about
34,000 were tortured and more than 3,000
people died under martial rule, according to
Amnesty International.

Mr.Marcos ended martial law in January, but

it wasn’t until five years later that he was
toppled by a popular street uprising that sent
him and his family into exile in the United
States.
• This began almost 10 years of military rule in the country.
Marcos formally ended Martial Law on January 17, 1981, but it
was not until 1986 when democracy was restored after the
dictator and his family were forced into exile, overthrown by a
popular uprising that came to be known as the People Power
Revolution.

• Why was Martial Law declared?

• When Marcos signed Proclamation 1081 on September

21,1972,he cited the communist threat as justification.His
diary, meanwhile, said the proclaimation of martial law became
a “necessity”, following the supposed ambush of the defense
secretary Juan Ponce Enrile.
• Through various general orders, Marcos effectively put the
entire power of government under the rule of one man: his own.
He was to lead the nation and direct the operation of the entire
government. He ordered the armed forces to prevent or suppress
any act of rebellion. Curfew hours were enforced, group
assemblies were banned, privately-owned media facilities
shuttered.

• Those considered threats to Marcos – such as prominent

politicians and members of the media – were rounded up and
arrested by members of the military and the notorious
Philippine Constabulary.
• The ramifications of Martial Law were so severe that we are still suffering
the effects today. The Philippine economy was in horrible health by the time
Marcos was forced out of Malacaang, thanks to corruption and significant
borrowing from other countries. Poverty rates skyrocketed, the peso's value
plummeted, and the country's reputation plummeted. To be honest, we're all
still paying off trillions of dollars in debt today.
• We remember that many were slaughtered or tortured during this time, no
matter how much the Marcoses attempt to make us forget. Their human
rights were clearly violated, and their families were harmed...yet the
dictator's family lacks the decency to apologize

• WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON MARTIAL LAW? IT’S

ENTIRELY UP TO YOU MAKE YOUR CHOICE.