EXPERIENCES

DURING
MARTIAL LAW
A photos depicting
the experiences of
individuals during
martial law,
capturing the
challenges,
resilience, and the
impact on
communities.
President Ferdinand
Marcos signed
proclamation No. 1081 on
September 21, 1972,
placing the entire country
under Martial Law. It was
formally announced in a
televised broadcast on the
right of September 23,
1972 .
The bombing of Plaza
Miranda in Quiapo that
killed several people and
immobilized some
candidates after attending
a “meting de avance” of
the Liberal Party, and
other bombings in Metro
Manila were preludes to
the declaration of Martial
Law.
One of the victims of the
grenade blast was Senate
President Jovito Salonga
who was later conferred
with an honorary degree
by Central Philippine
University.
When Ninoy Aquino was
assassinated on August
21, 1983, things came to a
head. Ninoy’s death
shocked and opened the
eyes of many to the
brutality that can be faced
by critics of Marcos.
They were young, idealistic students in
various schools and universities in
Northern Luzon back then who spent
their time writing, organizing and joining
demonstrations against Marcos Sr.'s
dictatorial rule.
Over three decades since the Marcos
dictatorship was toppled, these activists
from Ilocos, Pangasinan, Cagayan Valley
and Cordillera have come together
again, mastering the strength and
courage to revisit their grim memories of
Martial Law and immortalize them into a
book.
In hopes of keeping the national memory
of Martial Law from fading, victims-
survivors from Northern Luzon on
February 23 launched a new book aptly
entitled "Panaglagip: The North
Remembers — Martial law Stories of
Struggle and Survival" at the Bantayog
ng mga Bayani.
Human rights violation were rampant during the Martial Law Era, critics and
activist were either killed or tortured. According to the Amnesty International
70,000 were imprisoned, 34,000 were tortured and 3,240 were killed by the police
and military in the whole Martial Law years.
 September 17, 1974, the
Supreme Court dismissed the
petitions for habeas corpus
because according to the newly
enacted Constitution of 1973
martial law was not covered by
the court's jurisdiction. Martial
law officially ended on January
17, 1981 with the enactment of
Proclamation No. 2045.