THE
PHILIPPINE
DURING
MARSHAL
LAW ERA
President Ferdinand E. Marcos signed
Proclamation No. 1081 on September 21,
1972, placing the Philippines under Martial
Law. Some sources say that Marcos signed
the proclamation on September 17 or on
September 22—but, in either case, the
document itself was dated September 21.
President Ferdinand E. Marcos signed Proclamation No. 1081 on September 21,
1972, placing the Philippines under Martial Law.
Martial law in the Philippines (Filipino:
Batas Militar sa Pilipinas) refers to the
various historical instances in which the
Philippine head of state placed all or part
of the country under military control - most
prominently during the administration
of Ferdinand Marcos, but also during the
Philippines' colonial
Martial law in the Philippines (Filipino: Batas Militar sa Pilipinas) refers to the
various historical instances in which the Philippine head of state placed all or part
of the country under military control
Martial law involves the temporary
substitution of military authority for
civilian rule and is usually invoked in
time of war, rebellion, or natural
disaster. When martial law is in effect,
the military commander of an area or
country has unlimited authority to make
and enforce laws.
Why did Ferdinand Marcos declare martial
law?
One of the most prominent reasons cited by
Marcos for declaring martial law was the 1971
Plaza Miranda bombing of August 21, 1971.
Unidentified suspects throwing two
fragmentation grenades onto the stage while
the opposition (Liberal Party) was having their
miting de avance in Plaza Miranda.
Marcos was going to use a series of
bombings in Metro Manila, including the 1971
Plaza Miranda bombing, as a justification for
his takeover and subsequent authoritarian
rule. In his own diary, Marcos wrote on
September 14, 1972 that he informed the
military that he would proceed with
proclaiming Martial Law
Who are the victims of martial law?
Human Rights Abuses
This category is for victims of unlawful arrest,
detention, rape, torture, enforced
disappearance, or summary execution during
martial law in the Philippines in
the Marcos era. This may include political
prisoners who were accused with trumped-up
charges.
What happened to the victims of martial law in
the Philippines?
Some 2,520 of the 3,257 murder victims were
tortured and mutilated before their bodies
were dumped in various places for the public
to discover - a tactic meant to sow fear among
the public, which came to be known as
"salvaging." Some victims were even
subjected to cannibalism.
Based on the documentation of Amnesty
International, Task Force Detainees of the
Philippines, and similar human rights
monitoring entities, historians believe that the
Marcos dictatorship was marked by 3,257
known extrajudicial killings, 35,000
documented tortures, 77 'disappeared', and
70,000 incarcerations.
How did martial law impact the monetary
system?
The same story is evident with inflation,
which fell shortly after martial law was
declared. It dropped from 14.4 percent in
September 1972 to only 4.8 percent in
December that year. However, by September
1984, inflation hit 62.8 percent, the highest
since 1958.
FARMERS BECAME POORER IN THE
MARCOS ERA
Even though the formal document proclaiming
martial law – Proclamation No. 1081, which
was dated September 21, 1972 – was
formally lifted on January 17, 1981, Marcos
retained essentially all of his powers as
dictator until he was ousted.
Martial Law would officially end on January
17, 1981 with Proclamation No. 2045. Marcos,
however, would reserve decree-making
powers for himself. Today, the 1987
Constitution safeguards our institutions from a
repeat of Marcos' Martial Law regime
How long did martial law last in the
Philippines?
This 14-year period in Philippine history is
remembered for the administration's record of
human rights abuses, particularly targeting
political opponents, student activists,
journalists, religious workers, farmers, and
others who fought against the Marcos
dictatorship.