MARTIAL LAW

Through Proclamation no. 1081, the Philippines was placed under Martial Law. This marked the beginning of a 14-year one-man rule marred by human rights violations.

The past of the Filipino people was gripped by a state of lawlessness which placed the country in imminence. On September 21, 1972, it was the day when Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law in the Philippines by virtue of Proclamation no. 1081 in which he framed the announcements in legalistic terms that were untrue. Behind was a hidden agenda about the plan to take over the government and gain absolute rule.

At that point, radio and television has ceased broadcasting because the military had shut down mass media, flights were cancelled and even overseas calls were prohibited. Marcos would subsequently issue General Order No. 1, s. 1972, transferring all powers to the President who was to rule by decree. Assuring the public that martial law did not mean that military was taking over, the public was manipulated by the twisted words of how civilian authority was in control of the government and the armed forces take orders from the president. The reflexes of the actions were unanticipated, thinking that giving the military the power to assume functions would later intensify an attempt to seize political power.

According to Amnesty International, there were 102,240 primary victims of human rights violations under martial law, 70,000 people were imprisoned, 34,000 were tortured, 484 closed media outlets after declaration, and 3,240 were killed during Martial Law from 1972 to 1981. Lots of lives suffered under the law of the dictator, those who oppose the government were silenced and tortured to death, corruption was rampant and many were traumatized in between the time frame of that dark legacy.

That dark chapter engraved a deep scar on our history, particularly those who were alive at that time whose eyes were exposed to the violence and lies under the Marcos Regime. We must go on with life, but that doesn’t erase the atrocities committed by the Martial Law and the agony suffered under the dictatorship. Textbooks should not be one-sided just to glorify and rehabilitate Marcos’ reputation.

History must not undergo a revision just to block the negative light and portray a dictator into a hero. People at present are still experiencing the impact of the problems created back then. Looking back at the past and the people who fought against tyranny and human rights, it would serve as disrespect if history will be revised into thinking that the era of the Marcoses is all good and has no history of corruption and injustices. Let’s all learn from history and never let the same thing happen again.