A POSITION PAPER ON THE DECLARING OF MARTIAL LAW OF

FERDINAND MARCOS IN THE PHILIPPINES

Presented to:

Mr. Mark Glen H. Magno

Christian Ecclesiastical School

In Partial Fulfilment

Of the Requirements of the Course

English for Academics and Professional Purposes

By:

PAOLO V. BENAVIDEZ

12 - GAS

26 September 2018
In 1972 Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law with Proclamation 1081. He did it, he said, to
save the Republic and to create what he called a "New Society." A whole generation of Filipinos
now exists which only has the faintest recollection -- if at all -- of the Marcos dictatorship. Kids,
this is what you missed. Perhaps it's what you should pass on when you have kids of your own.

The lies. The biggest lie -- the mother lie -- was that Martial Law was imposed for the good of
the people. It was not. It was imposed for the good of the Marcoses and their cronies, to keep
them in wealth and unassailable power forever and ever amen. Marcos was a congenital liar: he
lied about the state of emergency. He lied about his ill-gotten wealth ("what ill-gotten wealth?",
he would ask amusedly."Tell you what, if you can find it we'll split it". Shows how reliable his
word was). He lied about his war medals (almost all of them were fake), he lied about his father's
wartime heroics (it turned out Marcos Sr was a collaborator executed by the guerrillas), he lied
about his health. He lied about holding free elections and dismantling Martial Law. He lied and
lied and lied. This was the man Joseph Estrada wanted to give a hero's burial.
The fear. Anybody could be picked up at anytime for any reason by the military or the police.
You could wind up a detainee, or you could just vanish, a "salvage" victim. If you protested
against the government, you were labeled a "subversive" or a "communist" or both and you were
summarily arrested. People the government didn't like were tailed by security elements, their
telephones tapped. A student who spoke up to Imee Marcos was murdered. No two words were
more invoked and abused for the purposes of oppression than "national security." People were
afraid to speak out. Marcos logic being what it was, the silence meant the people were happy.
The injustice. Only Marcos and his cronies, who plundered the economy, were protected by the
law. Nobody else was. Arbitrary arrest, detention, salvaging and torture were the standard. The
Defense Minister -- a man named Juan Ponce Enrile -- said in 1982: "We presume that priests
and nuns charged with subversive activities are guilty until the courts decide whether they are
guilty or not." On one occasion the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, someone named Enrique
Fernando, servilely held an umbrella over Imelda Marcos' head.
The censorship. It was only when rebel soldiers finally seized a TV station in the EDSA
uprising that people saw in their sets just how big the crowds were. Up until then the media were
strictly controlled. Journalists who wrote against the regime -- most of them were women -- were
routinely "invited" for questioning by the military. There was no transparency whatever. There
were only three national broadsheets, the Times Journal, the Daily Express and the Bulletin
Today, all of them offering the same pro-administration pap. The chief Marcos mouthpiece was a
columnist named Teodoro Valencia. He died in 1986 and is now considered the "dean" of
Philippine journalism. In 1983, when Ninoy Aquino was buried, at least one million people
accompanied the funeral cortege as it wound its way through Manila. The next day, the Bulletin
scarcely mentioned the story, instead playing up a story about a man struck and killed by
lightning at the Luneta Park.(Recently, Joseph Estrada extolled the Bulletin as his idea of a good
newspaper).
The poverty. Poverty increased from 24% in 1974 to 40% in 1980 and why not? Imelda Marcos
was using the Philippine National Bank as her private piggy bank. One of her ideas of dealing
with the poor was to put up whitewashed walls around the squatter areas in Manila. The walls are
still there.
The corruption. There were suspicions about the Marcoses dipping into the public till. After
EDSA, dazed investigators realized that the truth far outstripped the suspicions. The Marcoses
had been screwing the public even before Martial Law. As early as 1968 Ferdinand and Imelda
had already salted away more than $900,000 in Zurich accounts under the names "William
Saunders" and "Jane Ryan." It was the initial deposit in what would turn out to be a mountain of
loot. After having tracked down Marcos accounts and properties all over the world, investigators
still aren't sure that they've found all the ill-gotten wealth.
The US support for the regime. The US loved their bases in the Philippines and put up with
Marcos as long as they could. When George Bush, who was US vice-president then, visited
Manila for a sham inauguration of Marcos, he proposed a toast to the dictator, saying "we love
your adherence to democratic principles and to the democratic process."
Imelda Marcos speeches. They were terrible and they dragged on interminably. Among the
things she said publicly: The Philippines is the center of the world, because that's the way it
looks in a map. There's a cosmic hole in the Universe which shines radiation in the Philippines
which Filipinos can tap to deflect intercontinental ballistic missiles. Her audience would applaud
frantically. Cowards cheering a loony.
The arrogance of those in power. It was called a "smiling dictatorship" but the only one who
was smiling was the dictator. Actually, his friends and family were also happy. When his cronies
got into business trouble they were bailed out with taxpayers' money. No investigations into
cartels and monopolies were allowed. Marcos "lifted" Martial Law in 1981 but continued to rule
by decree. Later it was discovered he had signed dozens and dozens of secret decrees which he
intended to flash at the appropriate occasions. During the 1986 snap election when an opposition
official said that there had been cheating an election commissioner -- his name was Jaime
Opinion -- sneered at him on TV and snapped, "that's a lie!" repeatedly. After EDSA Opinion
went into hiding. When EDSA was in full swing, a rebel helicopter attacked the Palace with
rockets. Marcos went on air and said "my family cowers in the Palace." He didn't get any
outpouring of sympathy.

Proclamation of Martial Law: On September 21, 1972, President Ferdinand E. Marcos placed the
Philippines under Martial Law. The declaration issued under Proclamation 1081 suspended the
civil rights and imposed military authority in the country. Marcos defended the declaration
stressing the need for extra powers to quell the rising wave of violence allegedly caused by
communists. The emergency rule was also intended to eradicate the roots of rebellion and
promote a rapid trend for national development. The autocrat assured the country of the legality
of Martial Law emphasizing the need for control over civil disobedience that displays
lawlessness. Marcos explained citing the provisions from the Philippine Constitution that Martial
Law is a strategic approach to legally defend the Constitution and protect the welfare of the
Filipino people from the dangerous threats posed by Muslim rebel groups and Christian
vigilantes that places national security at risk during the time. Marcos explained that martial law
was not a military takeover but was then the only option to resolve the country’s dilemma on
rebellion that stages national chaos threatening the peace and order of the country. The
emergency rule, according to Marcos’s plan, was to lead the country into what he calls a “New
Society”.

Marcos used several events to justify martial law. Threat to the country’s security was
intensifying following the re-establishment of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in
1968. Supporters of CPP’s military arm, the New People’s Army, also grew in numbers in Tarlac
and other parts of the country. The alleged attempt to the life of then Minister of Defense Juan
Ponce Enrile gave Marcos a window to declare Martial Law. Marcos announced the emergency
rule the day after the shooting incident. Marcos also declared insurgency in the south caused by
the clash between Muslims and Christians, which Marcos considered as a threat to national
security. The Muslims were defending their ancestral land against the control of Christians who
migrated in the area. The minority group organized the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)
in Malaysia and pushed for the autonomy of Mindanao from the national government.

The Philippines was praised worldwide in 1986, when the so-called bloodless revolution erupted,
called EDSA People Power’s Revolution. February 25, 1986 marked a significant national event
that has been engraved in the hearts and minds of every Filipino. This part of Philippine history
gives us a strong sense of pride especially that other nations had attempted to emulate what we
have shown the world of the true power of democracy. The true empowerment of democracy was
exhibited in EDSA by its successful efforts to oust a tyrant by a demonstration without tolerance
for violence and bloodshed. Prayers and rosaries strengthened by faith were the only weapons
that the Filipinos used to recover their freedom from President Ferdinand Marcos’s iron hands.
The Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) stretches 54 kilometers, where the peaceful
demonstration was held on that fateful day. It was a day that gathered all Filipinos in unity with
courage and faith to prevail democracy in the country. It was the power of the people, who
assembled in EDSA, that restored the democratic Philippines, ending the oppressive Marcos
regime. Hence, it came to be known as the EDSA People Power’s Revolution.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Robles, A. (2000, March). What Martial Law was like

Retrieved from http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/economy/666756/what-is-

inflation-what-causes-it-how-does-it-affect-us/story/

Retrieved from https:// http://www.philippine-history.org/martial-law-philippines.htm

Retrieved from https:// http://www.philippine-history.org/edsa-people-power-

revolution.htm
 Position Paper Rubric
Criteria 2 3 4 5
Format Student did Student did not Student did not Student followed
not follow follow MOST follow SOME the ALL the required
the required the required required format of the format of the position
format of format of the position paper (Times paper (Times New
the position position paper New Roman, 12, 1.5 Roman, 12, 1.5
paper (Times New spacing). spacing).
(Times New Roman, 12, 1.5
Roman, 12, spacing).
1.5
spacing).
Grammar All Position paper is Position paper is Position paper is
sentences in paragraph written in clear and written in clear and
are with form, but accurate paragraph accurate paragraph
writing contains several form with few errors. form with few, if any,
errors. writing errors errors. Student
affecting expresses written
communication thoughts with flair
of meaning. and attention to detail,
which exceeds
expectations.
Arguments Students did Student supports Student supports the Student supports the
not support the claim with claim with clear and claim with thorough
arguments some legal accurate legal and concise legal
with argument and argument, including argument, including
anything provides some information/evidence information/evidence
other supporting in support in support
opinion. information for
argument
Citation of Student did Student cited Students cited enough Students cited enough
the Sources not cite enough sources, sources, which are sources, which are
sources. which are not accurate and credible. accurate and credible.
accurate and However, the citation The citation format
credible. The formats are incorrect. are correct. The paper
citation formats The paper has has reference lists
are incorrect. reference lists with with correct format.
The paper has no incorrect format.
reference lists.