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Readings in Philippine History Midterms,

Readings in Philippine History Midterms

Ferdinand Marcos' Declaration of Martial Law

Introduction to Ferdinand Marcos's Declaration of Martial Law

The propaganda effort was so successful that up to the present, many Filipinos—particularly those who did not live through the events of September 23, 1972—labor under the misapprehension that martial law was proclaimed on September 21, 1972. It was not.

the document itself was dated September 21, 1972

The actual implementation of Martial Law began on September 23, after Marcos announced it on television and ordered the arrest of opposition leaders and media personalities.

References

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/featured/declaration-of-martial-law/

Older one, still contains Martial Law Picture: https://web.archive.org/web/20170708065018/http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/featured/declaration-of-martial-law

Questions

The culmination of a long period of preparation

a number of people heard that Marcos had drawn up a plan to completely take over the government and gain absolute rule.

Senator Benigno S. Aquino Jr., during a September 13, 1972 privilege speech, exposed what was known as “Oplan Sagittarius.” The Senator said he had received a top-secret military plan given by Marcos himself to place Metro Manila and outlying areas under the control of the Philippine Constabulary as a prelude to Martial Law.

What's a Philippine Constabulary?

Created by the American Colonial government to replace the Spanish colonial Guardia Civil.

Their job was to maintain peace and order across the country. This includes law enforcement, counter insurgency, and riot control.

But during Martial Law, they became infamous for human rights abuses.

It was a type of military police force in the Philippines that existed from 1901 to 1991.

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.

December 1969

The part where Ferdinand Marcos was studying the effects of Martial Law.

same time, Marcos also instructed Executive Secretary Alejandro Melchor and Jose Almonte to study how Martial Law was implemented in different parts of the world.

The Result

" In conclusion, the nation would be destroyed because, apart from the divisiveness it would cause, Martial Law would offer Marcos absolute power which would corrupt absolutely. "

It will divide the Philippines because of factionalized politics.

In his memoir, then Justice Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile recalled that on a late afternoon in December 1969, Marcos instructed him to study the powers of the President as Commander-in-Chief under the provisions of the 1935 Constitution.

Marcos made this instruction as he “[foresaw] an escalation of violence and disorder in the country and [wanted] to know the extent of his powers as commander-in-chief.”

The President also stressed that “the study must be done discreetly and confidentially.”

Marcos Diary Sept 14, 1972

Even the U.S. Embassy in Manila knew as early as September 17, 1972 about Marcos’ plan.[1]

End of January 1970

Enrile with the help of Efren Plana and Minerva Gonzaga Reyes, submitted the only copy of the confidential report on the legal nature and extent of Martial Law to Marcos.

A week later, Marcos summoned Enrile and instructed him to prepare the documents to implement Martial Law in the Philippines.[5]

In his January 1971 diary entries:

Marcos discussed how he met with business leaders, intellectuals from the University of the Philippines, and the military to lay the groundwork that extreme measures would be needed in the future.

During these meetings, they discussed the potential need for drastic actions to address the escalating violence and disorder in the country.

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/featured/declaration-of-martial-law/

On May 8, 1972, Marcos confided in his diary that he had instructed the military to update its plans, including the list of personalities to be arrested, and had met with Enrile to finalize the legal paperwork required.

August 1, 1972

Marcos met with Enrile and a few of his most trusted military commanders to discuss tentative dates for the declaration of Martial Law

The last days of democracy

September 13, 1972

The privilege speech of Senator Benigno S. Aquino Jr.

Senator Aquino exposed Marcos’ plan to impose Martial Law in a privilege speech on September 13, 1972, and was the first to be arrested on September 22.

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/images/uploads/A-Grrison-State-in-the-Make-p.353.jpg

September 21, 1972

democracy was still functioning in the Philippines

Senator Benigno S. Aquino Jr. was still able to deliver a privilege speech

Afternoon August 21, 1971:

a protest march in Plaza Miranda

sponsored by the Concerned Christians for Civil Liberties.

Attendees

30 “civic, religious, labor, student, and activist groups […]

[and] a crowd of 30,000,”

received coverage from newspapers, radio, and television.[9]

September 22, 1972

Mijares remembered that Marcos was agitated by a statement reported in the Daily Express that if Martial Law were declared, the reporter quoted Aquino saying that he would have to be arrested quickly or else he would escape to join the resistance.

Ferdinand Marcos got agitated

The Enrile ambush as pretext for Martial Law

Evening Friday September 22, 1972

The fake and staged ambush of Enrile

Witnesses that showed it was staged:

A contrasting account came from Oscar Lopez, who lived along Notre Dame Street, Wack Wack Village, stated that he heard a lot of shooting and that when he went out to see what was happening, he saw an empty car riddled with bullets. Lopez’s driver, who happened to see the incident, narrated that “there was a car that came and stopped beside a Meralco post. Some people got out of the car, and then there was another car that came by beside it and started riddling it with bullets to make it look like it was ambushed.”[10]

Marcos, in his diary entry for September 22, 1972 (time-stamped 9:55 p.m.) wrote, “Sec. Juan Ponce Enrile was ambushed near Wack-Wack at about 8:00 pm tonight. It was a good thing he was riding in his security car as a protective measure… This makes the martial law proclamation a necessity.”

Primitivo Mijares—a former journalist for Marcos who would later write against Marcos in 1973

claimed that the Enrile ambush was fake as it was made as the final excuse for Marcos to declare Martial Law.[11]

reasons?

Mijares also claimed that the ammunition [bullets were] planted by the Presidential Guard Battalion in Digoyo Point, Isabela—which was later confiscated by the Philippine Constabulary on July 5, 1972. This was used to connect the ambush with alleged Communist terror attacks.

In the biography of Chino Roces, Vergel Santos questioned the elements of the Enrile ambush: “Why inside a village and not on a public street, and why in that particular village?

KKK

The undelivered speech of Senator Benigno S. Aquino Jr. upon his return from the U.S., August 21, 1983

I have returned on my free will to join the ranks of those struggling to restore our rights and freedoms through nonviolence.

A death sentence awaits me. Two more subversion charges, both calling for death penalties, have been filed since I left three years ago and are now pending with the courts.

I could have opted to seek political asylum in America, but I feel it is my duty, as it is the duty of every Filipino, to suffer with his people especially in time of crisis.

Interesting 🤔

According to Gandhi, the willing sacrifice of the innocent is the most powerful answer to insolent tyranny that has yet been conceived by God and man.

That's the hard part, am I willing to sacrifice greatly for the country? 😿

During the martial law period, the Supreme Court heard petitions for Habeas Corpus. It is most ironic, after martial law has allegedly been lifted, that the Supreme Court last April ruled it can no longer entertain petitions for Habeas Corpus for persons detained under a Presidential Commitment Order, which covers all so-called national security cases and which under present circumstances can cover almost anything.

During the martial law period, the Supreme Court heard petitions for Habeas Corpus.

What is a Habeas Corpus?

“Habeas Corpus” is a legal safety net. If you’re arrested, it ensures you can go to court. The court checks if your arrest was justified. If it wasn’t, you’re set free.

The Manunggul Jar as a Vessel of History

References

https://artesdelasfilipinas.com/archives/50/the-manunggul-jar-as-a-vessel-of-history

Miscellaneous Info

GSIS Museum

The GSIS Museum is recognized for “Parisian Life” by Juan Luna.

The Metropolitan Museum

The Metropolitan Museum is known for the painting “Virgenes Cristianas Expuestas Al Populacho” by Felix Resurrecion Hidalgo.

The National Museum

The National Museum is famous for Luna’s most well-known work, “El Spoliarium”.

Many people visit the National Museum specifically to see this painting.

However, there's another less-popular but quite significant piece was the Manunnggul Jar

What's the Manunggul Jar?

The Manunngul jar was one of the numerous jar found in a cave believed to be a burial site that was discovered on March 1964 by Victor Decalan, Hans Kasten, and other volunteer workers from the United States Peace Corps.
The burial site (Manunggul, was part of the archaeologically significant Tabon Cave Complex in Lipuun Point, Quezon, Palawan)

Authored: Michael Charleston B. Chua

The crossed hands is a widespread ritual for corpse management.

The authors's familiarity with the Manunggul jar was spurred by the image in the PHP 1,000 bill that was circulated in 1995.

After a few years, the author took a cultural history subject in UP Diliman who's instructor was Dr. Bernadette Lorenzo-Abrera. The Manunngul jar was given a whole new meaning.

It was also a testament of the importance of the waters to our ancestors. The seas and the rivers were their conduit of trade, information and communication.

It made possible the spread of the Austronesian-speaking peoples to the Pacific Islands as far Madagascar in Africa and Easter Island near South America.

These neighbors later then, grew to include the imperial Chinese.

Many epics in the Philippines would tell us how souls go to the next life aboard boats, passing through the rivers and seas.

The belief is connected with the Austronesia belief in the anito

Our ancestors believed that man is composed of: the body, the life force called the ginhawa, and the kaluluwa (soul).

The author stated that Europeans especially the Spaniards before, thought that we aren't smart. However, because of this "Manunggul Jar", the artistry behind made us realize that we're smart.

In the 1890s, the Katipunan movement of Andres Bonifacio, which spearheaded the Philippine Revolution, tried to revive the values of magandang kalooban.

Some quote of Jose Rizal which tells us that by remembering the past, we can improve the future of our Mother Country (which is Philippines).

The quote of the author:

Everytime, I look at it I am reminded of how great and compassionate the Filipinos are and how I could never be ashamed of being a Filipino. Everytime I look at the Manunggul jar, I see a vision that a new generation of Filipinos will once more take the ancient balanghay as a people and be horizon seekers once more.

ToDo

Ferdinand Marcos's Declaration of Martial Law

The Undelivered Speech of Senator Benigno Aquino.

The Manunggul Jar as a Vessel of History

Kartilya ng Katipunan (Code of the Katipunan)

Dekalogo ni Gat Andres Bonifacio