Martial Law in the Philippines 1972

Martial Law in the Philippines 1972

Martial law in the Philippines ( Batas Militar sa Pilipinas) refers to the period of Philippine History wherein Philippine Presidents and Heads of State declared a proclamation to control troublesome areas under the rule of the Military, and it is usually given when threatened by popular demonstrations, or to crack down on the opposition. Martial law can also be declared in cases of major natural disasters, however most countries use a different legal construct like "state of emergency".

 Typically, the imposition of martial law accompanies curfews, the suspension of civil law,  civil rights,habeas corpus, and the application or extension of military law or military justice to civilians. Civilians defying martial law may be subjected to military tribunals (court martial).

The newspaper was shut down and the media was tightly controlled. As a direct result, opposition to the government regime was silenced and organization to go against the law was made difficult. A curfew was placed into effect between 12:00A.M. and 4:00 A.M. Crime rates plummeted in result to the curfew and Marcos was able to stay in power past his two terms of service by manipulating and replacing the rules of the 1935 constitution. The economy during the 1970s experienced trade surpluses. The Gross National Product increased by well over 300 percent in the span of 10 years. Tourism increased and helped contribute to the economy. But thanks to the corruption of the Marcos regime, the economy suffered. With a wave of Marcos’s pen, he had the power to do anything he wanted. Many presidential decrees were not even published. 

The reasoning behind President Ferdinand Marcos’s declaration of Martial Law had roots stemming from the first three months of 1970 when the First Quarter Storm occurred. Thousands of youths and students covered the streets of Manila protesting the high tuition fees, non-existent employment opportunities, low wages, and other social problems that plagued the nation of the Philippines under President Ferdinand Marcos. The First Quarter Storm was headed by Adrian Aquino from Ateneo de Manila University. Government military officers responded to the protests by using arms and tear gas to get things under control. Along with the First Quarter Storm, rising waves of lawlessness and the increased threat of the newly formed Communist group, the New People’s Army created an atmosphere of political unrest. Also, the constant fighting for independence in the province of Mindanao from the Muslim group Moro National Liberation Front added fuel to the fire. All these reasons created a scapegoat for the government to declare Martial Law.

President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law in 1972 in attempt to silence his adversaries and establish a solid threshold of political power. Under Ferdinand Marcos, the military arrested thousands of opposition figures including Benigno Aquino, journalists, student and labor activists, and more. Also, the right to bear firearms was taken away thus private armies connected with powerful political figures were broken up. Furthermore, the threat of government insurgents would decrease because of the difficulty of finding arms within the enforcement of the government. 

The night before Martial Law was declared, Secretary of defense Juan Ponce Enrile supposedly was ambushed by communists further crediting the reason for the passing of Proclamation 1081 or Martial Law. The target of ambush, Juan Ponce Enrile himself admitted to the fraudulent system years after by providing his statement that his car at the night of the incident was covered in machinegun bullets fired from his own men.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_law_in_the_Philippines

http://filamgroup1.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/the-law-that-started-it-all/