The Martial Law: Why It Was Never a Good Thing

Every great leaders strives to encourage and foster the potential of every
individuals the leader is directly responsible of. It leads, guides, and motivates
other people to reach and give their absolute best. Serving as an embodiment of
direction itself. The same can be said with presidents or the highest authority in
the government. Presidents navigate the road to a better future for its country
and consequently, the denizens under it. It acknowledges and identifies the
problems that a country has and works towards the solution of that said problem.
A prime example of this is former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. himself. He
was once elected as president and ought to serve the country his fullest, probing
evident problems and implementing ingenious solutions he had think of. At least
that was how it started, until he had inhumanely declared martial law and seized
political power in the name of "justice". His blatant disregard for the lives of
innocent people and rights of these people were evident during the martial rule of
which he implemented. Thousands and thousands of lives were lost and unfairly
taken from the general public all just for greed and vanity. It was clear as day that
the martial law was a bit extreme of a response to establish peace and order in
the country but many people seems to think so otherwise. Yet, I am firm and
resolute when I say that the martial law was never a good thing and the reason
being are plenty.

Before we delve as to why the martial law was a bad thing, let us first discuss a
brief overview of what martial law is in the first place. The martial law was
declared on late September 23, 1972 and was made possible due to the
Proclamation 1081—the document that allowed martial rule. Its declaration was a
response to the rising disorder and threats caused by the violent students
protestants and the alleged threats of the communist party in the Philippines as
well as the muslim separatist movement. The implementation of the martial law—
which means the suspension of habeas corpus or judicial processes—was Marcos' way
of battling the said threats. Which what the martial did deliver on the beginning.
Reduced violent urban crime was evident, unregistered firearms were also solicited, and
communists insurgencies in some areas lessened. It was good and all but it did not stay
like that for long, as problems were starting to rise and the general public grew violent
once more, this time, fiercer.

Economic Problems

There are alot of people who tries to paint Marcos' regime as a "gold age" and
that the Philippines during Marcos' rule was at its "prime". Even Marcos Jr—
Marcos' son—joined this fad. Going as far as claiming that his father was an asset and
not a liability, that economic prosperity were evident during his father's regime under
the martial law. Which rings true if you observe the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
during the years 1972 and 1973 which is 5.45 and 8.92 percent respectively. But that
isn't the case at all in the succeeding years, if anything, it's not even remotely close.
During the year 1984 and 1985, the GDP of the Philippines went as low as -7.32 and -
7.04 respectively. Which is a far cry from the "gold age" the few people are claiming it to
be. Additionally, as the GDP went down, the debt of the Philippines to the US
skyrocketed. From the $0.36 billion debt in the 1961 to $28.26 billion in the 1986 (or
roughly the end of Marcos Sr's term). Along with the changes in the GDP and debt,
another change can be observed. The changes in wages. Farmers experienced wages as
low as P23 in the year 1974 (De la Peña, 2021). By the end of Marcos Sr's regime, wages
of skilled employees went down from P127-P89 daily wage in 1962 to P35-P23 daily
wage in 1986.
Human Rights Violations

"The Marcos family has never apologized, but more than 11,000 victims received
reparations from the government" (Bicker, 2022). Many foul play took place
during the martial law and many human rights were violated. Anti-Marcos
activists went missing and some were arrested and even outright killed. Even the
"alleged" activists and communists were not spared from these outrageous acts.
Civilians who are innocent were detained, tortured, and even killed simply for the
fact that they were "suspected" to be a threat to the country. The exact numbers
are difficult to pinpoint but Amnesty International (Al) and Human Rights
Violations Victims Memorial Commission (HVRRMC) claimed that at least 3,200
innocent people were killed, 878 people went missing, 2,326 people were either
killed or disappeared, 1,417 were illegally detained, at least 70,000 were wrongly
imprisoned, and 2,104 approved claims of torture. There were plenty of
horrendous things that happened during the martial law and plenty of personal
accounts to verify—or at least give credence—to these actions. Few of them are
Loretta Ann Rosales, who claimed that she has experienced torture by being poured
burned candle wax and being subjected to waterboarding during the martial law for
simply joining two street rallies (Magramo, 2022). Santiago Mantela, 22 during the time,
was also dragged off the streets by soldiers and was tortured and illegally detained
while being forced to admit that he was a "communist" in which Mantela even had no
clue as to what to word even meant (Bicker, 2022). Along with that, Maria Letica Pasual-
Ladlad, founder of the activist group Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan (SDK) went
missing in November 1975 while on her way to meet her comrades. Additionally, Albert
Enriquez, a student activist, on August 29, 1985 while commuting on his way home were
forcedly dragged by two armed men and went missing ever since. There are no shortage
of accounts like these as of today and virtually anyone can access it absolutely free and
fairly easily.
Questionable Wealth

It is no secret that during the martial law, Ferdinand Marcos Sr.—along with his
family—rose to economic prosperity. They became absurdly wealthy up to the
point that Imelda Marcos had her own collection of expensive art pieces and
shoes. Along with that, during the height of Marcos' regime, many corruption
rumor spread. It even went as far as people rallying and throwing alligator-
shaped cardboards at Marcos as a symbol of corruption. And all of these rumors
are not without reason. On December 21, 1990, the Swiss Federal Supreme
Court claimed that Marcos Sr. hid an amount of $356 million dollars in Swiss
Banks. This hidden wealth were then declared as ill-gotten wealth on July 15,
2003 by the Supreme Court of the Philippines. The court and Marcos' children
then appealed to the Sandiganbayan on who should take custody of this ill-gotten
wealth. It ultimately ended with the ill-gotten wealth being deposited to the
National Bank under the Philippines' custody, therefore making the money as
part of the Philippines Republic's asset.

The amount of atrocities that occured during the martial law and the reason why
the implementation of the martial was never a good thing is nothing short but
abundant and I have barely only highlighted the tip of the iceberg. Regardless,
the people can not seem to decide whether the martial law was a good thing or
not, few claim it is good, some claim it isn't, others stay neutral on the matter. But
regardless of the view of the masses, the unlawful acts committed during the
martial law is undeniably authentic and very much real. It is a fact that people
were facing great crisis, that they were subjected to torture, and their rights as a
human being were threatened and trampled without rhyme or reason. If we can
not offer even justice, at least let us make sure to offer acknowledgement. To
remember the unjustified sacrifices and the bloodshed that occured during the
reign of the former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
References:

Philippines | History, Map, flag, Population, capital, & Facts. (2024, May 2).
Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Philippines/Martial-
law

Cnn, B. K. M. (2022, September 30). They were tortured under Philippine dictator
Ferdinand Marcos Snr. Now they fear their stories are being erased. CNN.
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2022/09/29/asia/philippines-martial-law-50-years-
marcos-intl-hnk

Bicker, B. L. (2022, September 28). Philippines martial law: The fight to

remember a decade of arrests and torture. Laura Bicker.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63056898.amp

Peña, K. D. (2021, September 22). Marcos’ martial law: Golden age for
corruption, abuses. Inquirer News. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1490968/marcos-
martial-law-golden-age-for-corruption-abuses/amp

Inquirer, P. D. (2018, September 22). Tish, Jessica, Hermon and other missing
martial law activists | Inquirer News. INQUIRER.net.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1035004/tish-jessica-hermon-and-other-missing-
martial-law-activists

Ill-Gotten Wealth Recognized by the Philippine Supreme Court. (2021, July 15).
Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission.
https://hrvvmemcom.gov.ph/ill-gotten-wealth-recognized-by-the-philippine-
supreme-court-2/