Martial Law

The Philippines is under Martial Law from 1972 to 1981 under the authoritarian rule of President Ferdinand Marcos . It confuses me whether Martial Law was a good or bad strategy mainly because some people classified it as the era wherein people are harassed and tortured by the government and others have said that it is the time where everything became proper from the downturn of crime rates to people behaving appropriately. Though it might sound absurd but I want to experience what life is like when Martial Law was still occuring in our country.
I was able to interview my grandparents about the said period since they are in their early 20’s by that time. My grandmother (maternal side) is 23 years old when the unforgettable Martial Law happened in the country. She recalled that she and my grandfather was shocked and was wondering of why there aren’t anything is seen in the television and all the radio stations are all cutted off. There are numerous do’s and dont’s that you can’t even freely say anything whether its an opinion or not most especially if its related to the government. If you say anything that is unfavorable to the government, you will be forced to be detained. Moreover, she also remembered the comedian named Ariel Ureta, who reportedly made a harmless joke on his noon time show which Marcos or the government didn’t find funny, and was reported to be punished. In the Martial Law period, many people were arrested even though they have not sinned greatly and a lot of people went missing with their bodies unfound. Everyone was scared to go out of their homes and was conscious of their deeds because a single mistake could lead them to custody. But apart from all this commotion, the conversion of dollar to peso is higher that is why the prices of the commodities went low.
The only thing that my grandfather (paternal side) was able to share was his experience in being jailed. The ‘curfew time’ which Marcos dreaded and happens at around 12am-4am was very strict than what he thought. He was jailed for 24 hours and it has become the highlight of all his experiences in the period of Martial Law.
But to look at it more closely, Marcos did make a good improvement and has made drastic changes towards this country and was able to make a new nation that could predict what is right from wrong. It is a nuisance that the option he chose to make this country a much better place is violence and unfair treatment towards the people. I wish there would be another president like him who has the will to change the illogical episodes that is happening nowadays.