Martial Law in the Philippines

MARTIAL LAW in the PHILIPPINES (1972-1986)
- the declaration issued under Proclamation 1081 suspended the civil rights and imposed military authority in the country.
- Signed on September 21, 1972 by Ferdinand Marcos
- Pres. Marcos ruled as a supreme leader of the armed forces

OBJECTIVES:
- to save republic
- to reform the social, economic, and political institution.
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In accordance with the two objectives, President Marcos issued general orders and letters of instruction to that effect:

General Order No. 1 – The President proclaimed that he should govern the nation and direct the operations of the Government, including all its agencies and instrumentalities, as Commander-in-Chief of all the armed forces of the Philippines; General Order No. 2 – The President directed the Secretary of National Defense to arrest or cause the arrest and take into his custody the individuals named in the attached list and to hold them until otherwise so ordered by the President or by his duly designated representative, as well as to arrest or cause the arrest and take into his custody and to hold them otherwise ordered released by him or by his duly authorized representative such persons who may have committed crimes described in the Order; General Order No.3 – The President ordered that all executive departments, bureaus, offices, agencies and instrumentalities of the National Government, government owned or controlled corporations, as well all governments of all the provinces, cities, municipalities and barrios should continue to function under their present officers and employees, until otherwise ordered by the President or by his duly designated representatives. The President further ordered that the Judiciary should continue to function in accordance with its present organization and personnel, and should try and decide in accordance with existing laws all criminal and civil cases, except certain cases enumerated in the Order. General Order No. 4 – The President ordered that a curfew be maintained and enforced throughout the Philippines from twelve o’ clock midnight until four o’ clock in the morning. General Order No. 5 – All rallies, demonstrations and other forms of group actions including strikes and picketing in vital industries such as in companies engaged in manufacture or processing as well as in production or processing of essential commodities or products for exports, and in companies engaged in banking of any kind, as well as in hospitals and in schools and colleges are prohibited. General Order No. 6 – No person shall keep, possess or carry outside of his residence any firearm unless such person is duly authorized to keep, possess or carry any such firearm. Letter of Instruction No. 1 – The President ordered the Press Secretary and the Secretary of National Defense to take over and control or cause the taking over and control of newspapers, magazines, radio and television facilities and all other media of communications for the duration of the national emergency Letter of Instruction No. 2 – The President ordered the Secretary of National Defense to take over the management, control and operation of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco), the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), the National Waterworks and Sewerage Authority (Nawasa), the Philippine National Railways (PNR), the Philippine Airlines, Air Manila, Filipinas Orient Airways, and other public utilities. Letter of Instruction No. 3 – The President ordered the Secretary of National Defense to take over the possession, control, operation of all privately owned aircraft and watercraft of whatever make bearing Philippine registry and to keep such under his custody for the duration of national emergency or until otherwise ordered by the President. Letter of Instruction No. 4 – The President ordered the Secretary of Foreign Affairs not to issue travel papers such as passports and other like documents to any citizens of the Philippines except to those who are being sent abroad in the service of the Philippines. Letter of Instruction No. 5 – The President ordered the Secretary of Justice and all subordinate officials under him not to issue any police or immigration clearance to any citizen of the Philippines who may wish to depart for other country. Letter of Instruction No. 6 – The President ordered the Secretary of Finance and all subordinate officials under him not to issue any tax clearance to any citizen of the Philippines who may wish to depart for other country.

NEW SOCIETY
-P res. Marcos was re-elected on 1981
- Martial Law has ended
- Dictatorial Government

Peace and Order - Martial Law was proclaimed to restore law and order.

Land Reform – One of the social ills that bred insurgency and rebellion in the countryside is the exploitation of the poor and landless peasant by their landlords.

Educational Reforms – In accordance with the educational reform program of the New Society, President Marcos issued the Education Development Decree of 1972 (Presidential Decree 6-A) “which defines a more responsive role for the education system.
Labor Reforms – President Marcos declared on the first Labor Day under martial law that “ the struggle for development and growth, the establishment of a new society, the restructuring of our economic, social and political institutions – all of these are for one purpose alone, the up liftment of the Filipino common man.

Government Clean-up and Reorganization- On September 24, 1972, the day after Martial law was announced, President Marcos issued Presidential Decree No.1 adopting the Integrated Reorganization Plan. The plan aimed to weed out corrupt officials of the government.

Economic Development – At present, one often hears from those who lived during the martial law period: “Mabuti pa noong panahon ni Marcos” (life is better during the time of Marcos). With rapid economic growth and lower prices of commodities during the early years of martial rule, no wonder several people these days are nostalgic of the good old days.

Social Services – The Marcos administration extended social services available to the people, especially the poor and rural folks. The social welfare program aimed at making them self-reliant and productive. According to Mrs. Imelda R. Marcos, “social services must lead the poor to a life of self-reliance and not to a lifetime of begging.”