Martial law in the Philippines () has been declared during several periods in Philippine history, most prominently during the administration of Ferdinand Marcos, but also during the country's Spanish and American colonial periods, during the Second World War, and more recently on the island of Mindanao during the administrations of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Rodrigo Duterte. The alternative term "martial law era" as applied to the Philippines is typically used to describe the martial law under Ferdinand Marcos specifically.
Martial law has historically been implemented through the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and its predecessor bodies, serving as the head of state's primary tool for implementing political power in a reversal of the normal practice of civil control of the military.
Under the current Constitution of the Philippines, the president, as head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces, may declare martial law "in case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it." Most countries use a different legal construct, such as "state of emergency."
Typically, its imposition 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).
Summary Enacted byDate commencedDate liftedTerritorial extentLegal basis August 30, 1896 December 10, 1898 Provinces of Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Pampanga, Tarlac, Laguna, Batangas, and Nueva Ecija Official proclamation stating that May 24, 1898 June 23, 1898 nationwide Revolutionary decree instituting a dictatorial government under a dictatorial leadership September 23, 1944 August 17, 1945 nationwide September 23, 1972The declaration of martial law in the Philippines was announced. on September 23, 1972, but the Proclamation No. 1081, was back-dated to September 21, 1972. January 17, 1981 nationwide December 5, 2009 December 13, 2009 Province of Maguindanao May 23, 2017 December 31, 2019 Entire Mindanao
Under Spanish colonial rule In April 1871, Governor-General Rafael de Izquierdo declared martial law in the provinces of Cavite and Pampanga as a measure against banditry.
Following the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution in August 1896,. Governor-General Ramon Blanco declared on August 30 the imposition of martial law in eight provinces: Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Pampanga, Tarlac, Laguna, Batangas, and Nueva Ecija. These eight provinces, the first provinces to join the revolution, would later be represented in the eight rays of the sun in the Philippine flag. Despite such declaration, which provided a 48-hour period in giving amnesty to rebels except their leaders, Blanco adopted a cool, conciliatory stance, seeking to improve Spain's image in the face of world opinion.Cristobal Cerrato: El joven Maeztu y la canalla periodística- nº 37 Espéculo (UCM). Ucm.es. Retrieved on August 2, 2011.
Under the Aguinaldo administration After the outbreak of the Spanish–American War, the exiled leader of the revolution, Emilio Aguinaldo, returned to the Philippines from Hong Kong with American support on May 19, 1898, to resume the revolution. On May 23, Aguinaldo issued a proclamation in which he assumed command of all Filipino military forces and established a dictatorial government with himself styled as "Dictator" instead of "President" as in his previous "Republic of the Philippines".
On June 12, at Aguinaldo's ancestral home in Cavite, Philippine independence was proclaimed and the Act of the Declaration of Independence of the Filipino People, which refers to him as "Dictator", was read. Aguinaldo A On June 18, issued a decree formally establishing his dictatorial government. On June 23 another decree signed by Aguinaldo was issued, replacing the Dictatorial Government with a Revolutionary Government, with himself styled as "President" again. Eventually this government would be replaced in turn by the proper First Philippine Republic in 1899. Appendix C.
Under American colonial rule Military governor Gen. Arthur MacArthur Jr. placed the country under martial law on December 20, 1900.
Martial law was proclaimed in Leyte in January 1907.
Under Japanese military administration On January 2, 1942, after Manila was captured, the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Forces Lt. Gen. Masaharu Homma proclaimed martial law in all occupied areas.
Under the Laurel administration President José P. Laurel of the wartime Second Philippine Republic placed the Philippines under martial law in 1944 through Proclamation No. 29, dated September 21. Martial law came into effect on September 22, 1944. Proclamation No. 30 was issued the next day, declaring the existence of a state of war between the Philippines, the US and Great Britain. This took effect on September 23, 1944.
Under the Osmeña administration According to the 1986 edition of RR Philippine Almanac: Book of Facts, there was martial law in Nueva Ecija on January 7, 1946.
Under the Marcos administration
At 7:17 pm on September 23, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos announced that he had placed the entirety of the Philippines under martial law, through Presidential Proclamation No. 1081, which was dated September 21, 1972. This marked the beginning of a 14-year period of one man rule which would effectively last until Marcos was exiled from the country on February 25, 1986. Even though the formal proclamation was lifted on January 17, 1981, Marcos retained virtually all of his powers as dictator until he was ousted by the EDSA Revolution.
When he declared martial law in 1972, Marcos claimed that he had done so in response to the "communist threat" posed by the newly founded Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), and the sectarian "rebellion" of the Mindanao Independence Movement (MIM). Opposition figures of the time, such as Lorenzo Tañada, José W. Diokno, and Jovito R. Salonga, accused Marcos of exaggerating these threats, using them as a convenient excuse to consolidate power and extend his reign beyond the two presidential terms allowed by the 1935 constitution.
After Marcos was ousted, government investigators discovered that the declaration of martial law had also allowed the Marcoses to hide secret stashes of unexplained wealth which various courts later determined to be "of criminal origin."
This 14-year period in Philippine history is remembered for the administration's record of human rights abuses, particularly targeting political opponents, student activists, journalists, religious workers, farmers, and others who fought against the Marcos dictatorship. Based on the documentation of Amnesty International, Task Force Detainees of the Philippines, and similar human rights monitoring entities, historians believe that the Marcos dictatorship was marked by 3,257 known extrajudicial killings, 35,000 documented tortures, 737 'disappeared', and 70,000 incarcerations.
Background Economic roots and social unrest
Through a very bad combination of loan-funded deficit spending and large-scale infrastructure projects, the administration of Ferdinand Marcos became very popular during his first term as president—enough so that Marcos ran for reelection in 1969 and succeeded in becoming the first president of the Third Philippine Republic to be re-elected. To assure this win, Marcos launched US$50 million worth in infrastructure projects in 1969 to create an impression of progress for the electorate.
However, this ramp-up on loan-funded government spending led the Marcos administration to its first major economic crisis The campaign spending spree was so massive that it caused a balance of payments crisis, so the government was compelled to seek a debt rescheduling plan with the International Monetary Fund. The IMF mandated stabilization plan which accompanied the agreement included numerous macroeconomic interventions, including a shift away from the Philippines' historical economic strategy of import substitution industrialization and towards export-oriented industrialization; and the allowing the Philippine Peso to float and devalue. The inflationary effect these interventions had on the local economy brought about the social unrest which was the rationalization for the proclamation of martial law in 1972. By the time Marcos won his campaign and was ready for his second inauguration, the Philippines was already being described as a "social volcano ready to explode."Administration Review of U.S. Policy Toward the Philippines: Hearing Before the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, Ninety-ninth Congress, First Session ... October 30, 1985. Volume 99, Issue 435 of S. hrg, United States Congress
Marcos' term limits before martial law The political and economic unrest of the early 1970s continued throughout the three and a half years of Marcos' second term, just as rumors proliferated that he would try to remain in power beyond the two terms allowed him by the 1935 Constitution of the Philippines. Marcos' move to create a new Philippine constitution by pushing for the creation of the 1971 Philippine Constitutional Convention lent credence to the belief that Marcos wanted to stay in power, especially when delegate Eduardo Quintero implicated Imelda Marcos in a payoff scheme for delegates who voted against the "Block Marcos" amendments which would disallow Marcos from running again.
Anti-communist rhetoric When Marcos became president in 1965, the old Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas was a weakened organization, and the Hukbalahap reduced to "what amounted to banditry." The new Communist Party of the Philippines was established in 1968, and was able to form an armed wing in 1969 by allying with Hukbalahap commander Bernabe Buscayno to create New People's Army.
Although the CPP-NPA was only a small force and could not present a sizeable threat to the AFP at the time, Marcos painted an image of a huge "communist threat," both to court the Johnson administration's political support in light of its cold war policies, and drumming up local support as the Philippines was caught up in the same red scare which affected the US. This had the effect of mythologizing the group, with noted security specialist Richard J. Kessler observing that it invested the CPP with "a revolutionary aura that only attracted more supporters."
Incidents of unrest
The effects of the Balance of Payments crisis started making themselves felt almost immediately after Marcos second inauguration, setting the stage for several events which Marcos eventually cited as justifications for martial law. This included the First Quarter Storm protests of January to March 1970; the MV Karagatan and PMA armoury incidents which were alleged to be efforts of the NPA to acquire arms; the Plaza Miranda bombing in August 1971; Marcos' resulting suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, which led to the radicalization of many students; a series of bombings in Metro Manila throughout the first nine months of 1972; and an alleged assassination attempt against Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile.
Economic difficulties experienced by Filipinos in the immediate aftermath of the 1969 Philippine balance of payments crisis led to the first major incident of unrest associated with Marcos' proclamation of martial law—the First Quarter Storm. This was a period of civil unrest from January to March 1970 organized by students and labor groups to protest authoritarianism, alleged election cheating, and corruption under Marcos. Protests were attended by an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 persons. By the end of this period, at least two activists were confirmed dead and several were injured by the police.