Journalism during the Marcos dictatorship in the Philippinesa fourteen year period between the declaration of Martial Law in September 1972 until the People Power Revolution in February 1986was heavily restricted under the dictatorial rule of President Ferdinand Marcos in order to suppress political opposition and prevent criticism of his administration.
Hitherto considered the most prominent embodiment of press freedom in Asia, various Philippine mass media were shut down very suddenly in the early hours of September 23, 1972 when Marcos’ forces began enforcing Martial Law. The clampdown included 7 television stations, 16 national daily newspapers, 11 weekly magazines, 66 community newspapers, and 292 radio stations; as well as public utilities including the electricity company Meralco, the telephone company PLDT, and airlines. The most prominent television and newspaper reporters, publishers, columnists, and media owners were among the 400 people jailed in the first hours of Martial Law, with more arrested in Marcos’ dragnet in the succeeding days.
Newspapers owned by Marcos cronies such as Roberto Benedicto were the only ones allowed to publish in the immediate aftermath of the declaration, and media companies taken over by such associates became the dominant media outlets, eventually becoming referred to as the "crony press".
Journalists who evaded arrest went underground and came out with alternative publications such as Balita ng Malayang Pilipinas (News of the Free Philippines) and Taliba ng Bayan (The Nation's Sentinel). These were sometimes referred to as the "underground press". In later years, pressure from the international community and from the politically influential Catholic Church forced Marcos to allow publication of some newspapers critical of his administration, although Marcos ensured he could shut them down “just like that.” These publications were referred to as the “alternative press,” or because they were irritations Marcos could swat down with ease, the “mosquito press.”
Key turning points in the history of Philippine journalism in this time include: the establishment of WE Forum in 1977 and of Ang Pahayagang Malaya in 1981; the landmark coverage of the assassination of indigenous opposition leader Macli-ing Dulag; the Chico River Dam Project; the 1982 exposé of Ferdinand Marcos' fake military medals which led to the closure of WE Forum and jailing of its prominent columnists; and the 1984 murder of leading Mindanao journalist Alex Orcullo in Davao City.
Two radio stations – Radyo Veritas 846 and DZRJ-AM, disguised as "Radyo Bandido" – played a pivotal role in overthrowing Marcos. These non-government stations aired the appeal of Cardinal Jaime Sin, Archbishop of Manila, for Filipinos to go to Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) and prevent Marcos from killing the leaders of a failed coup attempt, and then keeping local and international audiences updated about the ensuing People Power Revolution.
Rationale for media control and censorship
Before the declaration of martial law, mass media in the Philippines functioned as a government watchdog and source of information for citizens. Marcos exerted considerable effort to stifle the free press, which is considered a key feature of a functioning democracy. He shut down media outlets and set up set up print and broadcast outlets that he controlled through his cronies. In doing so, he silenced public criticism and opposition by controlling information that the people had access to. This allowed him to have the final say on what passed as truth.
By controlling the press, the dictatorship was able to suppress negative news and create an exaggerated perception of progress.
Shutdown and takeover of mass media
Presidential Proclamation No. 1081, putting the Philippines under Martial Law, was dated September 21, but it was only publicly announced on the evening of September 23, preceded by a wave of arrests that began shortly before midnight on September 22.
Letters of Instruction No. 1 and No. 1-A Through Letter of Instruction No. 1, signed on September 22, a day before the public declaration of martial law, Marcos ordered the military take over of the assets of privately owned media companies. The letter was written in view of what Marcos called a national emergency, in which existed a "criminal conspiracy to seize political and state power." All privately owned newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and other mass media were ordered to be taken over and controlled so as to prevent their use for purposes that sought to undermine the government. The letter was addressed to Press Secretary Francisco Tatad and Secretary of National Defense Juan Ponce Enrile.
On September 28, Marcos issued Letter of Instruction No. 1-A, ordering the armed forces to seize and sequester facilities owned by ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation and Associated Broadcasting Corporation, two of the largest broadcasting companies in the Philippines. The principal officers of both corporations, according to the letter, were actively engaged in activities subverting the government. Marcos also accused both of allowing the dissemination of deliberately skewed, exaggerated, and false information with a view towards subverting the government and promoting the Communist Party of the Philippines. The takeover included all facilities owned and operated by the two corporations, including their TV and radio subsidiaries in the cities of Davao, Cebu, Laoag, and Dagupan. The facilities of ABS-CBN were later transferred to Marcos crony Roberto Benedicto's Kanlaon Broadcasting System (or KBS, now operating as Radio Philippines Network), and still later to the government-owned Maharlika Broadcasting System (now operating as People's Television Network).
Arrests of media workers By dawn on September 23, 100 of the 400 individuals on Marcos's "Priority Arrest List" were in detention centers, including Manila Times publisher Chino Roces, newspaper editors Amando Doronila of the Daily Mirror, Luis Mauricio of the Philippine Graphic, Teodoro Locsin Sr. of the Philippine Free Press, and Rolando Fadul of the vernacular broadsheet Taliba. Also arrested were reporters Robert Ordoñez of the Philippine Herald, Rosalinda Galang of the Manila Times; columnists Ernesto Granada of the Manila Chronicle and Maximo Soliven of the Manila Times, and Luis Beltran and Ruben Cusipag of the Evening News. Church publications are also not allowed to operate. Among the publications closed were the Signs of the Times published by the Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines and The Communicator published by the Jesuits. Several radio stations operated by the Catholic Church and United Church of Christ in the Philippines in Bukidnon and Davao were shut also down.
Philippines Free Press associate editor Napoleon Rama and ABC-5 broadcaster and The Big News anchor Jose Mari Velez also happened to be delegates to the 1971 Constitutional Convention, and were among the 11 outspoken convention delegates to be arrested. (The others included Heherson Alvarez, Alejandro Lichuaco, Voltaire Garcia, and Teofisto Guingona Jr.)
By the morning of September 23, 1972, martial law forces had successfully implemented a media lockdown, with only outlets owned or controlled by the government allowed to operate. In the afternoon, Benedicto-owned television channel KBS-9 went back on air playing episodes of Hanna-Barbera's Wacky Races cartoon series, which was interrupted at 3:00 PM, when Press Secretary Francisco Tatad went on air to read Proclamation No. 1081, through which Marcos declared martial law. Ferdinand Marcos himself went on air at 7:17 that evening to formalize the announcement. The following morning, on September 24, the headline of Benedicto's Daily Express announced "FM Declares Martial Law" – the only national newspaper to come out in the immediate aftermath of martial law. (The Mindanao Tribune, which had not received notification of the media lockdown, had been able to put out an edition by the evening of September 23.)
The declaration shut down 7 television stations, 16 national daily newspapers, 11 weekly magazines, 66 community newspapers, and 292 radio stations; as well as public utilities such as Meralco, PLDT, and the then-existing Philippine Airlines.
Killing of media workers
According to the Philippine Movement for Press Freedom, 34 journalists were killed during the Marcos dictatorship.
In April 1973, student journalist and activist Liliosa Hilao was arrested, detained in Camp Crame, tortured, and killed by her military captors. She was the first political detainee killed during martial law. Hilao was an editor of Hasik, the school organ of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, for which she wrote essays critical of the Marcos dictatorship.
Censorship under Ferdinand Marcos
Although some of the press was eventually allowed to reopen their doors, news was heavily regulated and censored. All publications, including those from foreign news outfits, had to be approved by the Department of Public Information. Department Order No. 1 required all news outlets to assist in the administration of martial law by only reporting news that had positive national value. Presidential Decree No. 191 require all news agencies to get clearance from the Media Advisory Council (MAC) before publishing or airing any content. Society news, editorial commentary, and content critical to the Philippine government were among those banned. The government seized control of privately owned media. Only Daily Express and Bulletin Today (now operating as Manila Bulletin) were allowed to resume operations among those publications that existed prior to Martial Law. The regulations bred self-censorship among members of the press, which were traditionally adversarial towards the government.
The foreign press' access to information was also heavily regulated. Foreign journalists critical of the regime were often expelled or had their visas denied. Marcos accused Arnold Zeitlin of the Associated Press of ‘malicious and false reporting’ during his coverage of the fighting between the government forces and Muslim Filipino separatists in Jolo, Sulu. Zeitlin was expelled from the Philippines in 1976. A year later, the government denied the visa application of Bernard Wideman, a news correspondent of The Washington Post and Far Eastern Economic Review. Wideman covered Marcos' seizure of privately owned companies like Philippine Airlines and Philippine Cellophane Film Corporation. Wideman's expulsion was eventually reversed by the Immigration Commission.
The government also censored other forms of media outside of print, radio, and television. Books such as Primitivo Mijares's The Conjugal Dictatorship of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos and Carmen Pedrosa's The Untold Story of Imelda Marcos are banned. Film was censored through the Board of Censors for Moving Pictures (BCMP). Letter of Instruction No. 13 issued on September 29, 1972, prohibited films perceived to incite subversion and rebellion, glorify criminals, show the use of prohibited drugs, and undermine the people's confidence in the government. It also sought to ban any film that, to the judgment of the BCMP, was not aligned with the spirit of Proclamation No. 1081.
Media and communications-related issuances The following is a list of Presidential Decrees, Letters of Instruction, and other official issuances that shaped the mass media landscape of the period, arranged by year of signing or release.
1972
Letter of Instruction No. 1, signed September 22 - Ordered the taking over and control of all privately owned mass media for the duration of martial law. Letter of Authority No. 1, signed September 22 - Authorized the operation of Radio Philippines Network, Kanlaon Broadcasting Network, the Voice of the Philippines, Philippines Broadcasting System, and the Daily Express.