Marcos speech on the inauguration of the Cebu Stock Exchange facilities

On October 25, 1970 President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos gave a message during the inauguration of the Cebu Stock Exchange Faciliities. The title of his speech was "An Appeal and a Warning."

In his speech, President Marcos referred to Cebu City as the Queen City of the South. This is what he said:

"Cebu City is often referred to as the Queen City of the South, second only to Manila in stature and importance. This confirms the position of Cebu in the social and economic life of the country."

The strongman (Marcos was called then) continued: "This will be the third stock exchange market in the country, after Manila and Makati. This makes Cebu the financial center of the South. The inauguration of the Cebu Stock Exchange comes at a time when the Congress of the Philippines has just approved a bill which would raise funds for the peace and order campaign of the government by placing a two percent tax on stock transactions. I wish to announce that I have signed that bill into law.

We expect to raise some $80 million a year under the peace and order fund bill. This includes a tax on travel of P200 on economy passengers, first class passengers P250. The bulk of these funds will be invested in our efforts to secure peace and order throughout the country.

I cannot overemphasize the urgency of this bill at a time when we are prosecuting strongly our peace and order drive. The funds we expect to realize will be utilized to professionalize the National Bureau of Investigation and other police agencies which are charged with maintaining law and order."

President Marcos then continued his message tackling on the issue of private armed groups, though he did not mention the name of its leaders, but historically, armed groups were maintained by political warlords in the different provinces in the country:

"There seems to be an outcry once more for the disbandment of the so-called private armies in the face of recent dramatic killings and ambushes in our midst. I have long ordered the disbandment of said armies and so-called para-military units. I will not and I cannot tolerate private warlords. Our peace-keeping agencies have standing orders to disband any armed clique maintained by politicians.

The recent rash of violence is to be deplored. The motivations behind these killings are worth looking into however because most are caused not by economic but by our inordinate obsession with politics. If this pattern of violence is to have any value at all, it is to prod our politicians, their leaders and followers to reflect on their career and redirect their activities along more constructive channels. It is not the people who need reeducation in the art of politics-free government and the craft of statesmanship- the question directs itself to many of our political dynasts.

We have long reached the turning point when we must rehabilitate ourselves from our addiction to our personal and violent political system. Let us return to the ideal of our libertarian traditions, which means the free interplay of democratic processes based on our time honored systems- the exercise of suffrage, our judicial processes, the right to self-organization as well as those other rights guaranteed by the Constitution."

President Marcos closed his speech with an appeal and a warning, this he said:

"But the task of reformation must begin now, today, in every place where decent men and women live with the forces of fear, where the reign of conventional politics is so deeply imbedded it has become an integral part of the community life. This is an appeal. This is also a warning."

On September 21, 1972 (two years after he delivered the speech entitled "An Appeal and a Warning") President Marcos signed Proclamation No. 1081 placing the entire Philippines under Martial Law.