Tomorrow is the 41st anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law by former president Ferdinand E. Marcos who transformed the Philippine Republic into what we called the conjugal Marcos Dictatorship. I was just a scrawny 21-year-old kid barely out of college when Martial Law was declared. In fact,41years ago, my father gifted us with our first-ever trip to the United States to visit my brother who was then working with the United Nations…and we were driving towards Washington D.C. when we heard the news flash over the car radio that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos had declared Martial Law all over the Philippines.
Arriving at our hotel, we immediately tried to call the Philippines, but the operator would only tell us that all calls to the Philippines will not be received until further notice. Those were different times 41years ago…and I mistakenly thought that the Manila Police would now be having clashes on the streets with student activists and turmoil would reign over Asia's first democracy. The headlines of the New York Times the following day only reported the declaration of Martial Law…but no student clashes.
In those days when Facebook, Twitter and blogs were still a fantasy, there was no way for us to connect to the Philippines. We just had to rely on the newspaper report and on TV. As we returned back to New York City, I passed by the posh Waldorf Astoria Hotel and noticed the Philippine Flag was flying on its flagpole with the American flag. I asked the bellman why our flag was hanging in the Waldorf. He told me that Philippine Foreign Secretary, the eminent Carlos P. Romulo was at the UN explaining why Martial Law had to be declared in the Philippines. The rest of course is history.
The road to Martial Law was paved with many internal problems. First was the 1967 Jabidah massacre in Corregidor where Muslim fighters were trained under the Command of Abdul Latif Martelino…then secretly massacred. Why? They were supposed to be sent to Sabah as the Philippines still claimed sovereignty over that part of Borneo…sovereignty that was given to the Philippines to then president Diosdado Macapagal by the Sultan Kiram. I still have photos of that event and documents to show that this really happened.
That time, there was a great debate as to why we should claim Sabah and thanks to the Internet I still have a copy of Sen. Jovito Salonga's privilege speech that he made on March 30, 1963 in answer to Sen. Lorenzo Sumulong (The uncle of Pres. Cory Aquino) who berated the Philippine claim to North Borneo. Sen. Salonga delivered a point-by-point rebuttal to Sumulong's speech which in my book was clear proof that the Philippine claim to Sabah could stand on solid ground in the International Court.
If we have troubles with the Moro National Liberation Front today, it all stems from this still unfinished chapter in Philippine history. Much, much later, the MNLF had a splinter group called the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which was supported by Malaysia who is the land grabber of Philippine sovereignty in Sabah…and that is what Pres. Benigno "PNoy" Aquino, III is supporting. At this point, I dare say that we must settle this issue once and for all in the International Court.
The other issue plaguing the Philippines was the Communist insurgency led by its chairman Jose Maria Sison. A year earlier Sison masterminded the dastardly bombing of the Liberal Party's Plaza Miranda Miting de Avance…where Sen. Salonga, Sen. Jerry Roxas and Sen. Serging Osmeña were gravely wounded by two grenades thrown into the front of the stage. Strangely, Sen. Ninoy Aquino was not in that rally…he was supposed to be the last speaker. Years later Sen. Salonga wrote a book that tagged Joma Sison as the mastermind of that dastardly act.
Yet after the EDSA Revolt, Pres. Cory Aquino released Joma Sison who was already imprisoned for a host of crimes including the Plaza Miranda bombing. Call it a grave obstruction of justice. Worst of all, Tita Cory released Joma without any peace pact or a promise to sue for peace. This is why today, 30years later, we still have the communist insurgency.
The final event that led to the declaration of Martial Law was that mysterious "ambush" of the convoy of Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile…which was never proven to be real…and during the EDSA Revolt, JPE admitted that the ambush was faked or staged. Later when JPE wrote his memoirs, he reverted again and said that the ambush was for real.
Of course in hindsight we know too well that president Marcos declared Martial Law to perpetuate himself in power. The conjugal Marcos dictatorship lasted for 14 long years because he controlled all the media and told the Filipino people about the greatness of Martial Law…even declaring Sept.21st as Thanksgiving Day. I write this so that you who were not born yet would know the events that happened prior to the declaration of Martial Law. It was 41years ago, when we lost the best constitution we've ever had.
* * *
Email: vsbobita@gmail.com