21st, 1972 President Marcos issues proclamation 1081 declaring martial law. Congress was abolished and replaced by the Batasan Pambansa. Martial law was lifted in 1981.
29th, 1898 Ratification of Philippine independence by the Malolos Congress; congressional mandate to write a constitution which was adopted in November 9, 1898.
If there are two historic events one could freeze in time this month of September it will be ratification of the June 12, 1898 independence by the Malolos Congress on September 29. The other event is September 21, 1972 when Marcos declared Martial Law. The first event announced with pride to the world the birth of a nation. The second announced to the world, courtesy of Marcos, the Philippine?s entry to the ignoble and shameful club of dictators.
The test of a new nation as it emerges from armed revolution is not just military victory. In the case of the Filipino rebels fighting against Spain, declaring independence on June 12, 1898 was not enough to announce its honored place among independent nations. On September 29, just a few months from that historic event in Kawit, Cavite, in solemn ceremonies held at the Barasoain church in Malolos, Bulacan, the Malolos congress ratified the nation?s independence and embarked on writing the first Filipino constitution, commonly known as the Malolos Constitution. The effort was a genuine democratic meeting of the best-learned minds at that time. Felipe Calderon was the main author supported by an assembly of distinguished Filipinos, among them Antonio Luna, a brilliant military strategist and Gregorio Aglipay, who later founded the Philippine Independent Church.
The new nation now had a president, an army, and a constitution. It could stand on its own right among the nations of the civilized world. In celebration, the elite of Manila converged on this sleepy rural town of Malolos for a few days of festivity. The town was decorated with flags and bunting and the nascent army marched about to the tune of Marcha Nacional. A feast of great proportions that even Imelda would have envied followed the proclamation ceremonies.
In a banquet spread that is worthy of Parisian haute cuisine, the menu consisted of seven appetizers, seven courses, five desserts, and six wines and liqueurs. The names for the main course reflected the occasion ? chicken giblets a la Tagale (chicken adobo?) and turkey truffles a la Manilloise. The use of Tagale (tagalog) symbolized the regional core of the new nation rather than that of language. On this month, the Philippines showed it knew how to fight for freedom and how to dine in its celebration.
Until the end of 1898 before the war with the United States began at the start of the year, the new nation established public schools, tried criminal cases in court, managed a railroad, taxed it citizens and performed all the imagined activities that come with nationhood. To the U.S. who had just vanquished the Spanish navy, Filipino independence was of little interest, bent as it was on securing its newfound interests in the Pacific.
Similarly, several decades later, prior to the events of September 21, 1972, the U.S. government chose to ignore the un-making of the democratic legacy it had bequeathed after its victory over first republic . Unchecked by an explicit U.S. foreign policy, President Marcos, in a well-planned and calculated move, declared martial law on the eve of the 21st citing threats to the republic from Communists and anarchic elements. Before the declaration, Manila was witness to several spectacular events. First, there was the discovery of an arms shipment allegedly from Red China, aboard the ship Karagatan. Then there were the series of orchestrated bombings of commercial buildings that added to an atmosphere of hysteria. With the staged ambush of then Secretary of Defense Enrile, Marcos had enough reasons to justify imposing martial law, signing Proclamation 1081 at 9:20 PM. Slightly before midnight, the agents of Defense Secretary Enrile fanned out to arrest politicians opposed to Marcos. Manila woke up in eerie silence. The vociferous newspaper and radio enterprises had been silenced. Constitutional protections were suspended and scores of ?enemies of the state? were imprisoned under the guise of Presidential Decrees. Among the prominent ones were Ninoy Aquino Jr. and Jose Diokno who were the most vocal of Marcos critics. Many academics and religious personalities were placed on a watch list. The more militant student activists went underground. In the subsequent months, the old Congress had been dissolved and a pro-Marcos Batasan Pambayan (parliament) was created. A rewritten constitution was ratified by a sham plebiscite and a New Society movement (Bagong Lipunan) was launched ostensibly to reform society but ended up more corrupt than previous regimes. Combined with the bacchanalian tendencies of Imelda, martial law became the bed upon which many historians have characterized this period — as the ?conjugal dictatorship? of Marcos and Imelda. While Marcos and his cronies enriched themselves by legal and extra-legal means, the lavish parties and edifice complex of Imelda drove a deep wedge between the haves and the have-nots. Many disgruntled Filipinos found themselves in the United States either to avoid persecution or to seek a more certain future. In less than century, the Philippines having emerged from colonialism as a fledging democracy have turned full-circle into a crony dictatorship. It will take the People Power revolution of 1986 to regain the ideals of set forth in Malolos of 1898.
Suggested readings:
Raymond Bonner, Waltzing with a Dictator: The Marcoses and the Making of American Policy. Times Book, New York, 1987.
Asuncion David Maramba, Editor, Six Young Filipino Martyrs. Anvil Publications, Pasig City, 1997.
Teodoro M. Kalaw, The Philippine Revolution. Jorge B. Vargas Filipiniana Foundation, Mandaluyong, 1969.
