Philippine Media During and After Martial Law

Philippine Media During Martial Law
Why did Marcos want to control the press during the Martial Law?
- Media can reach, connect, and inform millions of viewers, listeners, readers, and audiences in a period of time.
- If the government manipulates the media, it can create itself a wholesome image and make it appear that there is nothing wrong with the country and the government. 
- If the press is paralyzed, the people are left ignorant to the real situation of the country.
- Catalyst of great deception
Timeline Of Mass Media during Martial Law
References: Jun Tariman's Prezi on Martial Law and a Decade of Press Suppression

Mass media controls were established. 
Editors and journalists were among the first to be arrested and incarcerated in military prison camps. 
It was a time of Marcos Media vs. Mosquito Press or the alternative press. 
Media ownership became more concentrated in the hands of a few individuals or families close to the regime. 
There was monopolistic ownership of telecommunications by the regime's favored relatives and friends. 
September 23, 1972 
Media and opposition personalities known to be critical against Marcos are taken to military camps for investigation and detention. The series of interrogation of the media by the military intelligence begins. 
November 9, 1974 
PD 576 abolishes the Media Advisory Council and the Bureau of Standards for Mass Media. But, on November 11 of the same year, Marcos authorized the organization of regulatory councils for print and broadcast media through PD 576-A. The Philippine Council for Print Media and the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas were formed. 
February 3, 1976 
Marcos issues PD 885 forbidding the creation of "subversive" organizations. It included "preparing documents, leaflets and any other types of publication, and advising and counseling members of 'subversive' organizations" as among the punishable acts. The penalty for crimes against public order is increased through PD 942. 
October 8, 1980 
Marcos issues PD No. 727 making "unlawful the malicious dissemination of false information." 
September 12, 1980 
Marcos issues PD No. 1737 or the Public Order Act. This "empowered him to issue orders as he may deem necessary" in order to clamp down on "subversive publications or other media of mass communication" and "ban or regulate the holding of entertainment (or exhibitions) deemed 'detrimental to the national interest.'" Under this, he was also "empowered to order the preventive detention of persons and to prohibit the wearing of certain uniforms or emblems." 

The Philippines During Martial Law

Proclamation of Martial Law: On September 21, 1972, President Ferdinand E. Marcosplaced the Philippines under Martial Law. The declaration issued under Proclamation 1081 suspended the civil rights and imposed military authority in the country. Marcos defended the declaration stressing the need for extra powers to quell the rising wave of violence allegedly caused by communists. The emergency rule was also intended to eradicate the roots of rebellion and promote a rapid trend for national development. The autocrat assured the country of the legality of Martial Law emphasizing the need for control over civil disobedience that displays lawlessness. Marcos explained citing the provisions from the Philippine Constitution that Martial Law is a strategic approach to legally defend the Constitution and protect the welfare of the Filipino people from the dangerous threats posed by Muslim rebel groups and Christian vigilantes that places national security at risk during the time. Marcos explained that martial law was not a military takeover but was then the only option to resolve the country’s dilemma on rebellion that stages national chaos threatening the peace and order of the country. The emergency rule, according to Marcos’s plan, was to lead the country into what he calls a “New Society”.

Marcos used several events to justify martial law. Threat to the country’s security was intensifying following the re-establishment of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in 1968. Supporters of CPP’s military arm, the New People’s Army, also grew in numbers in Tarlac and other parts of the country. The alleged attempt to the life of then Minister of Defense Juan Ponce Enrile gave Marcos a window to declare Martial Law. Marcos announced the emergency rule the day after the shooting incident. Marcos also declared insurgency in the south caused by the clash between Muslims and Christians, which Marcos considered as a threat to national security. The Muslims were defending their ancestral land against the control of Christians who migrated in the area. The minority group organized the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in Malaysia and pushed for the autonomy of Mindanao from the national government.

The move was initially supported by most Filipinos and was viewed by some critics as a change that solved the massive corruption in the country. Martial law ceased the clash between the executive and legislative branches of the government and a bureaucracy characterized by special interest. Marcos started to implement reforms on social and political values that hindered effective modernization. To match the accomplishments of its Asian neighbors, Marcos imposed the need for self-sacrifice for the attainment of national welfare. His reforms targeted his rivals within the elite depriving them of their power and patronage but did not affect their supporters (US Library of Congress, Martial Law and the Aftermath).

Thirty-thousand opposition figures including Senator Benigno Aquino, journalists, student and labor activists were detained at military compounds under the President’s command (Proclamation 1081 and Martial Law). The army and the Philippine Constabulary seized weapons and disbanded private armies controlled by prominent politicians and other influential figures (Proclamation 1081 and Martial Law). Marcos took control of the legislature and closed the Philippine Congress (Proclamation 1081 and Martial Law). Numerous media outfits were either closed down or operated under tight control (Proclamation 1081 and Martial Law). Marcos also allegedly funnelled millions of the country’s money by placing some of his trusted supporters in strategic economic positions to channel resources to him. Experts call this the “crony capitalism.”

The deterioration of the political and economic condition in the Philippines triggered the decline of support on Marcos’ plans. More and more Filipinos took arms to dislodge the regime. Urban poor communities in the country’s capital were organized by the Philippine Ecumenical Council for Community and were soon conducting protest masses and prayer rallies. These efforts including the exposure of numerous human rights violations pushed Marcos to hold an election in 1978 and 1981 in an aim to stabilize the country’s chaotic condition. Marcos, in both events, won the election; however, his extended term as President of the Republic of the Philippines elicited an extensive opposition against his regime. Social unrest reached its height after former Senator Benigno Aquino was murdered. The incident sent thousands of Filipinos to the streets calling for Marcos’ removal from post. Turning again to his electoral strategy, Marcos held a snap election in 1986 but what he hoped will satisfy the masses only increased their determination to end his rule that seated Corazon Aquino, widow of Benigno Aquino, as President of the Philippines ousting Marcos from Malacañang Palace and ending the twenty-one years of tyrant rule.

A Teen During the Martial Law Era

This was what faced us:

1. Curfew of twelve midnight was imposed.
2. Any group of 5 people or more needed a permit at the Camp Lapu-lapu.

How did we do it?

1. The class president or the secretary procured the necessary party permit from the Camp.
2. Parties started at exactly 7:00 PM.
3. Dancing commenced soon after.
4. At 11:30 PM, we leave the party just so we can beat the curfew.

The injustice. Only Marcos and his cronies, who plundered the economy, were protected by the law. Nobody else was. Arbitrary arrest, detention, salvaging and torture were the standard. The Defense Minister -- a man named Juan Ponce Enrile -- said in 1982: "We presume that priests and nuns charged with subversive activities are guilty until the courts decide whether they are guilty or not." On one occasion the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, someone named Enrique Fernando, servilely held an umbrella over Imelda Marcos' head.

The censorship. It was only when rebel soldiers finally seized a TV station in the EDSA uprising that people saw in their sets just how big the crowds were. Up until then the media were strictly controlled. Journalists who wrote against the regime -- most of them were women -- were routinely "invited" for questioning by the military. There was no transparency whatever. There were only three national broadsheets, the Times Journal, the Daily Express and the Bulletin Today, all of them offering the same pro-administration pap. The chief Marcos mouthpiece was a columnist named Teodoro Valencia. He died in 1986 and is now considered the "dean" of Philippine journalism. In 1983, when Ninoy Aquino was buried, at least one million people accompanied the funeral cortege as it wound its way through Manila. The next day, the Bulletin scarcely mentioned the story, instead playing up a story about a man struck and killed by lightning at the Luneta Park.(Recently, Joseph Estrada extolled the Bulletin as his idea of a good newspaper).

The poverty. Poverty increased from 24% in 1974 to 40% in 1980 and why not? Imelda Marcos was using the Philippine National Bank as her private piggy bank. One of her ideas of dealing with the poor was to put up whitewashed walls around the squatter areas in Manila. The walls are still there.

The corruption. There were suspicions about the Marcoses dipping into the public till. After EDSA, dazed investigators realized that the truth far outstripped the suspicions. The Marcoses had been screwing the public even before Martial Law. As early as 1968 Ferdinand and Imelda had already salted away more than $900,000 in Zurich accounts under the names "William Saunders" and "Jane Ryan." It was the initial deposit in what would turn out to be a mountain of loot. After having tracked down Marcos accounts and properties all over the world, investigators still aren't sure that they've found all the ill-gotten wealth.

Philippine Media After Martial Law

February 28, 1986 – The Aquino government issues Executive Order (EO) No. 1 creating the Presidential Commission on Good Government which was tasked to go after the alleged ill-gotten wealth of the Marcos family.

March 2, 1986 – President Aquino lifts the suspension of the priviledge of the writ of habeas corpus.

July 16, 1986 – EO No. 29 repealed PD No. 33, the decree “Penalizing the Printing, Possession, Distribution and Circulation of Certain Leaflets, Handbills and Propaganda Materials and the Inscribing or Designing of Graffiti.”

December 17, 1986 – Malacañang issues E.O. No. 92 expanding the responsibility and authority of the Office of the Press Secretary. Through this order, the Bureau of National and Foreign Information and all its subsidiary offices, the Radio and Television Malacañang, the Presidential Press Staff and its sub-offices, the People’s Television 4, and the Radyo ng Bayan are placed under the control of the OPS.

December 24, 1986 – The Aquino government forms the Philippine Information Agency after the abolition of the Office of Media Affairs.

1987 – The Philippine Press Institute is re-established after its operation was halted during martial law.

June 5, 1987 – President Aquino issues EO No. 187 repealing the Marcos-issued PD 38 (“Amending Articles 135, 136, 137, 138, 140, 142, 177, 178 and 179 of The Revised Penal Code”), 942 (“Amending the Provisions of the Revised Penal Code on Crimes Against Public Order), 1735 (“Imposing Additional Penalties for Rebellion, Insurrection, Sedition, and Subversion Committed Within or Outside Philippine Territoy”), 1834 (“Increasing The Penalties For The Crime of Rebellion, Sedition, and Related Crimes, and Amending For This Purpose Articles 135, 136, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 146 and 147 Of The Revised Penal Code and Adding Section 142-B Thereto”), 1974 (“Amending Presidential Decree No. 1834”), and 1996 (“Further Amending PD No. 1834 as Amended”) and Articles 142-a and 142-b of the Revised Penal Code.

October 1987 – President Aquino files a libel suit against journalist Luis Beltran for writing in his column that she “hid under the bed” while government troops were battling mutineers in August 1987. On October 22, 1992, Beltran and Soliven were convicted of libel, but the decision was reversed by the Court of Appeals on July 12, 1993.

1988 – The PPI and the National Press Club adopt the Journalists’ Code of Ethics.

December 3-4, 1989 – The National Telecommunications Council orders the closure of two radio stations, dzEC and dyLA, for “airing rebel propaganda and disinformation in violation of franchise rule.” The stations provided  space and time to  military rebels who staged a coup on December 1989. The orders were lifted on December 11 and 13, respectively.  In the same year, the NTC issued Memorandum circular no. 22-89 revising Memorandum circular no. 11-12-85 “governing program standards of the broadcast media,” but it was later lifted.

December 6, 1989 – The Aquino government declares a state of National Emergency due to attempts to topple her govern-ment.

July 5, 1991 – Republic Act (RA) 7079 or the “Campus Journalism Act of 1991” is enacted.

October 21, 1991 – The Philippine National Police issues a secret directive. It aims to form a media research project, “Oplan Malunggay,” to classify which mass media personalities and institutions are friendly or critical to the agency. On December 13, the Manila Chronicle runs a series on the directive. The PNP, however, denies that such an order was issued.

References:

http://malacanang.gov.ph/presidents/fourth-republic/ferdinand-marcos/

http://www.philippine-history.org/presidents.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_of_the_Philippines

http://www.asean.org/