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simp.Ie: Filipinos saw no feasible
alternative.
Martial law brought great
strides in reforming the country's
feudalistic land-tenure system, in
highway construction, irrigation
and rural electriñcation. And eco–
nomic incentives decreed by Mr.
Marcos increased foreign invest–
ment within the country.
Dlatorted Plcture
Despite these gains, the perpetua–
tion of martial law became the
focus of bitter rhetoric among
opposition forces within the coun–
try because of its cost in civil lib–
erties.
Western media reporting dur–
ing the martial law years stressed
almost exclusively this opposition
viewpoint, rarely evidencing any
attempt at evenhandedness. The
Philippines wa:s pictured as a
"ruthless dictatorship," governed
by the whim of Mr. Marcos' iron–
fisted "one-man law."
And it is still pictured this way
today.
As a result of reporting of this
nature, foreign tourists often
arrived in the Philippines expect–
ing to see tanks in the streets,
executions in public squares anda
soldier at every corner. After a
few hours of sightseeing, howev–
er, many began to wonder wheth–
er they might have mistakenly
landed in the wrong country!
"Where's the martial law?" was
the commonly asked question.
Moreover, they were allowed
to go where they wished and
speak to whomever they wished!
Martial law, Filipino-style, has
never been very martial. The type
of martial law that the Western
world ·finds so odious is not the
type of martial law administered
in the Philippines. There, martial
law was not intended as a
substi–
tute
for civil law, but as a means
of using the military to enforce
civil authority.
What of the alleged abuses of
martial law, so widely decried in
the Western press?
Corruption undeniably exist–
ed- and continues to exist- in
the Philippine government. Tor-
24
ture of prisoners can also be doc–
umented. But to assert that these
abuses have sanction
from the
top- as
often implied in the
press- is utter nonsense.
Mr. Marcos' critics themselves
admit that abuses by the military
and police constabulary troops are
of a local nature and more the
exception than the rule.
Mr. Marcos-who was himself
severely tortured by the Japanese
during World War JI-has
insisted upon and gotten swift
punishment for those who have
misused their powers. Sorne
4,000 officers and men have been
disciplined since
1972
on charges
ranging from murder to indis–
criminate use of firearms. And
many government personnel–
including high-ranking offi–
cials-have been ousted from
their jobs for dishonesty, ineffi–
ciency and conflict of interest.
What Next?
Martial law has now been lifted .
Undeniably, President Marcos
retains many of his emergency
powers.
The opposition charges that
nothing changed. Mr. Marcos'
archrival Benigno '"Ninoy" Aqui–
no Jr. portrays the situation thus:
"Tweedledum has been replaced
by Tweedledee."
The respected Asian weekly
newsmagazine
Asiaweek,
however,
takes a more considered view:
"Those reservations seem nig–
gardly, at best: the return to nor–
malcy clearly requires all sides to
accept that
even a transitional
executive cannot be powerless to
direct the nation's course
[em–
phasis ours]."
In Marcos' words, his reserve
powers will allow him to operate
"in as forceful a manner as possi–
ble" to ensure a smooth transition
between the revocation of martial
law and the convening of a regu–
lar parliament in 1984.
"The real question,"
Asiaweek
observes, "is whether freedoms
curtailed by martial law-free–
dom of the press and of assembly,
among others-will be restored,
and whether they will be
employed responsibly by govern–
ment and opposition alike."
Almost immediately after lift–
ing martial law, Mr. Marcos took
a series of steps aimed at hasten–
ing a return to full democracy.
Two days
before
the termination
of martial law, he abolished the
regulatory Print and Broadcast
Media Councils, thus paving the
way for the appearance of opposi–
tion newspapers.
"The lifting of martial law
caught the opposition flat-foot–
ed," observed Teodoro F. Valen–
cia in his
Daily Express
column
"Over a Cup of Coffee" just after
martial law was revoked. Mr.
Valencia is the respected dean of
Philippine journalism and the
Philippine's most-read columnist.
Though sympathetic to President
Marcos' brand of administration,
Mr. Valencia often leveled sharp
criticism at his martial law gov–
ernment- demonstrating once
again the less-than-martial nature
of Philippine martial law. In
other martial-law countries he
would probably have been impris–
oned or shot.
Mr. Valencia continued: "Their
[the opposition's] initial reaction
was total rejection or disbe–
lief ... of the President 's good
intentions. The President, for his
part, announced the main thrust of
the government and proceeded to
make his intentions felt by
deeds. .. . "
Threata Stlll Exlat
Why not an
immediate
restora–
tion of fui! democratic processes?
There are many reasons.
The still-smouldering Moro
(Moslem) insurrection on Minda–
nao island continues to pin down
nearly 80 percent of the Philip–
pines' troops. A possibly greater
threat in the long run is the con–
tinuing insurgency of the 5,000-
man Maoist New People's Army,
the military arm of the outlawed
Communist Party of the Philip–
pines.
In view of
c~rrent
political and
economic conditions, it should
not be thought
unr~asonable
that
the exercise of individual free-
The
PLAIN TRUTH