Martial Law and Aftermath (1972 - 1983)
In September of 1972, Ferdinand Marcos staged
a fake assassination attempt on his Minister of National Defense.
In turn, he used this event as an excuse to declare martial law.
Marcos closed the Philippine Congress and arrested 30,000 political
opponents, students, labor activists and intellectuals. He assumed
near dictatorial powers for the next decade.
Under the Marcos regime, a system of monopolistic practices became
widespread. Friends and supporters of the government received
support for their ventures, while competitors were openly discouraged.
The monopolistic practices in the agricultural sector had a severe
impact on the country's peasants. Growers of sugarcane, coconuts
and other commodities were forced to sell their produce to government
supported monopolies at rates far lower than world market prices.
While wealthy Marcos supporters benefited from these practices,
poverty in the countryside worsened considerably. As a result,
communist insurgency increased during the late-1970's and early-1980's.
In order to maintain his control over the country, Marcos greatly
expanded the powers of the military during his rule. Armed forces
personnel increased from about 58,000 members in 1971, to over
142,000 in 1983. In exchange for support of the military, commanders
were often rewarded with opportunities to exploit the local economies.
Since military personnel had an economic stake in quelling peasant
discontent, their methods of policing the countryside were especially
brutal; death-squad murders were commonplace during the Marcos
regime.
Bowing to international pressure, Ferdinand Marcos declared the
end of martial law on January 17, 1981. While some controls were
loosened, the corrupt Marcos regime continued its dominance of
the Philippine economy and military apparatus.
