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Jabidah Massacre

18 March 1968

On 18 March 1968, at least a dozen Muslim military recruits were murdered in Corregidor. These trainees were part of “Operation Merdeka,” a secret operation with intentions to create disturbances in Sabah that would provide the justification for the Philippine government to take full control of the island. When the recruits protested their living conditions, they were disarmed, sent home, and others executed. This incident, known as the “Jabidah Massacre,” became one critical moment in influencing Moro insurgency against Marcos rule.

Filipino Translation

Manili Massacre

19 June 1971

In Manili, Carmen, North Cotabato, over 70 Muslims were murdered inside a mosque on 19 June 1971. This atrocity is believed to be the actions of Ilaga, a paramilitary group working with the Philippine Constabulary to eradicate Moro insurgency in Mindanao.

Filipino Translation

First Quarter Storm

January to March 1970

The First Quarter Storm refers to a series of demonstrations and protests from the months of January to March 1970. These events were organized by students, laborers, and peasants to raise issues regarding low wages, oil price hikes, authoritarianism, and US imperialism, among others. Filipino writer Pete Lacaba described this period as “days of disquiet, nights of rage.”

Filipino Translation

Plaza Miranda Bombing

21 August 1971

On 21 August 1971, the Liberal Party held a proclamation rally at Plaza Miranda where a large crowd assembled. At 9:13 p.m., a grenade was thrown onto the makeshift stage. A second grenade exploded a few seconds later. Nine people were killed and one hundred twenty-nine people were injured. Then president Marcos Sr. blamed the communists and suspended the writ of habeas corpus. Others believed that Marcos staged the bombing to justify his declaration of martial law in 1972.

Filipino Translation

Constitutional Convention

June 1971

In June 1971, 320 delegates convened to begin reviewing and revising the 1935 Constitution. The Constitutional Convention was controversial due to alleged bribery efforts to extend Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s term limits. By November 1972, two months after Marcos declared Martial Law, the convention approved a draft that would give Marcos more power. Consequently, Marcos organized Citizen Assemblies where citizens would be asked if they approved of the new constitution. Despite opposition, the 1973 Constitution went into effect and Marcos succeeded in legitimizing his unbounded power.

Filipino Translation

MV Karagatan

3 July 1972

In 1971, the New People’s Army (NPA) negotiated an arms shipment from China. MV Karagatan, the ship carrying arms, arrived at the mouth of the Digoyo River in Isabela on 3 July 1972. The crew were unable to move the arms to the jungle as the military strafed and bombed the beach. This unsuccessful attempt by the Communist Party of the Philippines to bring in arms was later cited as one of Marcos Sr.’s rationale for imposing martial law.

Filipino Translation

Coco Levy Fund

19 June 1971

On 19 June 1971, Marcos Sr. signed Republic Act 6260, otherwise known as the Coconut Investment Fund. The law put into motion a taxation scheme that promised to fund the development of the coconut industry in the country. As a result, Filipino coconut farmers, who were already living in abject poverty, faced heavy taxes on their produce and saw reduced farm incomes. The multibillion fund was diverted by Marcos cronies, and to this day today, has not benefited the coconut farmers.

Filipino Translation

Ambush of Enrile

22 September 1972

On 22 September 1972, the car of Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile was allegedly attacked near Wack Wack subdivision in Mandaluyong. When Marcos declared Martial Law, he used this incident to demonstrate how the state of peace and order in the country were in dire straits. In 1976, it was revealed that the incident was staged and that Marcos Sr. had instructed Enrile to “Make it look good.”

Filipino Translation

Proclamation 1081

23 September 1972

On 23 September 1972, Ferdinand Marcos Sr. declared Martial Law in the Philippines. Among his reasons, he specifically cited the threat of a Communist force that obtained arms from China. Subsequently, leading figures of the opposition such as Benigno Aquino, Jr. and Jose Diokno were arrested. Marcos also authorized the military take-over of major media outlets such as ABS-CBN network, Channel 5, and other radio stations.

Filipino Translation

Miss Universe 1974 and the Construction of the Folk Arts Theater

1974

In 1974, the Folk Arts Theater (FAT) was constructed for the Philippine hosting of the Miss Universe pageant. The FAT was built in 77 days and was inaugurated in a ceremony entitled “Kasaysayan ng Lahi”. The Marcos government spent millions of dollars in infrastructure, which were primarily funded by foreign loans.

Filipino Translation

La Tondeña Strike

1975

In October 1975, workers from the La Tondeña distillery led by activist Edgar Jopson went on strike in order to fight for permanent working status and fairer wages. The strike was eventually broken up and the workers were arrested. Consequently, Marcos Sr. passed Presidential Decree No. 823 prohibiting all forms of demonstrations.

Filipino Translation

Malisbong, Palimbang Massacre

September 1974

In September 1974, around 1,500 Muslim men were massacred in Malisbong, Palimbang in Sultan Kudarat as part of the government’s campaign to quell the secessionist movement of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). Today, the Commission of Human Rights consider this event as one of the most gruesome examples of the atrocities committed by the Marcos regime against Muslims.

Filipino Translation

Calauit Safari Park

1976

The Calauit Safari Park in Palawan was constructed in 1976, displacing hundreds of Tagbanwa. The park was intended to house different kinds of wild animals from Africa. It servesas a stark example of the grave abuses experienced by indigenous communities under Marcos rule and represents the excessiveness of the Marcos family.

Filipino Translation

Tasaday Controversy

1971

In 1971, Manuel Elizalde Jr., the Presidential Assistant on National Minorities (PANAMIN), claimed to have discovered a group of living stone-age people in the Philippines: the Tasaday. The discovery fascinated the international community and was even featured as a cover story of the National Geographic Magazine in 1972. Later, it was revealed that it was a hoax orchestrated by Elizalde and that the Tasadays were really individuals from the Manobo and T’boli indigenous communities.

Filipino Translation

Macli-ing Dulag

24 April 1980

Macli-ing Dulag, chief of the Kalinga Butbut, was murdered in his home by elements of the 44th Infantry Battalion on 24 April 1980. He fiercely opposed the Chico River Dam Project, which sought to construct hydroelectric dams that would submerge numerous villages, displace thousands of families, and devastate the people’s way of life, homeland, and livelihood.

Filipino Translation

Human Rights Violations Against Students

April 1973

On the night of 4 April 1973, men who identified themselves as members of the Philippine Constabulary Anti-Narcotics Unit barged into the home of the Hilao family. Liliosa Hilao, a student activist from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, was taken away and was brutally killed in a detention cell at Camp Crame. The military falsely claimed that Liliosa committed suicide by drinking muriatic acid inside a male comfort room. Evidence showed that her body was subjected to torture and abuse. Liliosa’s case remains a testament to the various human rights violations committed against student activists.

Filipino Translation

The Tadhana Project

1970s

As part of his attempt to appear as an intellectual and president-scholar, Marcos Sr. assembled a team of historians in the early 1970s to produce a 21-volume history of the Philippines, which was to be credited to him. The Tadhana project was a state-funded, well-resourced endeavor. By the end of his presidency, only four of the supposed 21 volumes had been completed.

Filipino Translation

Lifting of Martial Law

17 January 1981

Under intense international pressure, President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. issued Proclamation No. 2045 on 17 January 1981, officially lifting martial law. However, in reality, Marcos maintained the extraordinary powers that were institutionalized in the Transitory Provisions under the 1973 Constitution.

Filipino Translation

Visit of Pope John Paul II

17 January 1981

With martial law “lifted,” and political prisoners, including priests, the stage was set to welcome the head of the Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II. While the Pope acknowledged Marcos Sr.’s efforts to restore a semblance of normalcy in the country, he delivered a pointed message: there is no justification, not even national security concerns, that could ever legitimize the violation of human rights.

Filipino Translation

Hosting of the 11th Southeast Asian Games

6-15 December 1981

The 11th Southeast Asian Games were held in the Philippines from 6 to 15 December 1981. Marcos Sr. hoped that the ability of sports to unify groups of people would also translate into the fields of economics, politics, and culture. The 1981 sporting event was used by the dictator to further reinforce authoritarian rule and to rehabilitate his image  on the international stage.

Filipino Translation

Amnesty International Report

September 1982

The release of Amnesty International’s second report  in 1982 coincided with Marcos Sr.’s 12-day state visit to the United States. The report documented 49 cases of serious human rights violations, including arbitrary killings, torture, and forced disappearances. In response, Marcos accused Amnesty International of fabricating evidence and manipulating witnesses.

Filipino Translation

Shutdown of We Forum

December 1982

In 1982, the headquarters of We Forum in Project 6, Quezon City was raided after it published an expose written by Bonifacio Gillego on Marcos Sr.’ fake war exploits. Their equipment was seized, and more than a dozen of its staff and columnists, including the editor-in-chief, Jose G. Burgos, were arrested. Subversion and libel cases were filed against the independent tabloid, which was part of the emerging “mosquito press” at the time.

Filipino Translation

Aquino Assassination

21 August 1983

Despite warnings, former Sen. Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino Jr. returned to the Philippines after three years of self-imposed exile in the United States. Before he could set foot on Philippine soil, he was fatally shot in the back of the head by one of his military escorts. His assassination ignited massive nationwide protests, demanding justice for all victims of the regime’s abuse of power and calling for the resignation of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

Filipino Translation

Civil Resistance

1983

The anti-Marcos opposition gained momentum after the Aquino assassination. The clamor soon evolved beyond calls for justice for Aquino, shifting from demands for power-sharing with the Marcos regime to outright demands for Marcos’s ouster.  Sectoral rallies, where groups such as the urban poor, women, teachers, and artists condemned the Marcos government while voicing their specific grievances and interests.

Filipino Translation

Escalante Massacre in Negros

20 September 1985

The Marcos administration’s corruption and mismanagement of the sugar industry led to extreme poverty, starvation, unemployment and abuse of the sacadas (sugarcane workers) in Negros. In September 1985, thousands of Negrenses participated in the Welgang Bayan, where they demanded fair wages, due work benefits, and a stop to human rights violations by military and paramilitary units in the region. The government responded with high-powered rifles and machine guns, leaving 20 people dead and 24 wounded.

Filipino Translation

Announcement of Snap Elections

1985

By 1985, Ferdinand Marcos Sr. was losing his grip on power. The dictator was burdened by chronic illness, the economy was in freefall, and an opposition movement was gaining momentum. With the world watching, Marcos Sr. announced on the American public affairs TV program This Week with David Brinkley that he was ready to call a snap election in 1986 to secure a fresh mandate for his regime. The snap elections were held on 7 February 1986 and the official results were considered fraudulent.

Filipino Translation

EDSA People Power Revolution

1986

The massive fraud and violence of the 7 February 1986 elections triggered widespread protests nationwide, especially after thirty-five (35) COMELEC tabulators walked out of the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) where the election results were being counted. When a coup attempt by an organized group of military officials called the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) led by Gringo Honasan, along with top officials of the Marcos regime Juan Ponce Enrile and Fidel Ramos, failed, Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin, through a radio broadcast, called on the public to join the protest by gathering at the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) in front of Camp Crame, to help protect the military officials who defected from the Marcos regime. The mass protest, dubbed as the “People Power Revolution”, culminated in his ouster and the restoration of democracy under the leadership of Corazon Aquino.

Filipino Translation