Sans abuses, martial law is necessary to save democracy —Palace

A declaration of martial law is necessary in order to save the country's democracy, but it should not be marked with abuses and violations of the rights of the people, Malacañang said on Sunday.

The Palace made such a remark as the country commemorated on Saturday the 47th anniversary of the proclamation of martial law by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1972.

In a statement, presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said that while the Marcos martial law "instilled discipline among the citizenry at its inception, as well as reaping success in dismantling the then spreading communist insurgency in the country," it incurred a deep wound to the generation that followed it.

Even then, the framers of the 1987 Constitution saw it necessary to retain the provision for the declaration of martial law in order to "save" the country from the enemies of the state and vested it to the President, but with more safeguards for abuse, he added.

"Those who perceive that a declaration of martial law is anti-democratic is oblivious of the fact that its application is precisely the very tool to save the exercise of democracy. It is only when it is clothed with abuse by its enforcers that it becomes obnoxious," Panelo said.

"Necessarily, its proclamation arises only upon constitutional dictates. Any violation thereof subject the transgressors to the wrath and vengeance of the Constitution," he added.

Panelo encouraged the public to learn from the past and use its lesson as a guide for the present.

"Relative to our quest to strengthen the Republic and its institutions, the Palace urges everyone to look at the past to guide us on what to do with the present, that it may serve us better in the future," he said.

In a statement on the 47th anniversary of Martial Law, Vice President Leni Robredo on Saturday asked Filipinos to pursue truth and justice and ensure that no dictator will be in power.

"Higit sa pag-alala, ang araw na ito ay isang panawagan sa ating lahat na maging kasangkapan ng katotohanan at katarungan. Isang panawagan na gampanan ang ating iisang tungkulin na siguruhing walang lugar ang kahit sinong diktador sa isang bayang malaya. Tandaan natin na walang pinuno ang mas makapangyarihan sa kaniyang sambayanang pinagsisilbihan," Robredo said.

Senator Leila de Lima on Saturday urged Filipinos to resist the looming dictatorship of President Rodrigo Duterte and fight any attempt at historical revisionism.

“Kabi-kabila ang mga pagpatay sa mga mahihirap, mga lider sa komunidad at mga nagtatanggol sa karapatan ng kapwa. Marami-rami na rin ang ginawang pagdakip at pag-uusig sa mga kritiko ng pamahalaan,” de Lima said.

“At habang garapalang niyuyurakan ang mga karapatan, ang kapakanan ng mamamayan ay napapabayaan din sa mga bilihing tumataas, trabahong hindi tiyak, at sahod na hindi sapat. Ang masahol pa: ipinamimigay ng Pangulo ang ating teritoryo, negosyo at trabaho sa mga Tsino,” the senator added.

Meanwhile, youth organizations, militant groups, and victims of Martial law atrocities slammed on Saturday what they consider as de facto martial law in the country, as well as the supposed "return" of the Marcos family to power.

On September 21, 1972, Marcos signed Proclamation 1081 placing the entire Philippines under martial law, citing rising insurgency and criminality in the country.

On the day Martial Law was declared, public utilities were shut down, media outlets were ordered closed, and about 8,000 personalities were arrested.

Proclamation 1081 was lifted in January 1981, but the authoritarian rule of Marcos essentially ended in 1986 when he was overthrown to his position during the first EDSA People Power Revolution.

In May 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte also placed Mindanao under martial law after ISIS-inspired Maute group attacked and destroyed Marawi City.

Two years later, martial rule in the island has not been lifted, after it was extended by Congress three times until December 31, 2019. —Erwin Colcol/KG, GMA News