Marcos Martial Law Quotes

I started entertaining second thoughts about my support and propaganda work for Marcos towards the end of the year 1973. It is difficult to pinpoint the exact point in time when I did. But it must have been right after December 30,1973, which was the day Marcos’ second and last term in office under the 1935 Constitution ended. At about that point in time, I began to realize that Marcos imposed martial law, not to save the country from a Communist rebellion and to reform society, but to hold on to the presidency for life — and as a dictator. I

As a teenager, I still viewed things in black and white. There was to be no shifting between the powerful and the powerless. To change sides was an unthinkable deed. You should never jump a picket line, nor should you regard Marcos as a good leader.

Soldiers were ready, able, and only too willing to follow orders to arrest anyone Marcos, his cronies, and aides believed was their enemy. To them, enemies took many forms. Innocent-looking fifteen-year-old convent schoolgirls were no exception.

I believe to this day that Marcos needed to be brought to his knees in the same way he brought the country to it knees with violence and savagery.

I also believe that it will be a continuing disservice to all Filipinos if there is no serious attempt to confront the truth and punish those culpable from that inglorious period in history. We are still waiting, though four presidents have taken office after Marcos was thrown out of power. Moreover, some of the extrajudicial killings during Marcos' time continue to occur in some parts of the country to this day.