What are the abuses during martial law?

Answer 1

Many changes took place during the imposition of Martial Law. In general, the Martial Law regime was repressive and anti-democratic. Intensified and legitimized the corrupt and abusive administration of President Marcos.

Answer 2

There were numerous cases of human rights violations against civilians during the Martial Law period. The hardest hit were the critics of his dictatorial government such as the progressive writers, commentators, organizers, professors, students and artists. They were arrested and detained along with some delegates of the Constitutional Convention (ConCon) who belonged to the political opposition. While in detention, they experienced various forms of tortures, harassment, intimidation, inhumane treatment and summary execution.

As recourse, the CPP through its armed wing, NPA, waged an armed rebellion against the government in order to replace it with a new system.

The human rights violations during the Marcos regime were believed to be committed by the Armed Forces of the Philippine (AFP), Philippines Constabulary (now Philippines National Police or PNP) and the Civilian Home Defense Force (CHDF). According to the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP), there were an estimated 22,287 detained civilians and 2,491 victims of salvaging.

According to Amnesty International (AI), an international organization which promotes human rights, there were about 759 document cases desaparecidos. They were believed to be salvaged but their bodies were never recovered.

The suspension of the writ of habeas corpus gave President Marcos undue power to arrest and detains suspected rebels and political opposition. Without the political opposition, President Marcos was able to easily maneuver the rewriting of the Philippine Constitution. The Marcos-sponsored Constitution served as a legal foundation to legitimize his political agenda. Some of the prominent opposition figures who were detained by President Marcos were Benigno Aquino, Jr. and Jose Diokno.

by: angelica uy