EDITORIAL — No golden age

Fifty-four years ago, Ferdinand Marcos placed the country under martial law, ostensibly to bring peace and order, but mostly to perpetuate himself in power, allowing him to circumvent the two-term limit set for presidents under the 1935 Constitution.

Wielding absolute power, Marcos set off to finish rewriting the 1935 Constitution, with the new one allowing him to rule by decree for several years. He abolished Congress and limited the Supreme Court to adjudicating civil and criminal cases, with all his martial law decrees kept beyond judicial review.

Over the years, thousands of political opponents and dissidents were rounded up without arrest warrants and tossed in jail, and critical media organizations were shut down. Many of those arrested were tortured; others became desaparecidos, their whereabouts unknown to this day. 

Under the conjugal dictatorship of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, the line between public and private funds became blurred. Those pursuing questionable wealth believe the Marcos-Romualdez clans illegally amassed billions of dollars during the dictatorship, with only a fraction recovered.

As the economy went into a tailspin from the systematic looting, the exodus of Filipinos to find work overseas began.

This dark period in the nation’s history was successfully revised in 2022. The martial law period, repackaged as a “golden age” with the help of the Dutertes’ considerable popularity, sent Ferdinand Marcos’ only son and namesake to the presidency by the largest margin ever.

Today the hunt for ill-gotten wealth has crashed into a wall, with Imelda Marcos home free under the presidency of her only son. The nation has been undergoing a painful reality check about the supposed golden era – again with some help from the Dutertes, who have openly regretted helping in the spectacular political comeback of the Marcos clan. 

With no accountability in the gross human rights abuses and kleptocracy during the first Marcos regime, it’s little wonder that today the nation is facing a massive corruption scandal that has implicated some of the highest officials, including Imelda Marcos’ nephew.

The nation is also struggling to hold accountable those responsible for the killing of thousands during the Duterte administration on mere suspicion of involvement in the illegal drug trade, or simply to meet a kill quota.

In the human rights department at least, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is proving to be a vast improvement from his immediate predecessor. In terms of accountability, two senators plus the President’s cousin the former speaker are detained without bail for plunder. But there’s a long way to go in cleansing the nation of the rot that built up exponentially during the dictatorship.