Where were you when Martial Law was declared?

It was about seven o'clock in the morning of September 21, 1972 when I first heard that Martial Law was declared. It was breakfast time and I was sitting before a dish of "sinigang" in an eatery in Midsayap, Cotabato, when a newscaster blurted out the news. Martial Law! My immediate reaction was a mixture of anxiety and fear.

What would happen to government workers like me? (I was then an area supervisor in the Bureau of Private Schools). Would I lose my job? What would be the political consequence? Would there be a civil war?

I was supposed to be on a five-day inspection trip with private schools, but I decided to cut short my itinerary and hurry back to our office in Cotabato City. In the office only the clerk was around. I told him I was going home to Cebu (where my family was), and will you please tell the boss about it?

Since there was no plane in the city that day I decided to travel to Davao City and try to get a plane ride for Cebu. After a three-hour land trip I arrived in that city past four o'clock, and went straight to the airport. The place was crawling with troops in full battle regalia. Everyone entering the terminal was bodily searched, their luggage opened. Suspicious looking characters were invited for interrogation. At the ticket counter a uniformed personnel, perhaps a junior officer, was keenly watching those who were buying tickets.

Early evening of the same day the Air Manila plane I look touched down in Cebu. As in Davao City, soldiers were everywhere. One by one, we were asked to present our identification cards but we were no longer bodily searched.

Before curfew hours it was business as usual in Cebu City. But after these the streets would start getting quiet as people and vehicles would rush home, otherwise they would end up in stockades. Night life was a thing of the past because night clubs, theatres, and other entertainment places were padlocked.

In the homes the only radio broadcasts were those from government stations because commercial stations were closed. Live tv shows had disappeared and only canned movies could be seen. From time to time the face of Marcos spokesman, Francisco Tatad, would materialize on the screen and make announcements. From him people got their information on the state of things, what decrees had been issued, who were arrested, who were the new government players, and so on.

Fear was in the air in the first few days. But after sometime the people got adjusted to the new mode of governance and way of life. One after another, colleges and universities were reopened and government offices, except those which were abolished, began to function regularly. Here changes were observable as workers, aware of the tentative nature of their positions, began being serious with their work. Absenteeism and tardiness were at a minimum and front-line services improved.

Two weeks after the inception of the New Society, I flew back to Cotabato City. There I learned that we had a new office head because the previous one had been purged, having been among those listed as "notoriously undesirable". Many key officials who had pending graft charges were also removed, a development which was favorably accepted by the general public.

In the battlefront between Muslim militia and the military, all was quiet at first but later the usual skirmishes resurfaced. As the government intensified its peace efforts loose firearms were collected and for days travelers in Cotabato could see piles of homemade guns stocked on roadsides waiting to be hauled to PC headquarters. Perhaps as a result of this move lawlessness declined and the peace and order situation improved.

Peace and order. This I think was the biggest plus factor brought about by the new social order. The NPAs were on the run. The Muslim separatist movement was under control. Kidnapping, robbery, rape and other heinous crimes were rare happenings. Drug problem? After a drug lord was executed in public drug pushers disappeared. Indeed, we would walk the streets late nights in Cebu City and nobody bothered us. And in mountain areas in Cebu sometime in the early 80s our service vehicle navigated safely for countless occasions without an incident.

Did we like Martial Law? It was a one-man rule and gave little space for individual freedom. But in terms of discipline and control it did some good to Philippine society.