EDITORIAL - 52 years after martial law

Martial law was declared 52 years ago today ostensibly to stop the spread of communism. The insurgency, fueled by social injustice, survived for half a century. And while the communist movement is now much weakened, the government headed by the only son and namesake of the man who declared martial law is engaged in exploratory talks to revive formal negotiations that will end the armed rebellion.

While failing to end the communist movement, martial law paved the way for Ferdinand Marcos to perpetuate himself in power. Gross human rights violations, injustice and large-scale corruption became the best recruiters for the communist rebellion. The abuses of the dictatorship led to the people power revolt that drove the Marcoses into exile in 1986.

Marcos’ only son, Ferdinand Junior, has said it has been his lifelong mission to rehabilitate the Marcos name. In 2022, Bongbong Marcos achieved a spectacular political comeback, and quickly moved to show that he is no autocrat. This has been facilitated by the track record of his predecessor, who is being investigated by the International Criminal Court for possible murder as a crime against humanity committed in the brutal crackdown on illegal drugs. The human rights record of the new Marcos administration is not spotless, but it is a significant improvement from the previous one.

President Marcos may have to work on addressing concerns that he, or at least certain persons close to him, are plotting ways to perpetuate his clan in power the way his parents did. The concerns have been raised even by his now estranged 2022 running mate, Vice President Sara Duterte, who has become part of what is described as the new opposition.

The President will also have to do more to address the structural weaknesses that have allowed corruption at all levels of government to persist. Placing the country under martial law was supposed to create a “new society,” but instead it put the country on the path to becoming a laggard in economic and many human development indicators among the five founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Today the second Marcos administration has launched a campaign for economic and social transformation called Bagong Pilipinas. It smacks of the “new society” and has yet to take off from a ho-hum theme song and a “pledge.” But it’s just halfway through his term. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. can still surprise the nation with long-term, meaningful reforms.