Fast Facts: The Marcos martial law regime
Sept. 21, 1972: Date of Proclamation No. 1081 placing the Philippines under martial law.
49: Persons from the Greater Manila Area immediately arrested on Sept. 22, 1972, by the military, among them three senators, three congressmen, two provincial governors, four delegates to the Constitutional Convention and eight newsmen. First on the list was opposition senator and main political rival Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.
Sept. 23, 1972: Press Secretary Francisco Tatad announces the imposition of martial law and reads the Marcos proclamation in a nationwide televised broadcast. Marcos himself went on air at 7 p.m. to formally announce the proclamation.
12-4 a.m. – Curfew in place
Jan. 17, 1981: Marcos signs Proclamation No. 2045 lifting the implementation of martial law ahead of the first papal visit of Pope John Paul II in February.
107,240: Primary victims of human rights violations during martial law
70,000 people arrested, mostly arbitrarily without warrants of arrests*
34,000 people tortured*
3,240 killed by the military and the police*
*Amnesty International
464: Closed media outlets after declaration of martial law
8 major English newspapers
18 vernacular, Spanish and English language dailies
60 community newspapers
66 TV channels
20 radio stations
292 provincial radio stations
$683 million: Worth of Marcos assets in various Swiss banks declared as ill-gotten based on a July 2003 the Supreme Court ruling
$5-10 billion: Estimated alleged ill-gotten wealth plundered by the Marcoses during two decades in Malacañang
6,281: Number of Marcos laws from September 1972 to February 1986
2,036 presidential decrees
61 general orders
1,093 executive orders
1,409 proclamations and other issuances
1,525 letters of instructions
157 letters of implementation
Inquirer Research
Sources: Inquirer Archives, Official Gazette, “The Marcos Regime: Rape of the Nation” by Filemon Rodriguez
