Call it coincidence, but the first martial law declared in the Philippines, which was in 1944, fell on a date that coincided with the proclamation of military rule twenty-seven years later.
On September 21, 1944, Japanese-installed President Jose P. Laurel declared martial law through the country and suspended the writ of habeas corpus by issuing Proclamation No. 29 titled “Proclaiming Martial Law Throughout The Philippines,” after returning Allied forces bombed Davao three days earlier. The declaration took effect a day later, at 9:00 AM of September 22, 1944.
By design, on September 23, 1972, President Ferdinand E. Marcos, over national TV, announced the announcement of military rule effective September 21, 1972, in deference to the president’s superstitious belief about No. 7 or any figure that’s divisible by seven.
Laurel, who was under pressure from Japanese Premier Hideki Tojo for years, also signed Proclamation No. 30 on September 22, 1944 declaring a state of war existed between the Philippines and the United States and Great Britain. He also mandated that “no Filipino would be conscripted in the Japanese army.”
Any lover of history must not forget this is the same Laurel, then former chief justice of the Supreme Court, who acquitted Marcos in the killing of Rep. Julio Nalundasan, an Ilocano lawmaker who defeated Mariano Marcos, the president’s father, in a political election.
Proclamation No. 29 commences, saying: “The danger of invasion being imminent and the public safety so requiring, I, Jose P. Laurel, President of the Republic of the Philippines, pursuant to the authority conferred upon me by section 9, article II, of the Constitution, do hereby place the Philippines and all parts thereof under martial law and suspend the privileges of the writ of habeas corpus therein.
“For the purpose of carrying this Proclamation into effect, the President of the Republic of the Philippines hereby assumes all powers of government essential to or incident in the establishments and maintenance of martial law all over the Philippines, and to that extent, will exercise such powers and functions personally or by delegation by him to the presently organized and existing civil authorities, or to such new agencies or instrumentalities as he may, from time to time, create, in accordance with the exigencies of the situation.”
Under the Laurel martial rule, the country was divided into nine military districts, seven of these corresponded to the administrative districts created under Ordinance No. 31, dated August 26, 1944. The eighth district, meanwhile, comprised the city of Manila, and the ninth, the city of Cavite and the provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite, and Palawan.
Each administrative district was assigned a commissioner with the title of “military governor,” with the mayors and provincial governors given the position of “deputy military governor.” Similarly, the city mayor of Manila was also known as military governor, while those areas under the ninth district were placed under the vice-minister of Home Affairs who acted a military governor in addition to his other duties.
The military governors were also given the power “to suppress treason, sedition, disorder and violence; and to cause to be punished all disturbances of public peace and all offenders against the criminal laws; and also to protect persons in their legitimate rights.”
The Japanese-era military rule also stipulated the “respective Ministers of State shall, subject to the authority of the President, exercise direct supervision and control over all district, provincial, and other local governmental agencies in the Philippines when performing functions or discharging duties affecting matters within the jurisdiction of his Ministry and may, subject to revocation by the President, issue such orders as may be necessary therefor.”
Unlike in the 1972 Martial Law, the Laurel military declaration did not resort to issuing decrees or exercising a self-imposed law-making power but allowed all existing laws to continue in force and effect unless the President amended or repealed them.
Moreover, all existing civil agencies under the Executive continued to exercise their powers and perform their functions and duties, except if these were contrary to the edict “or incompatible with the expeditions and effective enforcement of the martial law.”
Again, in contrast to the Marcos iron-fist declaration, the Laurel proclamation allowed the courts, unless decreed otherwise, to “assume jurisdiction and try offenders without unnecessary delay and in a summary manner, in accordance with such procedural rules as may be prescribed by the Minister of Justice.”
Court decisions, meanwhile, in criminal cases within the tribunal’s original jurisdiction were “final and unappealable,” save when the verdict was a death sentence, which required presidential approval before this could be executed. In addition, the courts exercised “the same jurisdiction in civil actions and special proceedings” except when the President said otherwise.
The final provision of the Laurel decree stipulated “several [state] agencies” which not specifically mentioned, were authorized to call on the Armed Forces “to give such aid, protection, and assistance as may be necessary to enable them safely and efficiently to exercise their powers and discharge their duties,” with an order for them to honor the request.
Laurel made it clear his proclamation was just “an emergency measure demanded by imperative necessity” but could be terminated by him if there was already no need for it.
