MARTIAL LAW: ANG PAGPATAY SA TUNAY NA MAYMALASAKIT SA BAYAN
21 September 1972, the Dictator Ferdinand Marcos signed Proclamation No. 1081 placing the
Philippines under a state of Martial Law. In what has come to be one of the nation’s darkest
chapters, the Marcos regime exercised civilian control through grave violations of human rights,
such as through the torture, enforced disappearance, and extra-judicial killing of tens of
thousands of Filipinos.
The Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board (HRVCB), created pursuant to Republic Act No. 10368,
was tasked to receive, evaluate, process, and investigate reparation claims made by victims of
human rights violations under the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos during Martial Law period.
After judicious deliberation, the Claims Board determined 11,103 claimants that are eligible for
monetary reparations.
APPROVED HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS CLAIMS
Killed/disappeared: 2,326
Tortured (raped/forcefully abducted): 238
Tortured (resulting in mutilation, insanity, or sexual abuse): 217
Detained (exceeding six months): 669
Detained (15 days to six months): 1,417
Detained (36 hours to 15 days): 1,239
Tortured (did result in mutilation or insanity, but resulting in psychological harm): 1,467
Involuntarily exiled from the PH (with violence resulting in physical injuries): 579
Tortured (with simple seduction/acts of lasciviousness): 182
Involuntarily exiled from the Philippines (with violence resulting in physical injuries): 2, 739
Source: Human Rights Victims’ Memorial Claims Board
VICTIMS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
Albert Enriquez
Albert Enriquez was an activist and human rights worker in Quezon who was abducted in 1985,
only 200 meters away from home. He was on his way home when two armed men dragged him
from the tricycle he was riding into a car. He shouted: “I am Abet Enriquez. My parents are
Mario Enriquez and Clarita Rivera. Tell my parents I’ve been picked up by the military!” Despite
all his family’s efforts to find him, he disappeared without a trace.
William Begg
Born in the Bicol region to an American father and a Filipino mother, William Begg renounced
his American citizenship when he turned 21. Begg graduated as salutatorian of his high school
and wanting to become a priest, went to Ateneo for College. There, he began engaging in social
action work among poor communities in Barangka, Marikina. As he became more vocal and
militant, he was made to leave the university. Begg was first arrested in 1971 for putting up
posters in Marikina and again in 1972, and was detained in Fort Bonifacio. After his release in
April 1973, Begg enrolled at the UP Diliman, where he tried to "live a normal student’s life,
joining a fraternity and helping organizing a history majors’ society." However. In September
1974, Begg left for the countryside to join the underground. Records show that "In March 1975,
Begg was with a team of guerrillas that had gone to meet a doctor in Villarey, Echague, Isabela,
when they were attacked by a battalion of AFP troops. In the exchange of fire that followed, four
of his comrades were killed, while Begg himself was hit in the leg. Assessing his situation, he
urged the others to leave him behind so he could cover their escape. He was apparently
captured alive; when his body was eventually recovered, it bore the marks of severe torture."
Trinidad Herrera
Trinidad Herrera, a martial law rape victim, related that her captors ordered her to remove her
blouse, and they applied electric shock on her breast. Another victim, Fe Mangahas, shared that
her captors terrified her by touching her and breathing down her neck. She then felt like she had
to pee, but it was blood running down her thighs. She did not know at the time that she was two
months pregnant. Other women who told their harrowing stories were Maria Christina
Rodriguez, who was tortured by burning her skin with cigarettes and pressing her fingers with
bullets; Maria Christina Bawagan who was sexually abused, with her captors inserting objects
into her vagina and touching her breasts while she was blindfolded, and Hilda Narciso, who was
repeatedly raped by her captors. Each of these women remembered the exact dates of their
capture and when they went through these life-scarring experiences. 1 Pictured are martial law
rape victims attending the oral arguments on the hero’s burial for the late President Ferdinand
Marcos. On 8 August 2017, the Supreme Court upheld its earlier decision granting Marcos a
hero’s burial.
Lorena Barros
A brilliant student, gifted writer, and charismatic leader, Lorena Barros was one of the leaders of
the anti-dictatorship movement. Lorena, a University of the Philippines graduate, became a
political prisoner due to her constant criticisms of Marcos’ authoritarian rule. In 1976, at the age
of 28, Lorena was seriously wounded in an armed encounter with the Philippine constabulary in
Quezon. Her captors promised her medical treatment if she cooperated with them. She did not
and was shot in the nape. Pictured is Lorena Barros.
MARCOS NOT A HERO: MARTIAL LAW, THE DARKEST ERA OF THE PHILIPPINE HISTORY
Reference:
Institute of Human Rights-UP Law Center, (2020). Martial Law 48 th Anniversary Album: Marcos Not a
Hero: Martial Law Revisionism and Fight for History. Retrieved from: https://law.upd.edu.ph/
wp-content/uploads/2020/09/UP-IHR-Martial-Law-Album-Plan.pdf
