Has President Rodrigo Duterte forgotten about our country’s history when he said that he was the second Philippine president to declare martial law?
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While making a speech before the soldiers of the 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army in Sultan Kudarat, the President claimed that he was the second president of the country to have declared martial law.
“You know, I’m the second president of this republic to declare martial law. Much as I hate it, dalawa lang kami on record na nag-declare ng martial law at hindi maganda iyan para sa akin because I would’ve wanted really peace for my country,” President Duterte said.
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Vera Files has pinpointed this specific part of Duterte’s speech in this video, from 5:06 – 5:26.
The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) also published a copy of Duterte’s speech.
Contrary to Duterte’s claim, he is not the second Philippine president to have proclaimed martial law since the country was recognized as a republic in 1899. He is actually the fourth to have done so using a presidential proclamation, just like the other three before him.
The Philippines’ first martial law was proclaimed by Jose P. Laurel in September 21, 1944 through Proclamation No. 29. It was during the WWII when the country was at risk of invasion. The proclamation took effect on September 22, 1944 at 9am.
Twenty-eight years later, on September 21, 1972, Philippines saw its second martial law under Ferdinand Marcos’ Proclamation No. 1081. Under martial rule, he ordered the incarceration of people for various crimes such as rebellion or insurrection and crimes against public order. It took almost nine years before he lifted the proclamation on January 17, 1981.
The third martial law in the country was under Gloria Arroyo, when she made the proclamation over Maguindanao, except for certain areas, through Proclamation No. 1959. She made the declaration on December 4, 2009 after the Maguindanao massacre on November 23, 2009, which killed 57 people, and lifted it on December 12, 2009.
Duterte’s martial law declaration through Proclamation No. 216 on May 23, 2017 was the fourth time the Philippines experienced martial rule. He made the declaration over the whole of Mindanao after the Maute Group fought back against government troops in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur.
Source: ( verafiles.org )
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