He went there to fulfill his constitutional duty under the 1935 Constitution. President Marcos was in Congress that evening to deliver his State of the Nation Address before a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Most of it was deployed in Central Luzon against the communist insurgents, while the rest was scattered in the other parts of the country.Ī vivid example of the national security situation of the country then was what happened in Congress in the evening of January 26, 1970. “The combined armed capability of the government at that time was less than 60,000. The infiltration of high-powered guns could not be abated despite the dedicated efforts of the government to stop it. Local police forces were overstretched and no match for the guns of private armies. Violence was widespread and uncontrollable. Social and political tension intensified critically. “The condition of law and order in the country deteriorated immensely after the presidential election of 1969. #Martial law president installI dictated to him the documents that were used to install martial law in the land. Taguiam was a very good stenographer and a skillful typist. The only one who joined me in my drafting work, with the knowledge and consent of President Marcos, was Simplicio Taguiam, who was his private and confidential secretary. Recalling that event, Enrile said: “I had to work alone, mostly at night, and at home after office hours. This was how the proclamation, the general orders and the letters of instructions that were issued later on by President Marcos, evolved”. Then, the next step was to identify the primary problems to be addressed and the government agencies to address them. Visualizing the process in his mind, Enrile added: “My initial step was to carefully describe in a document the status of the national security situation in the country, which became the basis to proclaim martial law. Daunting as the task was, it had to be done and it was I that had to do it and no one else,” he said. There was neither precedent nor model to guide me. This time, he asked Enrile to draft the necessary implementing documents to install martial law in the country. Not long after Enrile submitted his work, Marcos called him again to Malacañang. However, I could not vouch that he read the voluminous written material I submitted to him,” he added. Apart from his natural talent, he was also familiar with the technique of fast reading. “I knew President Marcos to be a fast reader. I never saw or heard of that copy again thereafter.” I eagerly agreed, and the two of them formed my team that did the research for President Marcos,” Enrile recalled.Īfter more than two years, Enrile presented to President Marcos a thick volume on the extent and limit of his power as the commander in chief of all the armed forces of the country.Įnrile said: “Only one copy of the research was prepared. He suggested Minerva Gonzaga Reyes, also a magna cum laude graduate from the UP College of Law and a lawyer in the Department of Justice. I asked him to look for another that could be trusted to work with us on the project. I briefed him on the desire and instruction of President Marcos. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of the Philippines College of Law. He was my brilliant, discreet and unobtrusive assistant in the Department of Justice. “The next day, I asked Efren Plana to help me. The study must be done discreetly and confidentially,” Marcos told Enrile, telling him at the same time “to enlist whoever I needed to help me, but he made it clear that anyone who would participate in the study must be told not to talk about it with others”. According to him, he foresaw the escalation of violence and disorder in the country, and he wanted to know the extent of his power as commander in chief of the Armed Forces.” “He asked me to study the limits of his power under the commander in chief provision of the 1935 Constitution. #Martial law president seriesOnly former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, now 93 and already retired from politics, has the credible answer to that question in this series of articles as the one tasked by the President to plan and administer it himself to save the country from further ruin.Įarly in December, after the presidential election in 1969, Marcos asked Enrile to see him in Malacañang. FOR the past 45 years now, the lingering question in the hearts and minds of our people, especially the young generation, has remained an enigma as to why former President Ferdinand E.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |