#26

• Types of opposition to Martial Law in the 1970s

  • Reformist opposition
  • Revolutionary opposition
  • Religious opposition
• Reformist opposition


  Also known as the legal opposition, composed of members of the upper-middle class, used nonviolent tactics to advocate political (not necessarily socioeconomic) reforms
• The reformist opposition was not a united movement, but an amalgamation of different middle- and upper-class groups who had different motives
• Marcos tolerated the reformist opposition as long as they were incapable of viably replacing him or attaining the support of the masses
• Revolutionary opposition


  The government's use of communist and secessionist threats as justification for Martial Law contributed to the growth of the political opposition and the amassing of recruits to the New People's Army (NPA) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in the provinces in the 1970s
• Growth of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)


  1. Established autonomous, regional, self-sustaining chapters all over the Philippines

  2. Followed the principle of "centralized command, decentralized operations"

  3. Helped them survive the loss of many original leaders, either to prison or death
• In November 1977, the Armed Forces scored an important victory over the communist rebels with the capture of Jose Maria Sison and other important party leaders leading to the disarray of the Communist Party
• But the triumph was short-lived and was too late as the influence of the CPP grew stronger within the provinces
• Religious opposition


  • Mainline Protestant churches were vocal in their opposition of the dictatorship since 1972
  • The Catholic Church maintained a position of "critical collaboration" while paying attention to the opposition among its members
  • The provincial clergy started becoming radicalized after seeing the effects of the Marcos dictatorship on the poor and formed Christians for National Liberation
• As early as 1979, the health of President Marcos had been deteriorating, which was kept a secret at first
• By mid-November of 1984, Marcos' health status had worsened, and on October 28, 1985, he was diagnosed with an "incurable, recurring sickness" called systemic lupus erythematosus, further complicated by his diabetes
• The Philippine economy was almost grinding to a halt in the last years of the Marcos regime, despite the implementation of a three-pronged development strategy
• The profit from these three strategies were amassed disproportionately to the wealthiest in the population, thereby causing a large disparity between the rich and the poor
• The impoverishment of the economy led to the loss of support of the middle class and the small-time landowners and farmers in the regions on the Marcos administration
• Poverty, aside from human rights violations by the military, also became a means for rebel groups to recruit citizens to their cause
• In 1978, the strength of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) grew from 6,900 to over 20,000 regulars, and in 1980, the New People's Army formed 26 guerrilla fronts with over 16,000 regulars, and the Communist Party of the Philippines have attracted 40,000 mass activists
• Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., the foremost leader of the Marcos opposition, was assassinated upon his return to the Philippines on August 21, 1983
• When the news of Ninoy's death spread, approximately seven million came to his funeral procession on August 31, the biggest and longest in Philippine history
• This singular event further eroded the people's support of the Marcos regime