A week before the anniversary of the declaration of martial law on Sept. 21, Marcos echoed his father, the late former President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr., in maintaining that martial law was declared to suppress the armed rebellion from two fronts.
Mr. Marcos recounted past conversations he has had with Enrile, the former Senate President, Defense Secretary, and Justice minister, whom he calls “Tito Johnny,” and how they have reconciled.Enrile, most known for being martial law administrator, helped oust the older Marcos in 1986. The President named “JPE” as his chief legal counsel in June and described him as “one of the three best lawyers” that he knows in the country, citing his brilliance as the main reason for appointing him.
“They wanted to bring down the government through violent means so the government had to defend itself. The second front was the secessionist movement down in the south led by MNLF and chairman Nur Misuari at the time, he started that uprising, the secessionist movement, and that eventually turned into violence and essentially war that was even supported,” he told Gonzaga in Malacanang.
It was the death of Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr., chief opposition leader, that became a contributing factor in galvanizing opposition to the Marcos Sr. government. Mr. Marcos disagreed with critics who described his father as a “dictator” after he declared martial law on Sept. 21, 1972, citing how his father would always have consultations with several private and civil society groups.