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4. The Philippine New Society 1972–1986: Transnational Advocacy and Human Rights Change
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4 The Philippine New Society 1972–1986: Transnational Advocacy and Human Rights Change When Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law on the evening of September , , it looked like one of Asia’s most developed democracies had come to an end. Officially, Marcos justified this measure by pointing to a political rebellion and the disturbances of public order caused by mass protests and an armed underground movement. Because the constitution allowed the suspension of basic human rights in states of emergency, Marcos henceforth called his government “constitutional authoritarianism.” Shortly after this announcement, hundreds of his enemies and suspected enemies were arrested, including more than a dozen delegates to the constitutional convention, which was to draft a new constitution that would have limited Marcos’ powers. In the days that followed, Marcos gradually dismantled long-established democratic institutions, severely restricting the possibility of democratic control of the government. The government took over all privately owned newspapers, magazines, radio and television facilities, and other communications media. All publications and broadcasts, including foreign dispatches and cables, needed prior clearance from the Ministry of Public Information. Old, established newspapers were closed, and journalists were arrested on charges of “communist subversion” of the media and the need to “dismantle the oligarchic structure of ownership” (Franco : ; Wurfel : f). Massdetentionsofsuspectedsubversivesfollowed.Inthefirstthreemonths after the proclamation, the government detained over , individuals, 90 Chapter 4 denying them the right to habeas corpus (Espiritu : f; International Commission of Jurists ; Wurfel : –). Marcos abolished the legislature and demanded undated letters of resignation from members of the judiciary (Shalom : ). These open attacks on the pillars of a domestic democratic space made meaningful popular participation in public decisionmaking almost impossible. Up until then, Marcos had been restructuring the Philippine political system, making the New Society a virtual copy of Suharto’s New Order. Military modernization provided the key to Philippine economic and political development. The constitution Marcos promulgated in increased his presidential powers and contained a list of civil and political rights, which were then suspended through emergency laws and presidential decrees. Apart from the liberal opposition, the Philippine state’s attacks focused mostly on alleged members of (or sympathizers with) two groups: The Communist party of the Philippines, along with its armed wing, the • New People’s Army (NPA) The Muslim underground organization, the Moro National Liberation • Front (MNLF), which was operating in the Muslim-dominated Southern Philippines, especially Mindanao (Amnesty International ; United States Department of State ) But less than six years later, Marcos would reverse his course for no apparent reason and increase his human rights commitment. The domestic situation had hardly changed. The Marcos government would Switch from a rhetorical denial that human rights violations such as tor- • ture occur in Philippine detention centers, to a public acknowledgement of the practice Free thousands of political prisoners and order investigations into • charges of torture Increase its commitment by introducing selected human rights reforms, • and punish some members of security services accused of human rights violations Undertake significant changes in the domestic institutional structure by • introducing a political liberalization, including parliamentary elections for an interim parliament in April Eventually lift martial law, in January . • Even if these measures did not substantially reduce the number of human rights violations as recorded by independent human rights monitors, the [3.239.214.173] Project MUSE (2024-03-19 03:08 GMT) Philippine New Society 91 question arises: Why did Marcos introduce these policy reforms? Why did he do so despite growing and armed challenges to his regime? And if human rights pressures play a role in these decisions, why could Marcos not control the challenges? After all, the Suharto government had done so at about the same time (see Chapter ). This chapter traces the influence of international norms and the effects of transnational advocacy on the Philippines between and when the authoritarian Marcos government fell. I argue, first, that Marcos’ reforms from onward cannot be explained without reference to transnational human rights advocacy networks. The international human rights campaigns conducted by these networks had several tangible effects: They redefined standards of appropriateness for a government acting • under a state of emergency. Specifically, human rights organizations insisted that even under a state of emergency, certain human rights standards had to be respected, such as the right to habeas corpus and freedom from torture. The campaigns mobilized international opinion on the government and • compelled other governments—most importantly, that of the United States—to apply some pressure. These pressures increased the costs of repression. They firmly established human rights on...