Philippine Society Before the Declaration of Martial Law

The Filipinos suffered with the declaration of martial law in 1972. Since Philippine independence, Filipinos enjoyed freedom of speech, press, assembly, suffrage, and the right to vote. Poverty was widely spread mainly due to the inability of the government to implement a genuine land reform program. The Communist Party of the Philipines posed a threat to peace and order in society. Students, workers, and even professionals became active in protest rallies against the Marcos Government.The Muslims were also vigorous to fight for equal treatment from the Philippine Government. The reason why Marcos declared the martial law is that he neeed to implement his program which he called New Society. Most Filipinos believed that the martial law was declared by Marcos because he wanted to extend his term.