Proclamation 1081 placing the Philippines under Martial Law
Fourty-four years ago, Ferdinand Marcos signed Proclamation 1081, placing the Philippines under Martial Law.
The document was dated September 21, 1972 but the official announcement was made two days later via a television broadcast at 7:15 p.m.
According to the government's Official Gazette, some sources claim that Marcos actually signed Proclamation 1081, not on September 21, but either on September 17 or September 22.
"In either case, the document itself was dated September 21," it said.
September 21 became the relevant date, with the Marcos regime building it up throughout the Martial Law period from 1972 to 1981.
"Marcos built up the cult of September 21, proclaiming it as National Thanksgiving Day by virtue of Proclamation No. 1180 s. 1973 to memorialize the date as the foundation day of his New Society."
Martial Law ended almost nine years later January 17, 1981 with Proclamation No. 2045. —JST, GMA News