The dictatorship of 10th Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos in the 1970s and 1980s is historically remembered for its record of human rights abuses, particularly targeting political opponents, student activists, journalists, religious workers, farmers, and others who fought against his dictatorship. Based on the documentation of Amnesty International, Task Force Detainees of the Philippines, and similar human rights monitoring entities, historians believe that the Marcos dictatorship was marked by 3,257 known extrajudicial killings, 35,000 documented tortures, 737 'enforced disappearances', and 70,000 incarcerations.
Some 2,520 of the 3,257 murder victims were tortured and mutilated before their bodies were dumped in various places for the public to discover - a tactic meant to sow fear among the people, which came to be known as "salvaging". Some victims were also subjected to cannibalism.
Political detention
The implementation of Martial Law in September 1972 began with a wave of arrests, targeting anyone who opposed Marcos. This included students, opposition politicians, journalists, academics, and even religious workers, aside from known activists. Those who were captured were referred to as "political detainees," rather than "political prisoners," with the technical definitions of the former being vague enough that the Marcos administration could continue to hold them in detention without having to be charged.
Warrantless arrests Victims were raided and arrested in their own homes without warrants, and illegally detained without charges or clear information about the status of their case. Arrest, Search and Seizure Orders (ASSO) did not undergo its usual bureaucratic process and at times were merely lists of people to be arrested. Because of the lack of prior investigation, military men could insert names in the list of people to be arrested.
Torture
Torture was instrumental in the Martial Law rule. Young officers, some of them freshly graduated from the military academy, participated in the torture of political dissidents, suspected communists. The ‘top two’ torturers, Col. Rolando Abadilla and Lt. Rodolfo Aguinaldo were allegedly trained by CIA operatives in the United States. Various torture methods had physical, psychological, and sexual natures, many of them meant to degrade the victim. Even dissenters from high-level government officers, such as Sen. Ninoy Aquino and Sen. Ramon Mitra were detained and tortured with solitary confinement. Torture methods were used by the military to threaten, interrogate, or simply hurt detainees, as most of them released without being charged of anything. Sixto Carlos Jr., an activist and professor who was arrested in 1979 and tortured, was among the martial law victims who disappeared but managed to eventually be released. Many of the ‘salvaged’ bodies dumped in public view bore intense torture marks, instilling fear about what happens to those who oppose the Marcos regime.
Notable murders
Fr. Zacarias Agatep. Fr. Agatep was a seminarian in Northern Luzon. He served as the chaplain of the Federation of Free Farmers, helping organize cooperatives, raising awareness about land reform and campaigned for the reduction of land rent. He took up the cause of the farmers and began to support the fight against the dictatorial regime. He was arrested on charges of subversion and illegal possession of firearms, and later released due to Pope John Paul II's visit. In 1982, he was murdered, claiming he died during an encounter with constabulary soldiers. Senator Ninoy Aquino. On August 21, 1983, Aquino was assassinated on the tarmac of Manila International Airport. Lorena Barros. ‘Lorrie’ Barros founded the all-women Makibaka (Malayang Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan) and became its first chairperson. Barros was a university teacher who published poetry and essays, and later became involved with political activism after exposure to problems in rural areas. She was one of the 63 student leaders who were charged with subversion. She was captured, and was able to escape a year later. In 1976, she was wounded in an armed encounter with constabulary soldiers. She was promised medical treatment if she cooperated with them, but she refused. She was shot in the nape at 28 years. NPA Commander Alex Boncayao. Boncayao was an official of the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People's Army. Macli-ing Dulag. Dulag was a leader of the Butbut tribe of the Kalinga province, best known for his leadership in the opposition against the Chico River Dam Project. The project would have destroyed ancestral lands and displaced thousands of indigenous peoples. Dulag organized peace councils to stimulate dialogues, but after the proclamation of Martial Law, he was incarcerated for two months as a suspected ‘subversive’. Upon his release, he continued organizing Kalingas and Bontocs in their opposition to the project. He was assassinated by military forces in April 1980. Dr. Juan Escandor. Dr. Escandor was a cancer specialist who was a founding member of the student movement Kabataang Makabayan. He went underground during Martial Law. The official autopsy declared that he died from gunshot wounds, but his body showed signs of extreme torture. Fr. Tulio Favali. He was an Italian priest evangelizing in Mindanao when he was murdered by the Manero brothers and their associates, who were known for their killing sprees as members of paramilitary units. The brothers burned his motorcycle, then shot the priest on the head over and over, causing his skull to crack open. They then picked his brains to display to the horrified witnesses. Resteta Fernandez. Fernandez was a social worker in depressed areas of Cavite and Tondo. During Martial Law, she became a clandestine youth organizer in Isabela. She was arrested in 1980 for rebellion, insurrection and subversion, spent two years in prison. When she was released, she returned her political commitment in the underground, until she was killed by constabulary soldiers in Benguet. Her head was decapitated and displayed on a pole for the public to see. Zoilo Francisco. In August 1979, Francisco was arrested in Brgy. Doña Anecita, Pambujan, Northern Samar. He was decapitated by elements of the 60th PC Battalion, and his stomach slashed open. Liliosa Hilao. She was a student activist from Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. She was 21 years old when she was arrested and tortured to death in 1973. She was the first detainee to be killed during Martial Law. Antonio "Tonyhil" Hilario. He was an engineering student at the University of the Philippines and began discussion groups under the UP Nationalist Corps. He took many countryside rips as part of the group's learning-from-the-masses program. During the First Quarter Storm, he was heavily injured but the experience encouraged him to continue fighting for his convictions. He was a founding member of the Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan (SDK), a youth group that moved into the forefront of the student movement. In 1971, he was charged with subversion along with other student activists. The following year, SDK when underground. He worked with the underground movement to organize communities in Manila and later in Panay island. Two years later, he was killed while in a meeting in a remote village in Aklan Others say he was buried alive. Evelio Javier. He was a lawyer and provincial governor in Antique who was a close friend and supporter of later President Corazon Aquino. He was gunned down near the New Capitol building. Edgar Jopson. “Edjop” was a graduate of the Ateneo de Manila University and a labor rights activist. He was arrested and tortured in 1979 until he was able to escape and go into hiding. Military men later found him and sought to take him into custody, but he was shot before he could escape. Emmanuel "Eman" Lacaba. “Eman” was a writer, poet, essayist, playwright, and activist. He was murdered by paramilitary forces in Davao in 1976. Jose B. Lingad. He was a lawyer and politician from Pampanga. In 1972, Lingad, a member of the political opposition against Marcos, was among the first political figures to be arrested and imprisoned on the day martial law was declared. On December 16, 1980 in the morning, Lingad was shot by Sgt. Roberto Tabanero in a gasoline station in San Fernando, Pampanga while buying a pack of cigarettes. Silver Narciso. On February 10, 1979, he was arrested by the Constabulary in Bgy. Hitalinga, Artacho, Eastern Samar, interrogated about the presence of NPA rebels, tortured, slashed with a knife, died with 9 wounds and both ears chopped off. Soledad Salvador. Salvador worked as a parish worker in Ilocos Norte. Growing up poor, she experienced firsthand the peasant struggles of landlessness and militarization. She joined the guerrilla network in 1983 and was tasked to pass messages between town centers and villages. Salvador was killed by the military in a raid in Benguet. She was decapitated, with her head displayed in a sitio. Her body was never found. Noel Cerrudo Tierra. Tierra was a student from the University of the Philippines when he joined the U.P. Student Council Nationalist Corps and SDK (Samahan ng Demokratikong Kabataan). He was captured by soldiers in 1974, and shot dead a month later. His corpse bore torture marks. Nilo Valerio. Fr. Valerio was assistant parish priest in Abra, Northern Luzon. During Martial Law, residents faced constant threats of displacement due to mining concessions granted to Marcos associate Herminio Disini. In 1979, villagers organized to fight for their indigenous rights and their livelihoods. Fr. Valerio primarily urged them to exhaust legal means of negotiation against the powerful corporation. The Military suspected that he was a leader of rebellious villagers, which drove him to take refuge in Manila. He later returned in Abra and neighboring Cordillera provinces, where he was killed by soldiers. Along with Resteta Fernandez and Soledad Salvador, he was decapitated, with his head attached to poles and paraded around several villages. Archimedes Trajano. Trajano was 21 years old when he stood in an open forum in 1977, questioning President Marcos’ daughter Imee about her capability to lead the youth organization Kabataang Barangay. Trajano asserted that she would not be given the position if she were not the President's daughter. He also asked her about her father's role in human rights violations. Witnesses testified that Trajano was forcefully removed from the forum. His blooded body was later found in a street in Manila, carrying signs of torture. Imee Marcos later admitted knowledge of Trajano's torture and murder, and was found guilty by the Hawaii District Court. Ishmael Quimpo Jr. ‘Jun’ Quimpo was involved in student demonstrations when he was a student in San Beda High School. He was 14 when he joined he Kabataang Makabayan chapter in his school, and participated in protests. He later enrolled at the University of the Philippines Diliman and participated in community work in squatters areas. He was arrested and detained for 10 days in 1976, for participating in a protest with 5000 informal settlers. He later went underground in the rural areas. He was shot in the back in 1981 in Nueva Ecija. Luis Manuel Mijares. ‘Boyet’ Mijares was the son of Primitivo Mijares, the former aide, defector and whistleblower of the Marcos dictatorship. He also wrote the Conjugal Dictatorship, which revealed the misdeeds of the Marcos family and associates. His son Boyet was kidnapped and later salvaged and dumped in public, with visible signs of torture. His eyeballs were protruding, chest stabbed and perforated, his head bashed, and his hands, feet and genitals mangled.
Massacres