''Batas Militar'' (, marketed as ''Batas Militar: A Documentary on Martial Law in the Philippines'') is a 1997 Filipino television documentary film about

martial law under Ferdinand Marcos At 7:17 pm on September 23, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos announced on television that he had placed the entirety of the Philippines under martial law. This marked the beginning of a 14-year period of one-man rule that would effectively last ...

, and the ouster movement against him, the

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

. The film was directed by Jon Red and Jeannette Ifurung, with the former focusing on dramatizations. The documentary was broadcast on September 21, 1997. The documentary was subsequently released on VHS.

Synopsis

It features the human rights violations during martial law in the Philippines, the economy, and the biographies of

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

, his wife

Imelda Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitacion Trinidad Romualdez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who served as the First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power during the dictator ...

, and his prominent critic ,

Benigno Aquino Jr. Benigno "Ninoy" Simeon Aquino Jr., (; November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983) was a Filipino politician who served as a senator of the Philippines (1967–1972) and governor of the province of Tarlac. Aquino was the husband of Corazon Aquino ...

Interviewees

The following is a list of interviewees in the documentary, conducted from March until May 1997: *

Satur Ocampo Saturnino "Satur" Cunanan Ocampo (born April 7, 1939) is a Filipino politician, activist, journalist, and writer. As party president and first nominee, he led the party-list group Bayan Muna in three successful elections in 2001, 2004, and 2007. ...

( National Democratic Front DFfounder,

Bayan Muna Bayan Muna () is a party-list in the Philippines, a member of the leftist political coalition Makabayan. The motto of the party is ''"New Politics, the Politics of Change"'', against "traditional, elitist, pro-imperialist politics". Its platform i ...

representative) *

Jovito Salonga Jovito "Jovy" Reyes Salonga, KGCR (; June 22, 1920 – March 10, 2016) was a Filipino politician and lawyer, as well as a leading opposition leader during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos from the declaration of martial law in 1972 until the P ...

(senator) *

Bernabe Buscayno Bernabe Buscayno, also called Kumander Dante, is the founder of the New People's Army, the military wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. Early life Bernabé Buscayno was one of eight children born to impoverished tenant farmers under a ...

(

New People's Army The New People's Army ( fil, Bagong Hukbong Bayan), abbreviated NPA or BHB, is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), based primarily in the Philippine countryside. It acts as the CPP's principal organization, aimi ...

PAfounder) *

Raul Manglapus Raul Sevilla Manglapus (October 20, 1918 – July 25, 1999) was a prominent post–World War II Filipino politician and songwriter. He co-founded the reformist Progressive Party of the Philippines and the Christian Democratic Socialist Movement i ...

(1965 presidential candidate, Con-Con delegate, Movement for a Free Philippines chair) * Romeo Espino (chief-of-staff of the

Armed Forces of the Philippines The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ( fil, Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas) are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy (including the Marine Corps). The P ...

FPfrom 1972 to 1981) *

Manuel Yan Manuel Tecson Yan, Sr. (January 24, 1920 – December 4, 2008) was a Cabinet Secretary of the Aquino, Ramos and Estrada administrations, World War II veteran and List of AFP Chiefs of Staff, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines ...

(chief-of-staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines FPfrom 1968 to 1972) *

Rafael Ileto Rafael Manio Ileto (October 24, 1920 – June 19, 2003) was a Filipino general who served as the 22nd Secretary of the Department of National Defense (DND) of the Philippines. He also became the Vice Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Phi ...

(vice chief-of-staff of the AFP) *

Bonifacio Gillego Bonifacio H. Gillego (June 5, 1921 – August 1, 2002) was a Philippine politician, military officer, and author. He served in the Philippine House of Representatives for three terms (1987–1998), representing the 2nd Legislative District of So ...

(

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

veteran, congressman) *

Blas Ople Blas Fajardo Ople (February 3, 1927 – December 14, 2003) was a Filipino journalist and politician who held several high-ranking positions in the executive and legislative branches of the Philippine government, including as Senate President fr ...

( Secretary/Minister of Labor from 1967 to 1986, senator) *

Onofre Corpuz Onofre Dizon Corpuz ONS (December 1, 1926 – March 23, 2013) was a Filipino academic, economist, and historian. He served as the Secretary of Education of the Philippines from 1968 to 1971 and was the 13th president of the University of the Phi ...

(

Secretary of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

from 1968 to 1971) *

(

First Lady of the Philippines The first lady or first gentleman of the Philippines ( fil, Unang Ginang o Unang Ginoó ng Pilipinas) is the courtesy title given to the host or hostess of Malacañang Palace, the residence of the head of state and head of government of the Phil ...

from 1965 to 1986) *

Corazon Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People P ...

(

President of the Philippines The president of the Philippines ( fil, Pangulo ng Pilipinas, sometimes referred to as ''Presidente ng Pilipinas'') is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of t ...

from 1986 to 1992, wife of Benigno Aquino Jr.) *

Haydee Yorac Haydee Bofill Yorac (; March 4, 1941 — September 12, 2005) was a Filipina public servant, law professor and politician. Early life Yorac was born on March 4, 1941, in the municipality of Saravia (now E. B. Magalona), Negros Occidental. She ...

(Chairman of the

Presidential Commission on Good Government The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) is a quasi-judicial government agency of the Philippines whose primary mandate is to recover the ill-gotten wealth accumulated by Ferdinand Marcos, his immediate family, relatives, subordin ...

COMELEC COMELEC or Comelec may refer to any of the following: * Commission on Elections (Philippines) (Comelec) * North African Power Pool The Comité Maghrébin de l'Electricité (COMELEC), also Maghreb Electricity Committee and North African Power Poo ...

chairperson) *

Fidel Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military ...

(President of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998, chair of the

Philippine Constabulary The Philippine Constabulary (PC; tl, Hukbóng Pamayapà ng Pilipinas, ''HPP''; es, Policía de Filipinas, ''PF'') was a gendarmerie-type police force of the Philippines from 1901 to 1991, and the predecessor to the Philippine National Po ...

Cduring the Marcos regime) * Carolina Hernandez (human rights political scientist) *

Joker Arroyo Ceferino "Joker" Paz Arroyo Jr. (January 5, 1927 – October 5, 2015) was a Filipino statesman and key figure in the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution which ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos. He was a Congressman for Makati from 1992 to 2001 and ...

(human rights lawyer during the Marcos regime, congressman and senator) *

Mariani Dimaranan Mariani C. Dimaranan (February 1, 1925 – December 17, 2005), also known as Sister Mariani, was a Catholic nun and activist in the Philippines who fought against the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. Dimaranan headed Task Force Detainees of the ...

(political detainee during Martial Law) * Nena Fajardo (victim of the human rights violation during Martial Law) * Rafael Zagala (chief of the

Philippine Army The Philippine Army (PA) ( Tagalog: ''Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas''; in literal English: ''Army of the Ground of the Philippines''; in literal Spanish: ''Ejército de la Tierra de la Filipinas'') is the main, oldest and largest branch of the ...

during the Marcos regime) * Priscilla Mijares (judge, widow of Primitivo Mijares) *

Letty Jimenez Magsanoc Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc (September 13, 1941 – December 24, 2015) was a Filipino journalist and editor, notable for her role in overthrowing the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. She was an icon of democracy. Magsanoc was editor of the crusading ...

(journalist) * Carmen Pedrosa (author) *

Behn Cervantes Benjamín Roberto "Behn" H. Cervantes (August 25, 1938 – August 13, 2013) was a Filipino artist and activist. He was highly regarded as a theater pioneer, teacher, and progressive thinker who was detained multiple times during martial law in the ...

(film director) * Francisco Nemenzo Jr. (political scientist) *

Eugenio Lopez Jr. Eugenio "Geny" Moreno Lopez Jr. (November 4, 1928 – June 28, 1999) was the chairman emeritus of ABS-CBN Corporation from 1997 to 1999. He was known within the Lopez Group of Companies as "''Kapitán''" ( Filipino for "Captain"). His great-gra ...

(businessman,

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...

from 1956 to 1993) *

Vicente Paterno Vicente Tirona Paterno (November 18, 1925 – November 21, 2014) was a Filipino businessman and politician. He served as Minister of Industry (1974–1979) and of Public Highways (1979–1980) during the Ferdinand Marcos' government. He also ser ...

(technocrat during the Marcos regime, Secretary/Minister of Industry from 1974 to 1979) *

Solita Monsod Solita “Winnie” Garduño Collás-Monsod, popularly known as Mareng Winnie (born July 29, 1940), is a Filipino broadcaster, host, economist, and columnist. She had been the 5th Director-General of the National Economic and Development Aut ...

(economist) * Edicio de la Torre (founding chairperson of Christians for National Liberation) * Ma. Ceres Doyo (journalist) *

Aquilino Pimentel Jr. Aquilino Quilinging Pimentel Jr. (, December 11, 1933 – October 20, 2019), commonly known as Nene Pimentel, was a Filipino politician and human rights lawyer who was one of the leading political opposition leaders during the regime of Ferdinan ...

( Con-Con delegate, 1978 Lakas ng Bayan candidate) * Ed Olaguer (Light a Fire Movement founder) * Doris Baffrey (April 6 Movement founder) *

Teodoro Benigno Teodoro "Teddy" Benigno, Jr. (18 May 1923 – 3 June 2005) was a leading Filipino journalist with a career spanning seven decades. His writings first graced the print media in 1946, when he joined the Manila Tribune as a sportswriter and police be ...

(journalist of

Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C ...

in the Philippines) * Jose Almonte (

Reform the Armed Forces Movement The Reform the Armed Forces Movement, also referred to by the acronym RAM, was a cabal of officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) known for several attempts to seize power in the Philippines during the 1980s and 1990s. In 1986, som ...

founder) *

Butz Aquino Agapito "Butz" Aquino (May 20, 1939 – August 17, 2015) was a Senator of the Philippines from 1987 to 1995, congressman from Makati and a part-time film and television actor. He was born to former senator Benigno S. Aquino Sr. and Aurora Aqu ...

(August Twenty-One Movement founder, congressman) *

Jaime Sin Jaime Lachica Sin ( zh, t=辛海梅, 辛海棉, poj=Sin Hái-mûi, Sin Hái-mî; August 31, 1928 – June 21, 2005), commonly and formally known as Jaime Cardinal Sin, was the 30th Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila and the third cardinal from ...

(

Archbishop of Manila The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila ( lat, Archidioecesis Manilensis; fil, Arkidiyosesis ng Maynilà; es, Arquidiócesis de Manila) is the archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Philippines, encompassing ...

) *

June Keithley June Keithley-Castro (10 March 1947 – 24 November 2013) was a Filipina actress and broadcast journalist. Early life Castro was born to a Cebuano mother and an American father. She studied at St. Paul College, where she was mentored by Jam ...

(radio and television reporter)

Production

Eugenia Apostol Eugenia "Eggie" Apostol (born September 29, 1925) is a Filipino publisher who played pivotal roles in the peaceful overthrow of two Philippine presidents: Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and Joseph Estrada in 2001. She was awarded the 2006 Ramon Magsays ...

, a journalist and publisher, brought a film crew together to create a documentary under her newly established Foundation for Worldwide People Power (renamed as the Eggie Apostol Foundation in 2012) about the injustices committed during the two-decade presidency of

. Jon Red and Jeannette Ifurung became the film's pair of directors, with the former focusing on dramatizations and shoots on location, while the latter focused on

post-production Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments. The ...

. The resulting work became the most expensive documentary film produced in the Philippines.

Release

''Batas Militar'' aired on Philippine television network

on September 21, 1997, and was repeated on February 25, 2016, airing on PTV in 1998 and 2012,

ABS-CBN News Channel ABS-CBN News Channel, commonly known as ANC, is a 24/7 Philippine pay television news channel. It was launched in 1996 as the first all-news network in English language. The majority of its programs are produced by ABS-CBN News. The channel is ...

in 2012 and 2016, and

Knowledge Channel Knowledge Channel (abbreviated as KCh) is a Philippine free-to-air television channel owned by ABS-CBN that consists of educational and informative programs. The channel is available on digital TV via BEAM TV, Sky Cable, Sky Direct, Cignal, Par ...

from 2011 until 2012. Afterwards, it was subsequently released on VHS. As of 2016, the documentary has not yet been released on the

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

format. However, filmmaker Mike de Leon has since posted the entire film on

Vimeo Vimeo, Inc. () is an American video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices. Vimeo's business model is through software as ...

with

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

subtitles Subtitles and captions are lines of dialogue or other text displayed at the bottom of the screen in films, television programs, video games or other visual media. They can be transcriptions of the screenplay, translations of it, or informati ...

through his ''

Citizen Jake ''Citizen Jake'' is a 2018 Philippine noir crime drama film which featured Atom Araullo directed by Mike de Leon. Plot When journalist Jake Herrera (real life journalist Atom Araullo, in his film debut) investigates the murder of a student, ...

'' production account on February 1, 2019.

References

External links