Dear Chain Letter,
You must know by now that martial law has been declared for the entire Philippines by President Ferdinand Marcos. This declaration was continued in Proclamation 1081 which was signed on September 21, 1972 and took effect the next day.
When he declared martial law, President Marcos cited subversion as the primary cause of our country’s economic stagnation. He stated that the bombings and disturbances immediately before his declaration had “paralyzed” economic activity. He had declared martial law in order to “save the republic and build a new society.”
The arguments of President Marcos fall flat in his face. He cannot use subversion as the excuse for the graft and corruption in his government and for his over-all maladministration. Besides, he never proved that the bombings were done by the New People’s Army and other “subversives.” In fact, because he did impose martial law, it becomes much more logical to conclude that he himself was responsible for these disturbances so as to justify such imposition.
His “new society” cannot be any different from his “great again society,” in his “democratic revolution” nor his wife’s “green revolution,” which proved to be nothing but mere pakulos designed to fool the people. For his “new society,” Marcos talks of land reform, but his mansions stand on the biggest privately-owned lands in this part of the world. He talks of eradicating corruption when he has enriched himself through corruption to become the richest man in Asia. Remember, the many scandals he was involved in – the Benguet-Bahamas deal, Golden Buddha, Dovie Beams, Con-Con payola, etc. Remember the more than twenty massacres under his regime including the Plaza Miranda carnage in 1971. Can this be the man who would “save the republic and build a new society”?
Martial law means that the military now controls the government and assumes supreme command. In other words, it means a military dictatorship – despite all claims on the contrary of the monotonous Marcos propaganda machinery. As commander-in-chief of the military, Marcos formally becomes a dictator.
Martial law also means the death of our civil liberties. Freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of the press, academic freedom, freedom to air grievances, freedom to dissent – all are now suppressed. Curfew has been imposed. Checkpoints have been established in many places and restrict free traffic. All dissenters are arrested and imprisoned with some becoming unheard of. We are at the morey of a military known for its long tradition of abuses and for its mercenary character. Just witness now its first crimes under the “new society” against long-haired young men and mini-skirted ladies. And expect more to come.
The hand of American imperialism cannot be discounted in the establishment of a military regime in our country. Martial law is not purely-Marcos decision; in fact, it is more an affair of American imperialism with Marcos as the chief puppet implementor. It is well known even abroad that Marcos declared Martial law so as to protect the interests of his American imperialist masters (worth over one billion dollars in investments) and hence perpetuate himself in power too. A military regime facilitates the exploitation of our people by American imperialism. It prevents any form of militant dissent against American imperialism’s unjust rule. As a concrete example, martial law came in the wake of initial protest against a price increase by American oil monopoly capitalists.
Our military is controlled by American imperialism through JUSMAG. All major orders, policies and plans of the armed forces undergo JUSMAG approval prior to their implementation. Aside from the JUSMAG, many unequal military treaties ensure the subservience of our military to American imperialism. Martial law would not have been declared if Americal imperialism had not wished so.
We, the Filipino people, do not deserve a military regime that tramples on our liberties and feeds us with its empty rhetoric. We do not deserve the unjust rule of American imperialism and of its local puppets like Marcos. We deserve more than Marcos’ fake “new society.” Ours should be a national democratic society where all imperialists should be banished, where land would be given to the tiller, where militarization would be ended and where we would truly posses and enjoy our democratic rights. All demons and bad elements would be eliminated.
How do we crush the military dictatorship of American imperialism and Marcos? We must unite against those who oppress us for our strength lies in our unity. We are not alone in our struggle because the broad masses of our people are fighting militarization and imperialism.
In order to broaden our united front, we must talk to our relatives, friends, and fellow countrymen and explain to them the importance of acting now while the time is ripe. We must form anti-fascist and anti-imperialist groups in communities, factories, schools and offices in order to involve others in the struggle. In those groups, we can discuss how best we can contribute to the movement.
To help those engaged in more dangerous forms of propaganda work, we can conduct fund drives to help provide the needed materials – mimeographing machines, paper, ink, stencils, paint, brushes, paper tapes, etc.
One way of countering the false propaganda of the military regime is to continue this chain letter. You can reproduce this letter (handwritten or typed) and send copies to at least ten friends or relatives.
Finally, we must prepare ourselves against bloody onslaughts of the military dictatorship of U.S. imperialism and Marcos. To their fascist violence, there can be no other answer but revolutionary violence in a protracted people’s war!
Yours truly,
A concerned friend
