Start of Martial Law (September 1972)

From a personal account of the late Raul M. Gonzalez:

"Before the declaration of Martial was made public in the early evening of 23 September 1972, there were rumors of arrests of prominent anti-Marcos elements, student and labor leaders, political oppositionists, journalists and newspapermen, owners of media outlets, and persons known to be anti-administration.  Then Pres. Ferdinand Marcos came on the air in what was obviously a taped broadcast.  The decree declaring martial law for the whole country was ante-dated 21 September 1972.

 
"In one single stroke, Marcos cancelled the Constitution, abolished both houses of Congress, and placed the Armed Forces and the police under his direct command like his own toy to play around with.  He usurped the powers of duly constituted authorities and installed himself as the only authority in the land. 
 
"I felt disgusted with this turn of events.  I resigned all my positions in government and even my teaching position in the Philippine College of Commerce, a public educational institution.  From then on, I helped human rights victims by providing legal counsel and services for free. 

"I still continued with my legal office, which sustained me throughout my freelance days.  Among my clients were the Yangs of Manila who were the owners of downtown theaters Roxan, Odeon, Maxim and Miramar, among others.  The Yangs figured in the Carmelo-Bauermann real estate case.  The Bauermanns owned the lot in C.M. Recto Avenue where Maxim and Miramar stood, under a lease contract with the Yangs with an option-to-buy clause.  The Bauermanns sold the lot to another party instead.  The Yangs went to court in which I was their counsel, and we won the case up to the Supreme Court. 
 
"I was aware that Marcos was twisting the precepts of the law in order to show the country and the whole world that martial law was legitimate.  While he closed down the legislature, he maintained the Judiciary to make it appear that there was some form of due process still in effect.  There was no place to go but the Supreme Court, to lodge complaints and hope to be heard.    

"I petitioned the High Court to declare the Marcos decree imposing martial law as unconstitutional and was one of the first private citizens to do so.  I was in my law office together with a friend, Napoleon Dilag, who in the post-Marcos years became a judge in Cavite.  I composed a petition questioning martial law which was later given the file title: 'Dilag vs the Executive Secretary.'  I filed other petitions with the Supreme Court, one after the other, in my capacity as chapter president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.

"I waited for results with confidence in the law of averages that soon one of my petitions would inevitably surface and be tabled by the High Court.  I wanted to put on record the fact that several petitions were filed in opposition to martial and questioning its legality, yet most of those petitions were unceremoniously rejected by the High Court.  I took comfort in the hope that the Justices would realize that history would also judge them." 

 

Condolence Letter of President Aquino

Malacanan Palace
Manila

September 9, 2014

Dear Dr. (Pacita) Gonzalez,

In this period of deep personal sadness for you and your family, please accept my sincerest condolences.

Though your late husband and I may have had our differences, I will never forget, just as our nation will always recognize, the service he rendered during the dark days of Martial Law.  In seeking justice through our legal system, at a time our Constitution was set aside to accommodate the personal whims of a dictator, your husband was one of the many who had the courage to keep the spirit of resistance alive, and by so doing, continued to champion the democratic cause.  His participation, later on, in the restoration of democracy after the EDSA Revolution will always serve as a badge of honor and distinction for him and for your family.

May God grant his soul eternal repose, and may His light and grace comfort you and your loved ones in this time of affliction.

(signed)
BENIGNO S. AQUINO III

Raul M. Gonzalez (RMG)

Today, we begin a series on the life and thoughts of my father, Raul Maravilla Gonzalez (RMG).  This series is partly based on the unpublished research manuscript of Ken Ishikawa, a writer and an Asian Public Intellectual grantee.

Raul Gonzalez has served the Filipino people as an active opponent of dictatorship during the darkest days of Martial Law.  After the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos thru the February 1986 “People Power” event, Cory Aquino assumed the presidency and appointed RMG as Tanodbayan (Ombudsman), a responsibility he exercised until September 1988.

From 1995 to 2004, RMG served as Congressman of the Lone District of Iloilo City.  From 2004 to 2009, he headed the Department of Justice in the administration of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Raul M. Gonzalez was born in Hacienda Caiñaman in La Carlota, Negros Occidental, on 03 December 1930.  His father, Delfin Gonzalez, was the administrator of the plantation, which was Spanish-owned.  Delfin was from Jaro, Iloilo.  His wife, Estrella Maravilla, worked as a teacher at the Colegio de San Jose, Jaro.  Delfin and Estrella had 6 children: Ester (Inday), Sergio, Herman, RMG, Milagros (Baby) and Mario.  Herman died as an infant, Mario died in childhood, and Ester passed away in 2001.

Bread & Freedom: A 1975 Ninoy Aquino Letter

Below is a reproduction of a letter that Benigno 'Ninoy' Aquino Jr, at the height of his hunger strike in prison during Martial Law, wrote to one of his lawyers, Raul M. Gonzalez, one of the few persons who would visit and talk with him periodically in his prison cell. This letter is published for the first time.

April 7, 1975
6:25 pm

Atty. Raul Gonzalez
p e r s o n a l

My dearest Raul:

I'm afraid this will be my last letter. I feel very, very weak and my coordination is bad. My knees are wobbly and as of this moment, I've already lost 13 pounds (161-148). But I cannot rest till I've written you a few words of thanks for everything.

I'm sure you've come across--in your readings--some of the teachings of Confucius, the great Chinese sage on the dichotomy of life which he postulated in his ying-yang principle. Marx calls its dialectics. Mao calls it the law of contradictions. To Lenin, it is the law of opposites.

Give it any label, it is still the ying-and-the-yang. According to the Old Guru, in every strength there is a lurking weakness (the Achilles heel) and in every dark cloud there is a silver lining.

If we are to apply this principle to our present situation, there must be a lurking weakness in the seemingly awesome powers and strength of Marcos. And this weakness, I think, lies in the field of morals and moral leadership. True we have lost the bulk of our LP following especially among the governors, mayors and councilors who have been cowed into submission and subservience. But what we lost in quantity, we have gained in quality among the religious, the students, the enlightened labor elements and the middle intelligentsia.

Hence, when you tried to dissuade me from taking the final plunge, I tried to explain to you the need to snatch the moral leadership in the present struggle. We must show by example, not mere words, to our people that there are still a few who would willingly risk death to attain liberation.

Describing the state of affairs in Hitler's Germany in the middle thirties, Niebuhr had this to say: "Our society is like a woman who throws a garish dress over underwear that is unwashed for months, soiled and rugged." He could say the same thing about our society today. Our job is clear: ours is to expose the truth.

Disproportions of power anywhere in the human community are fruitful of injustice, but a system which gives some men absolute power over other men results in evils which are worse than injustice. I think that you will agree with me that this is so.

Some observers have commented that in the hierarchy of values of the Filipino, security comes before liberty because the mass still wallows in poverty, are devoid of special skills that provide regular income, are exposed to the perils of an economy controlled by a few rich and they therefore fear insecurity more than they fear the loss of liberty. While I agree with the analysis of the situation, I cannot accept the conclusion that the choice is either bread or freedom. To the Latin Americans, it is 'Pan o Libertad.'

I submit the conjunction should be 'and' and not 'or.' It should be bread and freedom and this is attainable under an honest and just regime.

In the boredom of my isolation, I often engaged in mental gymnastics and built castles in the air. I had plans of working with you on some national projects that will give our people both bread and freedom, security and liberty.

I saw you doing the homework, while I did the field work. I saw you doing the planning and I the implementing.

Senator Tañada on several occasions told me of your unselfishness and dedication, of your practical approach to problems, of your down-to-earth observation of everyday human affairs. These are the qualities needed by today's leadership. But above all these traits, you possess the integrity of character that could not be cowed by fear or threats to life. These last qualities are vital to greatness--and make the difference between the ordinary public servant and the statesman.

I'm afraid, my dream-plans will now have to be shelved. But I hope you'll continue the good work in your usual selfless dedication. I hope to clear a little patch in the forest and my effort will not be in vain if behind me come the tillers.

Please give your wife my warm affections and I sincerely believe you are what you are because of her. Tell her I shall await with bated breath our inevitable reunion in the celestial kingdom of Love!

Affectionately yours,

Ninoy