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University of San Carlos Publications
University of San Carlos Publications
THE MYTHS OF THE NEW FILIPINO: PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT PROPAGANDA DURING THE
EARLY YEARS OF MARTIAL LAW
Author(s): Joseph P. McCallus
Source: Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society, Vol. 17, No. 2 (June 1989), pp. 129-148
Published by: University of San Carlos Publications
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Joseph P. McCallus
given extensive attention are the actual rhetorical strategies used in the
Marcos takeover.
Virtually ignored has been the design of the Marcos
propaganda message that persuaded a vibrant political culture to submit
to the whims of an autocratic and decadent regime. What, then, were the
rhetorical methods used to create a
relatively stable and accepted
dictatorship in a country once termed the "showcase of democracy" in the
Orient?
The following paragraphs examine the propaganda efforts of the
Philippine government during the firstyears of martial law (1972-1973).
The propaganda is considered as a deliberate campaign having specific
structural components carefully arranged to introduce, justify, or
reinforcepolitical activities. Critical to the orchestration was the use of
cultural myths, and this rhetorical tactic is the focal point of the
examination. Because the campaign was massive, this treatment can only
be considered an overview. The content studied herein is limited to the
more conspicuous examples found in the primary propaganda vehicles:
thepolitical writings and public speeches of PresidentMarcos, newspapers
away from old settings, habits and commitments; and [step] 2. the
induction of themobilized persons into some relatively stable new patterns
of group membership and organizational commitment. In short,
mobilization of the people ? the firststage? is followed by reintegration
? the second? some form of
by unifying, self-dignifyingand reintegrative
ideology. In this lattercase, perhaps the chief battle against Communism
will be on thegrounds of nationalism 2
'Fred J. Elizalde, Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars, July 1973, 60-61; no informa?
tion is given as towhen and where the article (presumably) firstappeared. Little is done on
the rhetoric of theMarcos propaganda, but there are many accounts of themartial law
media. See Primitivo Mijares The Conjugal Dictatorship of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos
(San Francisco: Union Square Publications, 1976),David A. Rosenberg,Marcos andMartial
Law in thePhilippines, ed. Rosenberg (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1979), John Lent,
"The Philippine Press underMartial Law," Index on Censorship, (Spring, 1974), Rosalinda
Pineda-Ofreneo, The Manipulated Press: A History of Philippine Journalism since 1945,
2nd edition (Metro-Manila: Solar Publishing Corp., 1986). This is but a very brief overview
of the existing scholarship. Tom Walsh put togethera bibliography of material on martial
law during the firstfew years and is an invaluable source for his period:Martial Law in the
Philippines: A Research Guide and Working Bibliography, Southeast Asia Working Paper
#4(UniversityofHawaii, 1973).
2-Elizalde
The idea of creating a new order by using positive and negative cultural
stereotypes
?
heroes, traitors, victims, ideologies, etc. ? as
3 Ibid.
4Ibid.
5The idea of myth in rhetorichas been treated by many. This study has been nurtured
through scholarship such as James L. Kinneavy, A Theory ofDiscourse (Englewood Cliffs,
N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1971), JohnWaite Bowers and Donovan J. Ochs, The Rhetoric of
Agitation and Control (Reading, Ma.: Addison-Wesley, 1971), Gilbert Morris Cuthbertson,
Political Myth and Epic (East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1975).Work done
on myth and Nazi propaganda is quite relevant to theMarcos situation. See for example
Kenneth Burke, 'The Rhetoric ofHitler's 'Battle'," inThe Philosophy of LiteraryForm 2nd
edition (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1967): 191-220,Bill Kinser and Neil
Kleinman, The Dream That Was No More a Dream: the Search for Aesthetic Reality in
Germany, 1890-1945, (New York: Harper & Row, 1969), Michael Maguire, "Mythic
Rhetoric in Mein Kampf: A StructuralistCritique," Quarterly Journal of Speech, 63, (1977):
1-13, and Ian Kershaw, The Hitler Myth: Image and Reality in theThird Reich (Oxford: the
Clarendon Pi ess, 1987).
6Discussion of the rhetoricof rebirthcan be found inWilliam Rueckert's Kenneth Burke
and theDrama of Human Relations, 2nd edition (University of California Press, 1982)
96-106 and James F. Hoban's "Rhetorical Rituals of Rebirth," Quarterly Journal of Speech,
66, (1980): 275-288. For a broad consideration of rhetoricand ritualwithin political culture,
seeDavid I. KertzerRitual, Politics, and Power (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988).
the strong leader, and most important, the heroes, ideas, and images of
the Philippine Revolution of 1896. The discourse was shaped into a
recognizable dramatic plot that championed Filipino social and political
rebirth. This narrative was comprised of three thematic parts, which
corresponded generally but not exactly with the major chronological
events of martial law.
One: the Imperiled Filipino. Preluding the declaration and throughout the
firstyear of martial law, the traditional or "true" Filipino (the heroic
self-image) was celebrated. Simultaneously, this idealized national persona
was as being ?
shown confronted by imperialistic and exploitative forces
? or destroy
the "false"Filipino which threatened to enslave the nation.
The Philippine environment was thus one existing on an inherent tension.
Two: the Cure. Following the above, the actual implementation of martial
law was given as the defeat of the "false" Filipinos. The foreign and
domestic diseases of the nation were cured and the country cleansed of their
threat. This was a revolutionary act of great historical significance, not
unlike theRevolution of 1896.
Three: theReborn Filipino. With martial law now inplace a new Filipino in
a new order was ritualized. This contrived national identity was based on
the idea that the unfulfilled promises of theFilipino patriots (Mabini,
Rizal, etc.) were now realized in the New Society, where growth and
discipline.
enemies to this national ideal, or by what has been called the "devil
function."9 These forces were sometimes the Muslim secessionist
movement and rather vague references to outside interventionists.
However, the predominant threats were those from "imperialistic"
Communism and the financial oligarchy (the traditionalPhilippine family
elite); forces from the political left and the right. These presentations
created stereotypes of what can be referred to as the "false Filipino."
Communism, according toMarcos, assailed the Filipino because of its
violent design for conquest. Communists were foreign invaders bent on
subjugating the Filipino to an alien ideology. For despite their calls to
Philippine reform, theywere really agents of theChinese and theSoviets.
Accordingly, theiracquisition of power would simply follow thehistorical
trendof humiliation at thehands of a foreignpower. Marcos described the
imperialistic threat metaphorically, often using medical terms. He had
stated that Communism caused the Philippine government to be "ill...
familieswere depicted as being above the law, and thus able to actually
control all segments of Philippine society. In order to return the country to
A REVOLUTIONARY CURE
Service above self... this is a motto for the revolutionary. Let it be so and let
the creativeminority be the revolutionaries that shall build a new system for
our country, a government which we can hand down to the next generation
with pride and without anxiety.14
[Mabini] called these the 'external' and 'internal' revolutions, for in his
The goal that Ferdinand E. Marcos had set was entirely revolutionary, not
reformist. Complete transformation of society, any society, demanded
16Ibid., 65-66. It should also be pointed out that Rizal and Bonifacio have rival cult
followings in thePhilippines, and the use of Mabini may have been intended to eliminate
possible frictionbetween the two groups.
17Ibid.,64
18Isabelo T. Crisostomo, Marcos the Revolutionary (Manila: J. Kris Publishing
Enterprises, 1973), 76.
relief, a transitory easing of pain, and Marcos would have none of that. The
nation was a patient afflictedwith cancer; the roots of the cancer had been
known (he himself had pinpointed them)...19
particular interest is this account of the false Filipino and Marcos, both
drawn within themyth of the traditionalPhilippine culture.
The present rule scored a stunning victory over the pockets of authority
established by the politicians. This is more in tune with the Filipino
traditionof leadership by the elder chiefs.This is in harmony with concepts
accepted during the era of constitutional democracy. In other words, the
big chief took over from the small chiefs by subjugating them. ...So the
littlechiefs are gone! Now the President can lead the nation back to the
paths of rightand justice.23
19bid.,77.
20Teodoro F. Valencia, "Vote 'Yes* for a Constitutional Democracy,'' Expressweek
1/4/1973, 6.
21Valencia, "Wake Up and Live!" Expressweek 1/18/1973, 6.
22Valencia,
"Discipline Can be Fun," Expressweek 1/25/1973, 7.
23Valencia. "What Went Wrong?" Expressweek 2/8/1973, 6.
The barangay is... the basis of a new institution whose origins are
redemption has now come. ...Dr. Rizal...wrote: 'I seek no shade but
light.' And so might we say in response to the challenge flung at us: ...We
seek no shade but light."26
Even after the acceptance of the January 1973 plebiscite, which
essentially gave Marcos legal and public legitimation, his speeches
constantly conceived theNew Society as an ameliorated Filipino world
reborn with a direct link to the heroic past and with a mission for the
future. The president, in a television-radio address on Bataan
Day
(April 9), demonstrated this national metamorphosis by connecting the
declaration of martial law to the heroism of 1942? assisted by the
antipodal positioning of death/renewal, defeat/victory, darkness/light,
chaos/order, and filth/cleanliness.
We are a people reborn today. ...as the heirs of those dead dreamers of
Bataan, we labor to bring forth their vision. ...When we took the fateful
We have pushed away the darkness of the long, long nightwith one single
blow... [and] with one swift and single blow... we have sought to establish a
new soul for our country and for our people; and we now seek the light...
This is the culmination of the long, long years of yearning, of hoping, of
dreaming, of groping and of despair.28
The country without discipline must perish. ...Before martial law, we did
?
not mind laws the men of influence and money were able to disregard
laws with impunity. ...For lack of discipline, the nation plunged into the
depths. Our economy was shot. Peace and order was [sic] horrible. The
future was dark and ominous. ...Something had to be done. It was exactly
?
what the President did he put a stop to a total lack of discipline. ...Now,
the common man will have a share in thebounty of this land? ifhe can be
disciplined enough to do what is best for himself and his country.National
discipline is the need of the hour. This means sacrifice for our own good...
We can be happy with discipline because it is the by-product of thewill to
do and the desire to achieve.30
Martial law did one thing for us. It exposed the fake leadership in almost
every line of national activity. ...Without martial law, the over-all cleanli?
ness of our cities, towns, and provinces would never have been possible.
So much has happened since you leftover a year ago. Things are not the
way they were. But I feel it's a newness you will recognize. Because it seems
it's how we always wanted things to be. A lot of good has been brought
about by the new order. You can see it in the cleanliness of the street.The
orderly flow of traffic.People have become more disciplined. And we feel
safer. More assured.32
31
Valencia, "What It Would Have Been Without Martial Law," Expressweek
9/20/1973,6.
32Advertisement forAir Manila in theTimes Journal,
Sept. 21,1973, 2.
33Advertisement for the
Mabuhay Ang Pilipino Movement in the Times Journal, Sept.
21, 1973, 2. Note that the slogan "Sa ikauunlad ng bayan, disiplina ang kailangan" (for the
progress of the country,discipline isneeded), was one used by thepresident; see for example
his speech "Liberty and Discipline," inA Dialogue WithMy People.
^Hartzel Spence, For Every Tear a Victory: The Story of Ferdinand E. Marcos (New
York: McGraw-Hill, 1964) 3-4. This was later reissued under the titleMarcos of the
Philippines.
personification at the onset of martial law was that of a modern day Lapu
Lapu ridding thePhilippine people of foreign invaders and the oligarchy.
The legendary quality of Marcos was especially effective among the
financially destitute and the politically ignorant,who saw in the Ilocano
president the storyof an underdog rising to the heights of power. During
the firstyear of martial law theMarcos publicity machine saturated the
country with accounts of the president's life. Crisostomo's Marcos the
Revolutionary describes the true Filipino leader confronted by false
Filipino forces as such:
The system was... forbidding. ...At the control center were the handful of
elite in whose hands were concentrated the wealth of the country... Once
installed in the seat of power thepolitician is theirprisoner... The least sign
of hesitation... would end his political career... For the elite would unleash
their wrath through the mass media which they also owned and
a less cruel ?
controlled... At the very least he would be meted punishment
news blackout... Then, of course, there is that extreme punitive action:
35Crisostomo, 34.
36Kershaw's study of Hitler and the cult of leadership in The Hitler Myth: Image and
Reality in the Third Reich is especially appropriate in understandingMarcos' image during
martial law.
Year," and
"The Charismatic Leader." In the same issue two highly
epideictic poems show how the Marcos image was projected publicly by
government officials. One, "Growth of the Molave," by undersecretary
of Foreign Affairs R. Zulueta Da Costa, suggests that the glory of past
revolutionaries is alive inMarcos. Here, the myth of cultural greatness is
reborn:
Now, Rizal, now. At last
You shall sleep in peace.
The land, the people, the dream
Stir to lifeproclaiming
The present be ours.37
37R. Zulueta Da Costa, "Growth of the Molave," Times Journal Sept. 11, 1973, 8.
^Guillermo C. De Vega, "Apotheosis to President Ferdinand E. Marcos," Times
Journal Sept. 11, 1973, 8.
CONCLUSION