BACKGROUND AND HISTORY OF LILIOSA HILAO

Liliosa Hilao (March 14, 1950 – April 5, 1973) was a Filipina student activist who was killed while under government
detention during Martial Law in the Philippines, and is remembered as the first prisoner to die in detention during martial
law in the Philippines. She was a student of Communication Arts at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.
Personal life
Liliosa Hilao was born on March 14, 1950. She was the seventh of nine children and had seven sisters and one brother.
Hilao was a consistent honor student in elementary and high school.
Extracurricular activities
Hilao was an editor in her university's paper Hasik. She was the student president of the communication arts department.
She was also a representative to PLM’s student central government.Among other things, she was a secretary of the
Women’s Club of Pamantasan. She was also a member of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines. She also formed
the Communication Arts Club in her university. Hilao was known to be sickly, so she never took part in student protests.
However, she showed her opinions through pieces of writing she did for her student paper at the PLM. Some of her works
include "The Vietnamization of the Philippines” and “Democracy is Dead in the Philippines under Martial Law.” These
works were indicative of her stance on martial law.
Arrest and death
Detail of the Wall of Remembrance at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani, showing names from the first batch of Bantayog
Honorees, including that of Liliosa Hilao
Arrest of Liliosa
The Philippine Constabulary raided the Hilao residence on April 4, 1973. They identified themselves to be part of the
Philippine Constabulary Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU). A man by the name of Lt. Arturo Castillo proclaimed himself as
the team leader of the raiding party. According to an official letter from Hilao's family, only a Philippine Constabulary
identification card was presented as proof of their claim. No warrant or search order was presented to the family for the
entirety of the raid. Hilao herself was not yet present at this time. She only arrived later that evening. Upon her arrival,
Liliosa was subjected to extreme violence by Lt. Castillo. According to the official letter, Lt. Castillo repeatedly beat her.
Family members were stopped from attempting to intervene as they were threatened by the unit. In the morning of April
5, 1973, Liliosa would be handcuffed and taken by the CANU unit to their office at Camp Crame for questioning.
Arrest of Josefina
Hilao's sister, Josefina, was also arrested. Josefina would also be taken to Camp Crame. Josefina saw Hilao but was not
permitted to speak to her. However, Josefina saw that parts of Hilao's face were said to be beaten and bloodied, an
indication that she was being tortured and abused during her stay.
Death
On April 7, three days after Liliosa’s arrest, Mrs. Alice Hilao Gualberto, one of her sisters, received a phone call. She was
informed that Liliosa was in critical condition and that she has been confined at the Camp Crame Station Hospital due to
serious injuries. She would later find Hilao in the emergency room of the Station. Hilao's face was disfigured. Several
notable injuries and bruises were found all over her body. These include several needle puncture marks on her left arm
and forearm, and "an opening at her throat.” The medical equipment used by Liliosa did not seem to function properly. No
medical staff was tending to her. According to the official letter from the family, the room that she was being held in
smelled strongly of formalin. Alice, having seen Liliosa for a few minutes, would then be quickly taken to the CANU
Office. She met with Josefina there. They would later be informed by Lt. Castillo that Liliosa had died.
A necropsy report by the Philippine Constabulary Crime Laboratory would later list cardio-respiratory arrest as the cause
of her death.[5] Following her death, the Philippine Constabulary gave an amount of 2200 pesos to the family of Liliosa
for burial expenses. The family has refused to spend the money.
Hilao was running for cum laude honors before she was killed. A vacant seat was reserved for her at the graduation
ceremony where she would have marched. She was also awarded posthumous cum laude honors.
Aftermath
According to the authorities, Hilao killed herself by drinking muriatic acid. They declared her case closed. However, her
friends and family did not believe that the military had nothing to do with her death. After the People Power Revolution of
1986 and the overthrowing of President Marcos, there were several lawsuits filed against the president for torture. Among
these lawsuits was one filed by a relative of Hilao, alleging that Hilao was killed after she had been "beaten, raped, and
scarred by muriatic acid”. This case was the first in the United States to bring a former president of another country into
trial, although the jurisdiction was established in 1789 by the Alien Tort Statute. In 1986, the court initially dismissed the
case, referring to the “act of state doctrine.” This act provides immunity to a head of state or an incumbent president.
Upon hearing the dismissal, the Philippine government filed a brief of amicus curiae to impel the US courts’ jurisdiction
over the case. The government fought against the defendants’ claims that “they knew nothing” or that “they were not
aware of the human rights abuses.” The government regularly sent documents against these claims. These documents
were updates on executions and torture sessions of political detainees that Marcos received regularly during his
presidency.
In 1996, the Court of Appeals in Southern California ultimately ruled in favor of Hilao. The court charged almost $2
billion to the Marcos family for the damages caused to almost 10,000 human rights victims. According to Davis, after the
decision was made final, the Marcos family concealed their property by holding it in dummy corporations.
However, the possibility of these court cases being considered as part of the judicial business of US courts is still being
debated.[6] Furthermore, the functionality of the Philippine Supreme Court is questionable at best. According to Tate and
Haynie, Marcos's crony majority had a secure power over the Supreme Court. Tate and Haynie claim that there is
sufficient cause and evidence that shows that at least some justices feared for the "Supreme Court's institutional survival,
if not their personal safety, as a result of the president's potential wrath."

The Philippines During Martial Law

 
Proclamation of Martial Law: On September 21, 1972, President Ferdinand E.
Marcos placed the Philippines under Martial Law. The declaration issued under
Proclamation 1081 suspended the civil rights and imposed military authority in the
country. Marcos defended the declaration stressing the need for extra powers to quell
the rising wave of violence allegedly caused by communists. The emergency rule was
also intended to eradicate the roots of rebellion and promote a rapid trend for national
development. The autocrat assured the country of the legality of Martial Law
emphasizing the need for control over civil disobedience that displays lawlessness.
Marcos explained citing the provisions from the Philippine Constitution that Martial Law
is a strategic approach to legally defend the Constitution and protect the welfare of the
Filipino people from the dangerous threats posed by Muslim rebel groups and Christian
vigilantes that places national security at risk during the time. Marcos explained that martial law was not a
military takeover but was then the only option to resolve the country’s dilemma on rebellion that stages
national chaos threatening the peace and order of the country. The emergency rule, according to Marcos’s
plan, was to lead the country into what he calls a “New Society”.

Marcos used several events to justify martial law. Threat to the country’s security was intensifying
following the re-establishment of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in 1968. Supporters of
CPP’s military arm, the New People’s Army, also grew in numbers in Tarlac and other parts of the country.
The alleged attempt to the life of then Minister of Defense Juan Ponce Enrile gave Marcos a window to
declare Martial Law. Marcos announced the emergency rule the day after the shooting incident. Marcos
also declared insurgency in the south caused by the clash between Muslims and Christians, which Marcos
considered as a threat to national security. The Muslims were defending their ancestral land against the
control of Christians who migrated in the area. The minority group organized the Moro National Liberation
Front (MNLF) in Malaysia and pushed for the autonomy of Mindanao from the national government.

The move was initially supported by most Filipinos and was viewed by some critics as a
change that solved the massive corruption in the country. Martial law ceased the clash
between the executive and legislative branches of the government and a bureaucracy
characterized by special interest. Marcos started to implement reforms on social and
political values that hindered effective modernization. To match the accomplishments
of its Asian neighbors, Marcos imposed the need for self-sacrifice for the attainment of
national welfare. His reforms targeted his rivals within the elite depriving them of their
power and patronage but did not affect their supporters (US Library of Congress,
Martial Law and the Aftermath).

Thirty-thousand opposition figures including Senator Benigno Aquino, journalists, student and labor
activists were detained at military compounds under the President’s command (Proclamation 1081 and
Martial Law). The army and the Philippine Constabulary seized weapons and disbanded private armies
controlled by prominent politicians and other influential figures (Proclamation 1081 and Martial Law).
Marcos took control of the legislature and closed the Philippine Congress (Proclamation 1081 and Martial
Law). Numerous media outfits were either closed down or operated under tight control (Proclamation 1081
and Martial Law). Marcos also allegedly funnelled millions of the country’s money by placing some of his
trusted supporters in strategic economic positions to channel resources to him. Experts call this the “crony
capitalism.”

The deterioration of the political and economic condition in the Philippines triggered the
decline of support on Marcos’ plans. More and more Filipinos took arms to dislodge the
regime. Urban poor communities in the country’s capital were organized by the
Philippine Ecumenical Council for Community and were soon conducting protest masses
and prayer rallies. These efforts including the exposure of numerous human rights
violations pushed Marcos to hold an election in 1978 and 1981 in an aim to stabilize
the country’s chaotic condition. Marcos, in both events, won the election; however, his
extended term as President of the Republic of the Philippines elicited an extensive
opposition against his regime. Social unrest reached its height after former Senator
Benigno Aquino was murdered. The incident sent thousands of Filipinos to the streets
calling for Marcos’ removal from post. Turning again to his electoral strategy, Marcos held a snap election
in 1986 but what he hoped will satisfy the masses only increased their determination to end his rule that
seated Corazon Aquino, widow of Benigno Aquino, as President of the Philippines ousting Marcos
from Malacañang Palace and ending the twenty-one years of tyrant rule.