I.
Introduction and Brief Synopsis of the Films
A lot of people consider Ferdinand Marcos as the greatest president of all time.
His works, achievements, and developments for the Philippines has been well-recognized
by many Filipinos. However, he also left a big scar in our country during his time as the
president. Batas Militar is a 1997 documentary film about the martial law under the
regime of Ferdinand Marcos. The film depicts how Marcos killed democracy in the
Philippines. This part of the documentary showed how the former president planned the
declaration of Martial Law during his term as president of the Philippines. It also
introduced Marcos’ prominent critic, Benigno Aquino Jr. The next documentary film is
Imelda & Ferdinand: Exile in Hawaii Documentary. It shows how the Marcoses
landed in the Aloha State. The film is divided into five chapters: Chapter 1- The Good
Life; Chapter 2- The Revolution; Chapter 3- The Exile; Chapter 4- The Missing Fortune;
and Chapter 5- The End of an Era. Both films introduced the unforgettable leadership of
Ferdinand Marcos.
II. Analysis, Reflection, and Relevance of the Film to the Current Situation
In the documentary films, it is depicted how powerful Ferdinand and Imelda
Marcos was. During Ferdinand Marcos’ regime, he has made a lot of improvements and
advancements in the country but after his two terms, he wanted to retain his power. He
had two plans: Plan A is to make a parliamentary government so that he can be a prime
minister and Plan B is to declare martial law. He ended up declaring Martial Law or
Batas Militar which made a lot of damage in the country. Marcos said it was for the
betterment of the country, but it ended up making the country in its worst situation due to
the price hikes, corruption, rising debts, gap between the rich and poor, unemployment,
agriculture and industry slowdown, and political and economic crisis. Despite the cries of
many Filipinos that are experiencing poverty during Marcos’ regime, his family was
living a good life. Both films were very informative since the researchers did well in their
gathering of information alongside with the interviews of various individuals with first-
hand experience of the martial law. Upon seeing the movie, I have realized that I am
lucky that I wasn’t in this world yet when it happened. It is really one of the most
interesting documentaries to watch because it has complete details on the events that had
happened during the crisis. It showed that it is not easy to live in a country that is full of
chaos and harm. During this time, a lot of people are speaking up against the government.
They also want to oust the current president. They use different platforms in which they
show the injustices that is happening in the current administration. The film is really
relevant to the current situation because people who are against the government may
learn from it. When the people ousted Marcos, it became a bloodless revolution since
there are no weapons involved. If people really wanted to do it in this current
administration, they must do it peacefully like what happened in the EDSA People
Power.
III. Conclusions and some Recommendations
The willingness of the Filipinos to oust Marcos from his position made them
succeed. It was the combination of corruption, violence, injustice, and selfishness of
Marcos that pushed them to speak up and fight for what is right. Each story of the
Filipino who was interviewed in the documentary films surely contributed to the fight
against the Martial Law during their time. The fight of the Filipinos during the EDSA
People Power in 1986, without any weapons involved, proved that people can peacefully
speak up and fight for our rights and freedom. On the other hand, the government must
answer its citizens with a reform, not with brutality and violence. Unlike what happened
in when people rally during Marcos’ time, it always ended up in a riot. Unreasonable
conflicts between the government and its citizens must be resolved through peaceful
intentions. Therefore, presidents must not abuse the power that the people has given to
them so that the country will move forward and achieve national development.
