Briefly on Proclamation No. 1081

By Herbert Vego

“I might be out on the streets if I were not president.”

Those words were spoken by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in a press conference a week ago.

I remembered those words yesterday morning (Sept. 21) while scanning the TV channels for activities unfolding on the “Trillion Peso March,” a multisectoral nationwide protest to call for accountability over the widespread corruption in the government’s flood-control scams.

Part of the TV news panned a small group of individuals who would allegedly condemn the declaration of martial law by the late President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos Sr. 53 years ago when, judging by their looks, they had not been born yet.

Why would Marcos Jr. be so confident of the “Trillion Peso March” on the date being commemorated as the 53^rd anniversary of the proclamation of martial law by his father? To see whether public opinion has reversed?

Anyway, as a senior citizen who was 22 years old in 1972, I am one of the old journalists who experienced life under martial law.

I vividly recall the morning of Sept. 23, 1972 when I turned on the radio but could not hear a sound. Soon enough, my neighbors were complaining of similar “damage” to their radio sets.

Marcos had by then signed Proclamation 1081 declaring martial law but kept it secret while rounding up and jailing politicians and activists critical of his regime.

I was to learn later that rabid anti-Marcos politicians were already behind bars, victims of ASSO or “Arrest, Search and Seizure Order” issued by Juan Ponce Enrile, Marcos’ martial law administrator and defense minister.

The document allegedly signed by President Marcos Sr.  on September 21, 1972, placed the Philippines under martial law. I believe it was the wrong date.

An American journalist writing for a foreign news agency, Raymond Bonner, came up with a story that no less than had witnessed Marcos signing the proclamation of martial law in the morning of September 23.

Marcos was so superstitious about number 7 and multiples of seven – as in 7X3=21 – that he antedated Proclamation 1081 to Sept. 21.

In reality, therefore, the 53^rd anniversary of martial law will fall tomorrow, Sept. 23, 2025.

-oOo-

MORE POWER EXPLAINS POWER HIKE

GIVEN the opportunity to keep electricity rates low in Iloilo City, MORE Power President Roel Z. Castro would do so.  But that is beyond his control, since the adjustment is driven by factors outside the control of MORE Power and other distribution utilities nationwide.

This corner would like to summarize the explanation of the company behind the ₱1.56 hike in residential rate from ₱10.19 per kilowatt-hour in August to ₱12.44 this month.

It’s mainly because of the higher cost of power supply from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).

As explained by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), the shortage of power supply occurs when it falls below the capacity of the generating units to meet rising demand.

This also explains why generation charge has increased from ₱4.91 to ₱6.14 per kWh.

Since MORE Power’s charges for distribution, supply, and metering services have not changed, the adjustments reflected in its bills are pass-through costs from generation and transmission.

-oOo-

A WHITE HOUSE TRIVIA

DO you know that the huge White House of the late Judy Araneta Roxas – mother of former Senator Manuel “Mar” Roxas II – has been an elusive target by drone photographers?
They know it’s in Cubao, Quezon City across the famous Araneta Coliseum, but why could they not see it?

It’s because it hides beneath a man-made forest on the viewfinder, according to my friend Victor Martin J. Soriano, who recently sent me a Facebook message with photos of a palatial mansion that is “invisible” when viewed from airspace.

The photos reveal the panoramic view of a white house with a green-painted roof amid a forested area. It has been there for 80 years, said Martin.

“Did they build the forest to camouflage the house?” Martin asked.

History tells us that the house has served its occupants well. During the Second World War, the original owner of the house, the late sugar baron Jesus Amado Araneta (the father of Judy), secretly supported the independence movement that led to the end of the Japanese occupation.

After the war, Araneta played the role of adviser to President Manuel Roxas in 1946.

It must have been providential that Araneta’s daughter Judy and Roxas’ son Gerardo “Gerry” fell in love and married each other.

Gerry was elected congressman of the 1st District of Capiz (1957 to 1963) and, later, as a Senator (1963 to 1972).

One of Gerry and Judy’s three children is former Senator Mar Roxas, who is married to TV personality Korina Sanchez.  They have two children, Pepe and Pilar.