President Ferdinand Marcos signed the proclamation dated September 21, though it was publicly announced two days later, citing a supposed communist insurgency and staged ambush of his defense secretary. He dissolved Congress, suspended civil liberties, and jailed political opponents, journalists, and activists. The move entrenched Marcos and his wife Imelda in power until the 1986 People Power Revolution forced them into exile.
Marcos backdated the proclamation to September 21, a number he reportedly favored for numerological reasons, even though troops didn't move against media outlets and opposition figures until the night of September 22 into the 23rd. Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. was arrested in his hotel room; newspapers were shut down within hours; the constitution was effectively suspended.
What followed was fourteen years of crony capitalism, human rights abuses documented by thousands of victims, and the plunder of an estimated five to ten billion dollars from state coffers. Curfews, censorship, and the ever-present threat of the 'salvaging' of dissidents defined daily life. September 21 is now commemorated in the Philippines as a National Day of Protest, a grim anniversary observed with marches recalling the era's disappearances and detentions.