Francisco Tatad "Proclamation No. 1081" (lost Filipino TV footage of presidential speech; 1972)

Fransisco Tatad.

Status: Lost

At 7:15pm on September 23, 1972, then-president Ferdinand Marcos imposed martial law in the entire Philippines, broadcasting it on television. With other Filipino political elites in jail or exiled, media was also affected. TV networks such as ABS-CBN, MBC, ABC-5, and newspapers were closed. Only Roberto Benedicto's KBS-9 (now RPN-9/CNN Philippines) and Philippine Daily Express were allowed to continue their operations, due to his association to Ferdinand Marcos. RBS TV and IBC was initially closed, but they were allowed by the government to return on the air few months later.

Info

According to Boo Chanco, TV networks that time was closed on the morning of September 23, 1972, due to martial law, showing static and color bars. KBS-9 went back on air in the afternoon, playing episodes of Hanna-Barbera's Wacky Races series. It was interrupted by then-Press Secretary Fransisco Tatad and he read Proclamation No. 1081.

The page was written by Boo Chanco of PhilStar. There are conflicting claims regarding this, such as Chanco saying Francisco Tatad went on-air at 3pm, however, Xiao Chua said KBS-9 went on-air at 3pm. A blogspot dedicated about the history of Philippine Television said that KBS-9 went on-air with a black screen, followed by appearances of Marcos and Francisco Tatad. Marcos' 7:15pm speech is available online, while the footage and the speech of Francisco Tatad haven't yet resurfaced.