1:25 AM Sept. 25th
[Jose] Diokno, Chino [Joaquin] Roces, Max [Maximo] Soliven etc. have filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus before the Supreme Court.
I asked Justice Claudio Teehankee, Antonio Barredo, Felix Makasiar and Felix Antonio to see me. They insisted that the government should submit to the Supreme Court for the Court to review the constitutionality of the proclamation of martial law, Proclamation No. 1081.
So I told them in the presence of Secs. [Juan] Ponce Enrile and Vicente Abad Santos as well as Sol. Gen. Estellito Mendoza that if necessary I would formally declare the establishment of a revolutionary government so that I can formally disregard the actions of the Supreme Court.
They insisted that we retain a color of constitutionality for everything that we do.
But I feel that they are still image-building and do not understand that a new day has dawned. While they claim to be for a reformed society, they are not too motivated but are too bound by technical legalism.
I have amended both Gen. Orders Nos. 1 and 3 to assume all powers of government including legislation and judicial and clearly excluded cases involving the constitutionality of my acts from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
I met the cabinet to emphasize the program to reform our society.
And I signed the decree (No. 1) to promulgate the Law on the Reorganization of the Government
Tomorrow I will sign the decrees promulgating the new Civil Service Rules, the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Law, the Land Reform Funding and dismiss some judges, the CIR [Court of Industrial Relations] judges, Public Service Commission.
We have impressed everybody with our fairness by the arrest of Cong. Roque Ablan, Rafael Aquino and Gov. Luis Bocalan.
I have ordered profiteers to be arrested.
And the ROTC [Reserve Officers’ Training Corps] boys have cleaned up the streets of Graffiti.
No Official Gazette entry for this day.
Only KBS [Kanlaon Broadcasting System] and The Daily Express are operational.
I just talked to Earl Mazo, the biographer and adviser of [Richard] Nixon, and his first advice is to immediately meet the press (as soon as possible and explain that this is not a dictatorship).
Sec. C. P. [Carlos] Romulo, whom I talked to again by long distance, has done a good job of holding press interviews and issuing press releases.
“On September 24 Marcos sent House Speaker Cornelio Villareal to Moscow to formally announce the declaration of Martial Law and to expand diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union.74 Marcos had until this point been negotiating diplomatic and trade ties with Moscow under the auspices of the executive trade authority extended to him by Congress in 1967, but this authority had lapsed and Marcos’ dealings were in violation of the anti-Red trade law. Martial law removed this hurdle and made ties with the Soviet Union possible “ Sclice, 755.