1972 Manila bombings
The 1972 Manila bombings were a series of "about twenty explosions which took place in various locations in Metro Manila in the months after the Plaza Miranda bombing and immediately preceding Ferdinand Marcos' proclamation of Martial Law".[1] The first of these bombings took place on March 15, 1972, and the last took place on September 11, 1972 - twelve days before martial law was announced on September 23 of that year.
| 1972 Manila bombings | |
|---|---|
| Location | Various locations in the Greater Manila Area, Philippines |
| Date | March 15, 1972 to September 11, 1972 (UTC +8) |
Attack type | bombings |
| Deaths | 1 |
| Injured | 40 |
The Marcos regime officially attributed the explosions communist "urban guerillas",[1] and Marcos included them in the list of "inciting events" which served as rationalizations for his declaration of Martial Law.[2] Marcos' political opposition at the time questioned the attribution of the explosions to the communists, noting that the only suspects caught in connection to the explosions were linked to the Philippine Constabulary.[2]
Explosion incidents
The sites of the 1972 Manila bombings included the Palace Theater and Joe's Department Store on Carriedo Street, both in Manila; the offices of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), Filipinas Orient Airways, and Philippine American Life and General Insurance Company (PhilamLife); the Cubao branch of the Philippine Trust Company (now known as PhilTrust Bank); the Senate Publication Division and the Philippine Sugar Institute in Quezon City, and the South Vietnamese embassy.[1]
However, only one of these incidents - the one in the Carriedo shopping mall - went beyond damage to property; one woman was killed and about 40 persons were injured.[2]
| Date | Place | |
|---|---|---|
| March 15 | Arca Building on Taft Avenue, Pasay City | |
| April 23 | Filipinas Orient Airways boardroom along Domestic Road, Pasay City | |
| May 30 | Vietnamese Embassy | |
| June 23 | Court of Industrial Relations | |
| June 24 | Philippine Trust Company branch in Cubao, Quezon City | |
| July 3 | Philam Life building along United Nations Avenue, Manila | |
| July 27 | Tabacalera Cigar & Cigarette Factory compound at Marquez de Comilas, Manila | |
| August 15 | PLDT exchange office on East Avenue, Quezon City, | |
| August 15 | Philippine Sugar Institute building on North Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City | |
| August 17 | Department of Social Welfare building at San Rafael Street, Sampaloc, Manila | |
| August 19 | A water main on Aurora Boulevard and Madison Avenue, Quezon City | |
| August 30 | Philam Life building and nearby Far East Bank and Trust Company building | |
| August 30 | Building of the Philippine Banking Corporation as well as the buildings of the Investment Development Inc, and the Daily Star Publications when another explosion took place on Railroad Street, Port Area, Manila | |
| September 5 | Joe’s Department Store on Carriedo Street, Quiapo, Manila | |
| September 8 | Manila City Hall | |
| September 12 | Water mains in San Juan | |
| September 14 | San Miguel building in Makati | |
| September 18 | Quezon City Hall, venue of the 1971 Philippine Constitutional Convention |
Suspects
Communist guerillas
The Marcos regime officially attributed the explosions communist "urban guerillas",[1] referring to the earliest recruits of the Communist Party of the Philippines, which had split from the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas about five years before.[2]
Government agents
At least one opposition Senator noted with suspicion that with the Carriedo incident as the only exception, "the bombings had all been timed for maximum publicity and nothing more."[1] He also noted that "one of the two arrested bombing suspects was a PC (Philippine Constabulary, now the Philippine National Police) sergeant who was employed at the Firearms and Explosive Section of the PC."[1]
References
- Generalao, Kate Pedroso, Minerva. September 1972: Recalling the last days and hours of democracy.
- Brillantes, Alex B., Jr. (1987). Dictatorship & martial law : Philippine authoritarianism in 1972. Quezon City, Philippines: University of the Philippines Diliman School of Public Administration. ISBN 9718567011.
- gov.ph