Plaza Miranda bombing
Plaza Miranda bombing | |
---|---|
Bombing | |
Weapons | Grenade |
Deaths | 9 |
Injured | 95 |
The Plaza Miranda bombing (Filipino: Pambobomba sa Liwasang Miranda) occurred during a political rally of the Liberal Party at Plaza Miranda, Quiapo district, Manila, the Philippines on August 21, 1971.[1] It caused nine deaths and injured 95 others, including many prominent Liberal Party politicians.[2]
Bombing
The Liberal Party's campaign rally was held to proclaim the candidacies of eight senatorial bids as well as the candidate for the mayoralty race in Manila. As a crowd of about 4,000 gathered to hear speeches, two grenades were reportedly tossed on stage.[3]
Casualties
Among those killed instantly were a 5-year-old child and
Salonga was among those most seriously injured. The blast left him blind in one eye and deaf in one ear. Small pieces of shrapnel remained lodged in his body until his death in 2016. Councilor Ambrosio "King" Lorenzo Jr. was in a coma for two weeks. He lost sight in his left eye and hearing on the same side. Ramon Bagatsing, the Liberal Party mayoralty candidate for Manila, lost his left leg and suffered a crushed right cheek bone and a shattered right arm.[4]
Suspects
Marcos blamed the
Suspicion of responsibility for the blast fell upon incumbent President Ferdinand Marcos.[6] Most historians continue to suspect that Marcos perpetrated the bombing as a pretext for his declaration of martial law.[7][8] There were a series of deadly bombings in 1971, and the CIA privately stated that Marcos was responsible for at least one of them. The agency was also almost certain that none of the bombings were perpetrated by Communists. Defectors from Marcos' cabinet also contained further evidence implicating Marcos.[9][10] A proven false flag attack took place with the attempted assassination of Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile in 1972. President Richard Nixon then approved Marcos' martial law move on the rationale that the country was being terrorized by Communists.[11]
Some prominent personalities laid the blame on the
Historian Joseph Scalice has argued that "the evidence of history now overwhelmingly suggests that the Communist Party of the Philippines, despite being allied with the Liberal Party, was responsible for this bombing, seeing it as a means of facilitating repression which they argued would hasten revolution."[19] Sison himself, however, denied this claim - arguing that Scalice, alongside his primary source, columnist Gregg Jones used sources from military intelligence and rejectionists. [20]
Aftermath
Assumption of emergency powers by President Marcos
Having blamed communists, Marcos used the bombing to justify his subsequent suspension of the
Radicalization of the moderate opposition
Historians note that Marcos' suspension of the writ of Habeas Corpus was the event that forced many members of the moderate opposition, including figures like Edgar Jopson, to join the ranks of the radicals. In the aftermath of the bombing, Marcos lumped all of the opposition together and referred to them as communists, and many former moderates fled to the mountain encampments of the radical opposition to avoid being arrested by Marcos' forces. Those who became disenchanted with the excesses of the Marcos administration and wanted to join the opposition after 1971 often joined the ranks of the radicals, simply because they represented the only group vocally offering opposition to the Marcos government.[21][22]
Bearing on the election
In a setback for Marcos' ruling Nacionalista Party, the Liberals took six of the eight contested Senate seats, as well as the Manila mayoralty with then Congressman Ramon Bagatsing defeating the incumbent Antonio Villegas for the mayorship of the country's premiere city.[4]
Commemoration
On August 21, 2002, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo unveiled a commemorative marker in Plaza Miranda in honor of the nine innocent civilians killed in the blast.[23]
See also
- Assassination of Benigno Aquino Jr.
- Jovito Salonga
- Ramon Bagatsing
- List of terrorist incidents, 1971
- Movement of Concerned Citizens for Civil Liberties
References
- ^ "Partido Liberal Pilipinas: Timeline". Retrieved October 27, 2007.
- ^ Locsin, Teodoro Jr. "Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. Man of the Year, 1971". Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2007.
- ^ "Death in the Plaza Miranda". Time. August 30, 1971. Archived from the original on December 21, 2008. Retrieved October 27, 2007.
- ^ a b "Binding Up the Wounds". Time Magazine. November 22, 1971. Archived from the original on December 21, 2008. Retrieved October 28, 2007.
- ^ a b Simafrania, Eduardo D. (August 21, 2006). "Commemorating Ninoy Aquino's assassination". The Manila Times. Archived from the original on October 18, 2007. Retrieved October 27, 2007.
- ^ "Fact Check | Claim that Ninoy as mastermind of Plaza Miranda bombing is historical fact is false". News5. July 11, 2022. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
- ISBN 9780313247880.
- ISBN 9781317451518.
- ISBN 9781523292196.
- ISBN 9781317451518.
- ISBN 9780847699346.
- ^ Nepomuceno, Priam (August 19, 2022). "Unmasking the sinister mind behind the 1971 Plaza Miranda bombing". Philippine News Agency.
- ^ Dizon, David (November 19, 2002). "Salonga's Journey". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on July 1, 2007. Retrieved October 27, 2007.
- ^ Soliven, Max (February 12, 2004). "Revolution by Assassination?". The Philippine Star. Philstar Daily, Inc. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
- ISBN 978-971-91158-0-9.
- ^ "EX-COMMUNISTS PARTY BEHIND MANILA BOMBING". The Washington Post. August 4, 1989.
- ^ Distor, Emere. "The Left and Democratisation in the Philippines". Retrieved October 27, 2007.
- ^ Nemenzo, Gemma. "Note from the Underground". Retrieved October 27, 2007.
- ^ Harvard University Asia Center (September 24, 2022). The Imposition of Dictatorship:Fifty Years Since Marcos'Declaration of Martial Law in thePhilippines. Event occurs at 36:05. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
- ^ Jose Maria Sison (January 26, 2021). "Communist Party and Plaza Miranda". Retrieved August 21, 2023.
- ^ Tan, Oscar Franklin (December 8, 2014). "Why Ateneo is honoring Edgar Jopson". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- OCLC 81146038.
- ^ "GMA joins people in commemorating Plaza Miranda bombing". Retrieved October 27, 2007.