Wider Repressive Powers

To further expand the coverage of Presidential Arrests, Search and Seizure Order, Marcos issued the National Security Code and the Public Order Act just days before the lifting of martial law. This guarantees the President vast emergency powers of preventive arrest, closure of media establishments and [unclear: control] over school admission. The suspension of the privilege of writ of Labeas corpus shall continue with respect of persons detained for crimes of [unclear: insurrection], rebellion, subversion, conspiracy or intention to commit such crimes. Strikes in vital industries will be prohibited, consigning labour to substandard wages and inhuman conditions of work. Press freedom will be stored but "libel and subversion" will not be tolerated. Demonstrations are permitted with the necessary permit from the Mayors and if they do not block traffic and violate the law!

On the day he lifted the martial law the President ordered the release of 341 detainees out of the 1700 and transferred 400 others to the National Pententiary at Muntinglupa. According to a statement issued on 21 Jan 1981, the political detainees describe their conditions following the lifting of martial law as going from "bad to worse". It claimed that the detainees have merely been shifted from one prison to another and have been invariably subjected to severe prison control and the previous rights enjoyed has now been severely restricted.