#marcos era

Traditionally a politically marginalized sector, the military responded well to the overtures of a commander-in-chief who was selling a vision of a New Society where the military, or at least its most senior officers, could be recognized as playing influential roles. With the declaration of martial law in 1972, the operational influence of the military men in local and national politics, in practically all branches of government including the judiciary, significantly increased. At regional and local levels, military men often found themselves in a position to overrule traditional politicians who were not key Marcos people.

The politicization of the military took other forms. Promotions were clearly indicated for military officers who were openly uncritically supportive of Marcos. Traditional military career patterns with their built-in constraints broke down before politically inspired decisions to promote and extend the services of pro-Marcos military men. The perquisites attending the politicization of senior military men were clearly translated into highly visible material gains, which legitimate military pay and allowances could not have put together. Prime real estate, mansions, luxury cars, high living, and other excessive practices were indicators of a lifestyle among many military men who traded their professionalism for loyalty to Marcos and his oligarchical cronies.

—Felipe B. Miranda,The Political Economy of National Plunder: The Philippines Under Marcos, from Memory, Truth Telling, and the Pursuit of Justice: A Conference on the Legacies of the Marcos Dictatorship