Rolex 12 is the collective name of twelve of the closest and most powerful advisers of President

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martia ...

during the martial law years in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

from 1972 to 1981. During the latter years of his second elected term, Marcos conspired with various leaders of the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distin ...

and

Philippine Constabulary The Philippine Constabulary (PC; tl, Hukbóng Pamayapà ng Pilipinas, ''HPP''; es, Policía de Filipinas, ''PF'') was a gendarmerie-type police force of the Philippines from 1901 to 1991, and the predecessor to the Philippine National Pol ...

. The goal was for Marcos to gain full authoritarian control of the country during his declaration of

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

in 1972. Marcos gave the military leadership powers during martial law, taking over from democratically elected officials and court judges. The twelve were responsible for many

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

atrocities, although the extent of their responsibility is still being investigated. These atrocities include torture, murder, seizures of property, displacement from homes, and arrest and detention without due process. The origin of the name Rolex 12 came from a widespread story and some sources that each associate received a

Rolex Rolex SA () is a British-founded Swiss watch designer and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex'' as the brand name of ...

watch A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached ...

from Marcos himself, although this remains unverified. Some contend that the gifts were actually

Omega Omega (; capital: Ω, lowercase: ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and final letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system/ isopsephy ( gematria), it has a value of 800. Th ...

es, but despite this confusion, the name Rolex 12 stuck and is still used to refer to these twelve Marcos associates. Some of them fled with Marcos when he and his family left the Philippines in 1986, while others like Enrile and Ramos were instrumental in the coup against him.

Members of the "Rolex 12"

*Tomas Diaz, PMA-Cl '51 - Vice Chief of the

Juan Ponce Enrile Juan Valentin Furagganan Ponce Enrile Sr., (born Juanito Furagganan; February 14, 1924), also referred to by his initials JPE, or Manong Johnny, is a Filipino politician and lawyer known for his role in the administration of Philippine dicta ...

- Minister of National Defense *Romeo Espino UP-

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

- Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) *Romeo Gatan - Chief of the

Rizal Rizal, officially the Province of Rizal ( fil, Lalawigan ng Rizal), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Its capital is the city of Antipolo. It is about east of Manila. The province is named after José R ...

*Alfredo Montoya, PMA Cl-'51 -Chief of the Philippine Constabulary Metropolitan Command (METROCOM) *Ignacio Paz, PMA Cl-'51 - Chief of the Intelligence Services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) *

Fidel Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military ...

, USMA Cl-'50; Honorary PMA Cl-51 - Commanding General of the

(PC),

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

of the Philippines (1992–1998) *Jose Rancudo - Commanding General of the

Philippine Air Force The Philippine Air Force (PAF) ( tgl, Hukbong Himpapawid ng Pilipinas, , Army of the Air of the Philippines) ( es, Ejército Aérea del Filipinas, , Ejército de la Aérea de la Filipinas) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Armed Forc ...

(PAF) *Hilario Ruiz - Flag Officer in Command of the

Philippine Navy The Philippine Navy (PN) ( tgl, Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, , Sea Army of the Philippines) ( es, Armada de Filipinas, , Ejército del Mar de las Filipinas) is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an es ...

(PN) *Gen. Rafael Zagala - Commanding General of the

Philippine Army The Philippine Army (PA) (Tagalog: ''Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas''; in literal English: ''Army of the Ground of the Philippines''; in literal Spanish: ''Ejército de la Tierra de la Filipinas'') is the main, oldest and largest branch of the A ...

(PA) *

Fabian Ver Fabian Crisologo Ver (born Fabian Maria Trinidad Juan Cirilo Crisologo y Ver; 20 January 1920 – 21 November 1998) was a Filipino military officer who served as the Commanding Officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines under President Ferd ...

, Honorary- PMA Cl '51 - Chief of National Intelligence Security Authority (NISA) * Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco Jr., Honorary PMA Cl-'51 - Governor of

Tarlac Tarlac, officially the Province of Tarlac ( pam, Lalawigan ning Tarlac; pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Tarlac; ilo, Probinsia ti Tarlac; tgl, Lalawigan ng Tarlac; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. I ...

(1967–1969), Chairman of

San Miguel Corporation San Miguel Corporation, abbreviated as SMC, is a Philippine multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. The company is one of the largest and most diversified conglomerates in the Philippines. Originally founded i ...

(1998–2020)

References

Presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Rolex {{Philippines-hist-stub

Members of the "Rolex 12"

See also

References