At 1:00 a.m. before the announcement, Diokno was arrested by the dictatorship. After cutting communication lines in multiple neighborhoods, including Diokno's home, six carloads carrying forty armed soldiers visited Diokno at his home to "invite" him for questioning. He changed from his pajamas and was sent to Camp Crame. They had no warrant. After Diokno was brought to Camp Crame, he was transferred to Fort Bonifacio, where he was detained along with other opposition members such as Aquino and Chino Roces, the founder and head of The Manila Times, the leading newspaper at the time. The military's Defense Minister Enrile offered a security detail to Diokno "to protect (him) from Communist assassins", to which Diokno laughed and responded that he really needed protection from the military.