Recap:
For more than 20 years (Dec. 30, 1965 – Feb. 25, 1986) Ferdinand Marcos ruled the Philippines. He promised to make the nation great again in his inaugural speech of December 30, 1965.
His political venture began with his election to the House of Representatives in 1949 as a Congressman from Ilocos. He became Senate President in 1963. He was married to Imelda Romualdez from Leyte.
He ran for President as Nacionalista in 1965 election and won over Macapagal. Elected with Marcos as Vice-President was his NP running mate Fernando Lopez.
THE FIRST MARCOS TERM (1965 – 1969)
In his first term Marcos tried to stabilize the financial position of the government through an intensified tax collection. He also borrowed heavily from international financing institutions to support a large-scale infrastructure works projects were built. He improved agricultural production to make the country self-sufficient in food, especially in rice.
Marcos also tried to strengthen the foreign relations of the Philippines. He hosted a seven-nation summit conference on the crisis in South Vietnam in October, 1966. In support for the U.S. military efforts in South Vietnam, he agreed to send Filipino troops to that war zone.
THE SECOND TERM OF MARCOS (1969 – 1972) In November 1969 Ferdinand Marcos and Fernando Lopez were re-elected. They defeated the Liberal Party ticket of Sergio Osmeña, Jr. and Senator Genaro Magsaysay. In winning the election, Marcos achieved the political distinction of being the first President of the Republic to be re-elected.
The most important developments during the second term of Marcos were the following:
The 1971 Constitutional Convention The Congress of the Philippines called for a Constitutional Convention on June 1, 1971 to review and rewrite the 1935 Constitution. Three-hundred twenty delegates were elected. The convention was headed first by former President Carlos P. Garcia and later by former President Diosdado Macapagal.
The Convention's image was tarnished by scandals which included the bribing of some delegates to make them "vote" against a proposal to prohibit Marcos from continuing in power under a new constitution. This scandal was exposed by Delegate Eduardo Quintero. For exposing the bribery attempt, Quintero found himself harassed by the government.
The first Papal Visit to the Philippines On November 27, 1970, Pope Paul VI visited the Philippines. It was the first time that the Pope had visited the only Catholic nation in Asia. Huge crowds met the Pope wherever he went in Metro Manila. The Pope left on November 29.
The Rise of Student Activism
Students protests on the prevailing conditions of the country saddled the second term of Marcos in office. Large throngs of students went out into the street of Manila and other urban centers to denounce the rampant graft and corruption, human rights violation, high tuition fees, militarization and abuses of the military, the presence of the U.S. Military bases and the subservience of the Marcos Administration to U.S. interests and policies.
The most violent student demonstration took place on January 1970 when thousands of student demonstrators tried to storm the gates of Malacañang. Six students were killed and many were wounded. This event came to be know as the "Battle of Mendiola".
The radical student groups during this period were the Kabataang Makabayan (KM) and the Samahang Demokratikong Kabataan (SDK). The communists took advantage of the situation and used the demonstrations in advancing its interests. The most prominent of the student leaders of this time were Nilo Tayag and Edgar Joson.
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW PEOPLE'S ARMY (NPA)
Because of the perceived deplorable condition of the nation, the communist movement subdued by President Magsaysay in 1950's, revived their activities and clamor for reform. A more radical group, the Maoists, who believed in the principles of Mao-Tse-Tung (leader of China) took over the communist movement. They reorganized the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and created a new communist guerilla army called the New People's Army (NPA).
The communists took advantage of the growing discontent with the Marcos. Administration to increase the number and strength. As a strategy, they actively supported a number of anti-Marcos groups. They infiltrated several student organizations, farmers, laborers and even professionals. The NPA gradually increased its ranks and spread to other parts of the country as far as Mindanao.
THE RISE IN ACTS OF VIOLENCE
In the early 1970's many of the acts of violence were inspired by the communists. Some, however, were believed to have been planned by pro-Marcos and other terrorist incidents rocked Metro Manila. The bloodiest was the Plaza Miranda Bombing on the night of August 1, 1971 where the Liberal Party had a political rally. Eight persons were killed and over 100 others were injure. Among the senatorial candidates injured were Eva Estrada Kalaw and several of its top officials.
Marcos blamed the communists for the tragic incident. He suspended the writ of habeas corpus to maintain peace and other. The suspension was lifted on January 11, 1972. Hundred of suspected subversives among the ranks of students, workers and professionals were picked up and detained by the government.
THE PROCLAMATION OF MARTIAL LAW
On September 21, 1972, Marcos declared Martial Law. This marked the beginning of the Marcos dictatorship. Proclamation 1081 placed the entire country under the military. It was signed on September 21, 1972 and announced to the nation in the evening of September 23, 1972. His main reason for declaring Martial Law as "to save the Republic" and "to reform society". He explained that the growing violence in the nation, caused by the leftists and the rightists elements had come to certain magnitude that required martial law.
It was believed that the true reason why Marcos declared martial was to perpetuate his rule over the Philippines. The 1935 Constitution limited the term of the President to no more than eight consecutive years in office.
The constitution did not say how long martial law should last. The constitution left much about martial law to the President's own judgment.
Marcos extended the period of Martial Law beyond the end of his term in 1973. He abolished the Congress of the Philippines and over its legislative powers. Thus, Marcos became a one-man ruler, a dictator. Marcos described his martial law government as a "constitutional authoritarianism".
Although the courts remained in the judiciary, the judges of all courts, from the Supreme Court down to the lowest courts, became "casuals". Their stay in office depended on the wishes of the dictator.
Under the martial law Marcos disregarded the constitution. For instance, he violated the provision which guaranteed the Bill of Rights (Article III). Upon his orders, the military picked up and detained thousands of Filipinos suspected of subversion. Among them were his critics and political opponents namely Senator Benigno S. Aquino, Jr., Francisco "Soc"Rodrigo, Jose W. Diokno and Jovita R. Salonga. Hundreds of detainees were tortured by their captors. Some disappeared and were never found again. Many were held in military detention camps for years without trial.
As a result of the foregoing measured, the crime rate in the country was reduced significantly. People became law-abiding. But these good gains did not last long. After a year of martial law, crime rates started to soar. By the time Marcos was removed from power, the peace and order situation in the country had become worse.
This communist insurgency problem did not stop when Marcos declared Martial law. A government report in 1986 showed that the NPAs already numbered over 16,000 heavily-armed guerillas. The NPAs waged a vigorous war against government forces They staged ambuscades and engaged in terrorist activities such as assassination of local officials who were known to be engaged in corrupt activities. The NPA killer squads were called Sparrow Units. They were feared in the areas under their control. They also imposed taxed in their territories.
To fight the growing NPA threat, Marcos increased the armed forces to over 200,000 men. He also organized Civilian Home Defense Forces in the rural areas threatened by the NPAs . Several NPA leaders were captured like Jose Ma. Sison, alleged founder of the communist Party in the Philippines; Bernabe Buscayno, the NPA chief, and Victor Corpus, a renegade PC lieutenant.
The rampant violation of human rights of the people in the rural areas suspected of being NPA sympathizers, the injustices committed by some government officials and powerful and influential persons, and the continuing poverty of the people were used as propaganda of the NPA in attracting idealistic young people. Even priests and nuns who were witnesses to the oppression of the Marcos dictatorship join the NPAs. One of the priests who joined the NPA was Father Conrado Balweg of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD). He became a rebel folk hero to the ethnic tribes in the Cordilleras in Northern Luzon. As of July 1993, Balweg claimed to reports: "I am still in charge".
POLITICAL PARTIES DURING THE MARCOS REGIME
In the early years of martial law, political parties were suspended. Political parties resumed only with the election for the Interim Batasang Pambansa on April 7, 1978. It was the first national election under Martial law.
The second electoral exercise was the election of local officials held on January 30, 1980. As expected, political parties resurfaced. Those who supported President Marcos formed the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) which became in fact anew political party. Its members were from the ranks of the Liberal and Nacionalist parties. The KBL dominated all the elections held during the Marcos era.
New political parties emerged to fight the KBL. One such group was the Lakas ng Bayan (LABAN) founded in 1978 by the opposition group headed by former Senator Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. LABAN had a 21-man ticket in Metro Manila for the 1978 IBP elections. The KBL candidates headed by Imelda R. Marcos prevailed in the elections.
Aside from LABAN, the other partied organized were the Mindanao Alliance, the Partido Demokratiko ng Pilipinas (PDP), Bicol Saro, Pusyon Bisaya and Pinaghiusa in Cebu. Later on these small political parties united themselved into one umbrella organization that came to be known as the United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO) headed by former Senator Salvador H. Laurel. The UNIDO had its first electoral exercise in the 1984 Batasan elections. The great majority of the 60 or so opposition lawmakers who were elected in 1984 were UNIDO candidates.
ECONOMIC CHANGES UNDER MARCOS
To hasten the economic development, President Marcos implemented a number of economic programs. These programs helped the country to enjoy the period of economic growth I the mid-1970's up to the early 1980's.
The farmers were given technical and financial aid and other incentives such as "price support". With the incentives given to the farmers, the country's agricultural sector grew. As a result, the Philippines became self-sufficient in rice in 1976 and even became a rice exporter.
To help finance a number of economic development projects such as soil exploration, the establishment of geothermal power plants, the Bataan Nuclear Plant, hydro-electric dams, the construction of more roads, bridges, irrigation systems and other expensive infrastructure projects, the government engaged in foreign borrowings.
Foreign capital was invited to invest in certain industrial projects. They were offered incentives including tax exemption privileges and the privilege of bringing out their profits in foreign currencies. One of the most important economic programs in the 1980's was the Kilusang Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran (KKK). This program was started in September 1981. Its aim was to promote the economic development of the barangays by encouraging the barangay residents to engage in their own livelihood projects.
The government's efforts resulted in the increase of the nation's economic growth rate to an average of six percent to seven percent from 1970 to 1980. The rate was only less than 5 percent in the previous decade. The Gross National Product of the country (GNP) rose from P55 billion in 1972 to P193 billion in 1980.
Another major contributor to the economic growth of the country was the tourism industry. The number of tourists visiting the Philippine rose to one million by 1980 from less than 200,000 in previous years. The country earned at $500 million a year from tourism. A big portion of the tourist group was composed of Filipino balikbayans under the Ministry of Tourism's Balikbayan Program which was launched in 1973.
Another major source of economic growth of the country was the remittances of overseas Filipino workers. Thousands of Filipino workers found employment in the Middle East and in Singapore and Hongkong. These overseas Filipino workers not only helped ease the country's unemployment problem but also earned much-needed foreign exchange for the Philippines.
FOREIGN-RELATIONS POLICY UNDER MARCOS REGIME
In 1976 President Marcos announced to the Filipino people his policy of establishing relations with communist countries such as the People's Republic of Chine (june 9, 1975) and the Soviet Union (June 2, 1976).
Relations with the United States was modified. It was no longer based on the "sentemental ties" but on mutual respect for each other's national interest. Thus, the military and economic agreements between U.S. and the Philippines were amended to reflect this new relationship. In the amendments to the RP-U.S. Military Bases Agreement of 1947, the U.S. acknowledged the sovereignty of the Philippines over the American military bases in the country (Subic and Clark). These bases would have a Filipino commander and would fly the Philippine flag. IN addition, the U.S agreed to pay rentals to the Philippines for the use of the bases.
Marcos established closer ties with the Asian countries. The Philippines became a leading member of the Third-World – the collective name for the developing countries at that time. The Philippines actively participated in such world conferences as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) meeting held in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1976 and in the International Meeting on "Cooperation and Development held by the heads of 21 nations in Cancun, Mexico, in 1981.
Marcos took his oath of office on June 30, 1981 at the Luneta Park for a six-year term ending in 1987. On that occasion Marcos announced the establishment of a "New Republic of the Philippines".
The lifting of Martial Law
After implementing the program of development, Pres. Marcos issued Proclamation NO. 2045 on January 17, 1981, lifting Martial Law. Martial Law lasted for eight years, 3 months and 26 days. Mr. Marcos lifted Martial law to show to the Filipinos and the world that the situation in the Philippines was already back to normal. The government had already been functioning smoothly under the 1973 Constitution. Despited the lifting of Martial law, however, Marcos remained powerful and practised authoritarian rule.
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