MARTIAL AND THE NEW SOCIETY (1972- 1986)

MARTIAL LAW “….IN ITS COMPREHENSIVE SENSE, INCLUDES ALL LAWS THAT HAVE REFERENCE TO BE
ADMINISTERED BY THE MILITARY FORCES OF THE STATE. THEY INCLUDE THE MILITARY LAWS ENACTED BY THE
LAW-MAKING BODY FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE ARMED FORCES AND THE RULES GOVERNING THE
CONDUCT OF MILITARY FORCES IN TIMES WAR AND IN PLACE UNDER MILITARY OCCUPATION.”

HOWEVER IN ITS STRICT SENSE, IT IS THE LAW WHICH HAS APPLICATION WHEN THE MILITARY ARM DOES NOT
SUPERSEDE CIVIL AUTHORITY BUT IS CALLED UPON TO AID IT IN THE EXECUTION OF ITS VITAL FUNCTIONS.”
(ACCDG. TO THE CONSTITUTION)

Decided during martial law, it involved the petition of habeas corpus of Marcos’ critics, notably Benigno
Aquino, Jr. and Jose W. Diokno. The Supreme Court decided unanimously to dismiss the petitions, but
as Chief Justice Querube Makalintal put it, "there was no agreement as to the manner the issues would
be treated and developed. The same destination would be reached, so to speak, but through different
routes and by means of different vehicles of approach." He said that the reason why the Court did not
produce a single, collegial opinion, among others, was that the members of the Supreme Court are
conscious of "the future verdict of history" upon their stand.

Even before the cases were decided, Diokno, to the chagrin of the Supreme Court, opted to withdraw his
petition on the ground that no fair decision can be made of the court to render him justice. What made it
worse was the fact that before the Supreme Court could respond to Diokno’s challenge, Marcos issued
an order releasing him and the other petitioners, leaving Aquino behind.

Justice Fred Ruiz Castro opined that the declaration of martial law automatically suspends the
application of the said writ, thus Aquino cannot be released. He said that martial law "is founded upon
the principle that the state has a right to protect itself against those who would destroy it, and has
therefore been likened to the right of an individual to self-defense."

WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS

“…. IS USED TO BRING A PRISONER OR OTHER DETAINEE BEFORE THE COURT TO DETERMINE IF THE PERSON’S
IMPRISONMENT OR DETENTION IS LAWFUL.”

“ A HABEAS PETITION PROCEEDS AS A CIVIL ACTION AGAINST THE STATE AGENT (USUALLY A WARDEN) WHO
HOLDS THE DEFENDANT IN CUSTODY. IT CAN ALSO BE USED TO EXAMINE ANY EXTRADITION PROCESSES USED,
AMOUNT OF BAIL, AND JURISDICTION OF THE COURT.”
ON PEACE AND ORDER

-THE SUSPENSION OF THE WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS

-THE ARREST OF ANTI-MARCOS INDIVIDUALS

-STRICT MEDIA CENSORSHIP

-RALLIES AND DEMONSTRATIONS, PUBLIC MEETINGS AND ASSEMBLIES, LABOR STRIKES ARE PROHIBITED

-CURFEW

-TRAVEL BAN

-THE SURRENDER OF FIREARMS AND OTHER EXPLOSIVES

ON LAND REFORM

-PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 27

EMANICIPATION OF TENANTS FROM THE BONDAGE OF THE SOIL, TRANSFERRING TO THEM THE OWNERSHIP OF
THE LAND THEY TILL AND PROVIDING THE INSTRUMENTS AND MECHANISM THEREOF.

ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

-NATIONAL ECONOMIC AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (NEDA)

-BOLSTER AND DEVELOP THE PHIL. GEOTHERMAL PLANT IN TIWI, ALBAY, MT. MAKILING AND MT. BANAHAW IN
LAGUNA

-DISCOVERY OF OIL IN THE WEST COAST OF PALAWAN (NIDO-CADIAO MALINTOC OILFIELDS)

-CONSTRUCTION OF THE 1ST NUCLEAR PLANT IN THE PHIL. (MORONG, BATAAN)

-INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS (WATER PORTS, AIRPORTS, BRIDGES, DAMS. IRRIGATION, COMMUNICATION

FACILITIES AND SCHOOL BUILDINGS

ON GOVERNMENT REFORMS

-REORGANIZATION PLAN

-RESTRUCTURING AND CREATING NEW DEPARTMENTS

-METRO MANILA COMMISSION

-THE ELECTIONS TO THE INTERIM BATASANG PAMBANSA

-THE LOCAL ELECTIONS OF 1980

-THE BARANGAY AS THE POLITICAL UNIT

ON EDUCATIONAL REFORMS

-TECHNOLOGICAL AND VOCATIONAL COURSES

-EDUCATIONAL DECREE NO. 6-A (10- YEAR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM)

ON SOCIAL SERVICES

-MINISTRY OF SOCIAL SERVICES AND DEVELOPMENT

-PHILIPPINE MEDICAL CARE COMMISSION

-SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM (SSS)

-GOVERNMENT SERVICE INSURANCE SYSTEM (GSIS)

-PAGTUTULUNGAN SA KINABUKASAN: IKAW, BANGKO. INDUSTRIA AT GOBYERNO (PAG-IBIG)

ON PHILIPPINE TOURISM

-P.D. NO. 189 (DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM)

-BALIKBAYAN PROGRAM

-MISS UNIVERSE BEAUTY PAGEANT IN MANILA

-THRILLA IN MANILA (MOHAMMAD ALI VS. JOE FRAISER)

THE GOVERNMENT AND THE LABOR MARKET

-LABOR CODE (MAY 1. 1974)

-OVERSEAS EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT BOARD

-NATIONAL SEAMAN BOARD

-11 REGIONAL SKILLS TRAINING CENTRES (NATIONAL MANPOWER AND YOUTH COUNCIL)

A POLICY FOR OUR MUSLIM BROTHERS

-THE USE OF LOCAL MUSLIM DIALECT IN ELEMENTRAY SCHOOLS

-SCHOLARSHIPS TO COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

-DEVELOPMENT OF MINDANAO
-GOLDEN MOSQUE IN QUIAPO, MANILA

-ISLAMIC STUDIES INSTITUTE (UP)

-ISLAMIC AFFAIRS MINISTRY

-TRIPOLI AGREEMENT (AUTONOMOUS REGION ON THE MUSLIM MINDANAO)

THE FALL OF THE MARCOS REGIME

-UNITED NATIONALIST DEMOCRATIC ORGANIZATION + CPP

-AQUILINO PIMENTEL’S PARTIDO DEMOKRATIKONG PILIPINO (PDP) + LAKAS NG BAYAN (LABAN)

-INCREASING ANTI-GOVERNMENT OPPOSITIONS, PROTESTS, DEMONSTRATIONS, RALLIES, EMERGED (CORAZON

AQUINO)

-OCT 23, 1984 – JUSTICE AGRAVA’S AND FACT-FINDING BOARD’S REPORT RE: AQUINO-GALMAN MURDER CASE

-TANODBAYAN (OMBUDSMAN)

-FEB 22, 1985 –COURT PROCEEDINGS RE: THE CRIME OF THE CENTURY

SNAP PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

-PRESSURE ON THE MARCOS REGIME

-SALVADOR LAUREL

-KBL – MANILA HOTEL – ANNOUNCED ARTURO TOLENTINO AS RUNNING MATE OF MARCOS

-DEC 2, 1985- PAMARAN COURT’S FINAL VERDICT ON AQUINO-GALMAN CASE

-CABINET BILL NO. 7 (SNAP ELECTION ON FEB 7, 1986)

-DEC 3, 1985 – CORAZON AQUINO’S CALL FOR CANDIDACY

THE NEW CONSTITUTION

THE CONSTITUTIONAL COVENTION FRAMED A NEW CONSTITUTION TO REPLACE THAT 1935, MET ON SEP 25,
1972, AND “VOTED UNANIMOUSLY” TO “CONTINUE DELIBERATIONS VITAL ISSUES”

AFTER WHICH, PRESIDENT MARCOS REFERRED THE NEW CHARTER TO THE KAPULUNGAN OR GENERAL
ASSEMBLY NUMBERING 26,000 ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.

Martial Law The anniversary of the declaration of martial law is on September 23 (not September 21) “FM
Declares Martial Law”—the headline of the September 24, 1972 issue of the Sunday Express, which was the
Sunday edition of Philippines Daily Express. The Daily Express was the only newspaper allowed to circulate upon
the declaration of Martial Law President Ferdinand E. Marcos signed Proclamation No. 1081 on September 21,
1972, placing the Philippines under Martial Law. Some sources say that Marcos signed the proclamation on
September 17 or on September 22—but, in either case, the document itself was dated September 21.

Throughout the Martial Law period, Marcos built up the cult of September 21, proclaiming it as National
Thanksgiving Day by virtue of Proclamation No. 1180 s. 1973 to memorialize the date as the foundation day of
his New Society. The propaganda effort was so successful that up to the present, many Filipinos—particularly
those who did not live through the events of September 23, 1972—labor under the misapprehension that
martial law was proclaimed on September 21, 1972. It was not.

The culmination of a long period of preparation

The facts are clear. A week before the actual declaration of Martial Law, a number of people had already
received information that Marcos had drawn up a plan to completely take over the government and gain
absolute rule. Senator Benigno S. Aquino Jr., during a September 13, 1972 privilege speech, exposed what was
known as “Oplan Sagittarius.” The Senator said he had received a top-secret military plan given by Marcos
himself to place Metro Manila and outlying areas under the control of the Philippine Constabulary as a
prelude to Martial Law. Marcos was going to use a series of bombings in Metro Manila, including the 1971 Plaza
Miranda bombing, as a justification for his takeover and subsequent authoritarian rule. In his own diary, Marcos
wrote on September 14, 1972 that he informed the military that he would proceed with proclaiming Martial
Law. Even the U.S. Embassy in Manila knew as early as September 17, 1972 about Marcos’ plan.[1] This was
indeed the culmination of a long period of preparation: As early as May 17, 1969, Marcos hinted the declaration
of Martial Law, when he addressed the Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association: One of my favorite
mental exercises, which others may find useful, is to foresee possible problems one may have to face in the
future and to determine what solutions can possibly be made to meet these problems. For instance, if I were
suddenly asked, to pose a given situation, to decide in five minutes when and where to suspend the privilege of
the writ of habeas corpus, I have decided that there should be at least five questions that I would ask, and
depending on the answers to these five questions, I would know when and where to suspend the privilege of the
writ of habeas corpus. The same thing is true with the declaration of martial law […] It is a useful mental exercise
to meet a problem before it happens. In his memoir, then Justice Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile recalled that on a
late afternoon in December 1969, Marcos instructed him to study the powers of the President as Commander-
in-Chief under the provisions of the 1935 Constitution. Marcos made this instruction as he “[foresaw] an
escalation of violence and disorder in the country and [wanted] to know the extent of his powers as
commander-in-chief.”[2] The President also stressed that “the study must be done discreetly and
confidentially.”[3] At about the same time, Marcos also instructed Executive Secretary Alejandro Melchor and
Jose Almonte to study how Martial Law was implemented in different parts of the world. Marcos also wanted to
know the consequences of declaring Martial Law. The result of their study stated that, “while Martial Law may
accelerate development, in the end the Philippines would become a political archipelago, with debilitating,
factionalized politics.” Almonte recalled that their findings led to the conclusion that “the nation would be
destroyed because, apart from the divisiveness it would cause, Martial Law would offer Marcos absolute power
which would corrupt absolutely.”[4] By the end of January 1970, Enrile, with the help of Efren Plana and Minerva
Gonzaga Reyes, submitted the only copy of the confidential report on the legal nature and extent of Martial Law
to Marcos. A week later, Marcos summoned Enrile and instructed him to prepare the documents to implement
Martial Law in the Philippines.[5] In his January 1971 diary entries, Marcos discussed how he met with business
leaders, intellectuals from the University of the Philippines, and the military to lay the groundwork that extreme
measures would be needed in the future. On May 8, 1972, Marcos confided in his diary that he had instructed
the military to update its plans, including the list of personalities to be arrested, and had met with Enrile to
finalize the legal paperwork requ

Si tanga

required. On August 1, 1972, Marcos met with Enrile and a few of his most trusted military commanders to
discuss tentative dates for the declaration of Martial Law—to fall within the next two months. All of the dates
they considered either ended in seven or were divisible by seven, as Marcos considered seven his lucky
number.[6] The last days of democracy Senator Benigno S. Aquino Jr. delivers a privilege speech on the Senate
floor on September 21, 1972—two days before Martial Law was declared and implemented. (From A Garrison
State in the Make, p. 353) Senator Benigno S. Aquino Jr. delivers a privilege speech on the Senate floor on
September 21, 1972—two days before Martial Law was declared and implemented. (From A Garrison State in
the Make, p. 353) On September 21, 1972, democracy was still functioning in the Philippines. Senator Benigno S.
Aquino Jr. was still able to deliver a privilege speech—what would be his final one—in the Senate. Primitivo
Mijares, among others, recounted the functioning of the House of Representatives and the Senate, with
committee meetings scheduled for that night. Senate and House leaders agreed not to adjourn on this day, as
earlier scheduled. They decided to extend their special session to a sine die adjournment on September 23.

Si tanga

That afternoon, a protest march in Plaza Miranda was sponsored by the Concerned Christians for Civil Liberties.
The rally was attended by more than 30 “civic, religious, labor, student, and activist groups […] [and] a crowd of
30,000,” and received coverage from newspapers, radio, and television.[9] A mass rally organized by the
Movement of Concerned Citizens for Civil Liberties (MCCCL) was held at Plaza Miranda in Quiapo. (Photo
courtesy of Philippines Free Press Magazine) A mass rally organized by the Movement of Concerned Citizens for
Civil Liberties (MCCCL) was held at Plaza Miranda in Quiapo. (Photo courtesy of Philippines Free Press Magazine)
In his diary, Marcos wrote that he, together with members of his Cabinet and staff, finished the preparation of
Proclamation 1081 at 8 PM, September 21. On September 22, 1972, a day after the final speech of Ninoy
Aquino, newspapers still came out: they featured the rally held the previous day in Plaza Miranda. Mijares
recounted that Marcos was agitated by a statement reported in the Daily Express that if Martial Law were
declared, Aquino said he would have to be arrested soon after or he would escape to join the resistance.

Si tanga

The Enrile ambush as pretext for Martial Law The pretext for Martial Law was provided later in the evening of
Friday, September 22, 1972, the convoy of Secretary of Defense Juan Ponce Enrile was ambushed in Wack-Wack
as he was on his way home to Dasmariñas Village in Makati before 9 p.m. Enrile recalled his convoy was driving
out of Camp Aguinaldo when a car opened fire at his convoy and sped away. A contrasting account came from
Oscar Lopez, who lived along Notre Dame Street, Wack Wack Village, stated that he heard a lot of shooting and
that when he went out to see what was happening, he saw an empty car riddled with bullets. Lopez’s driver,
who happened to see the incident, narrated that “there was a car that came and stopped beside a Meralco post.
Some people got out of the car, and then there was another car that came by beside it and started riddling it
with bullets to make it look like it was ambushed.”[10] This ambush, as Enrile later revealed in 1986, was staged
by Marcos to justify Martial Law

Si tanga

Marcos, in his diary entry for September 22, 1972 (time-stamped 9:55 p.m.) wrote, “Sec. Juan Ponce Enrile was
ambushed near Wack-Wack at about 8:00 pm tonight. It was a good thing he was riding in his security car as a
protective measure… This makes the martial law proclamation a necessity.” His diary entry for September 25,
1972 mentions conditions after two days of Martial Law, also indicating martial law in reality is dated to
September 23, 1972. Primitivo Mijares—a former journalist for Marcos who would later write against Marcos
and disappear without a trace in 1973—claimed that the Enrile ambush was fake as it was made as the final
excuse for Marcos to declare Martial Law.[11] Mijares also claimed that the ammunition planted by the
Presidential Guard Battalion in Digoyo Point, Isabela—which was later confiscated by the Philippine
Constabulary on July 5, 1972—was used to connect the ambush with alleged Communist terror attacks. In the
biography of Chino Roces, Vergel Santos questioned the elements of the Enrile ambush: “Why inside a village
and not on a public street, and why in that particular village? Possibly for easier stage-managing: the family of
Enrile’s sister Irma and her husband, Dr. Victor Potenciano, lived there, in Fordham, the next street in the
Potenciano home and got the story straight from him, as officially scripted.”[12]

Si tanga

September 21 or September 23? When Marcos appeared on television at 7:15 p.m. on September 23, 1972 to
announce that he had placed the “entire Philippines under Martial Law” by virtue of Proclamation No. 1081, he
framed his announcement in legalistic terms that were untrue. This helped camouflage the true nature of his act
to this day: it was nothing less than a self-coup. Marcos announced that he had placed the entire country under
Martial Law as of 9 p.m. on September 22, 1972 via a proclamation which, he claimed, he’d signed on
September 21, 1972. Yet accounts differ. David Rosenberg, writing in the Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars
(“The End of the Freest Press in the World,” Vol. 5, 1973) chronicled that about six hours after the ambush,
Marcos signed Proclamation No. 1081, placing the entire country under Martial Law, placing the signing at
around 3 a.m. on September 23. Raymond Bonner, in his book Waltzing with the Dictator, narrated his interview
with Enrile, during which the former Defense Secretary recalled that he and Acting Executive Secretary Roberto
Reyes witnessed Marcos sign Proclamation No. 1081 in the morning of September 23, 1972. The Bangkok Post
asserted in a series of articles called “The Aquino Papers,” published from February 20 to 22 of 1973, that
Proclamation No. 1081 had been signed even earlier, on September 17, 1972, postdated to September 21.
Mijares also mentioned in his book that Marcos said as much in an address to a conference of historians, in
January 1973. Two things emerge: first, whether they conflict or not, all accounts indicate that Marcos’
obsession with numerology (particularly the number seven) necessitated that Proclamation No. 1081 be
officially signed on a date that was divisible by seven. Thus, September 21, 1972 became the official date that
Martial Law was established and the day that the Marcos dictatorship began. This also allowed Marcos to
control history on his own terms.

Proclamation of Martial Law[edit]

Six hours after the alleged assassination attempt against Enrile and citing more than 15 bombing incidences,
chaos and lawlessness, Marcos issued Proclamation No. 1081, declaring and imposing martial law in the
entire country.[40] By declaring martial law, Marcos suspended the writ of habeas corpus and also the 1935
Constitution, dissolved Congress and padlocked the doors to the Batasang Pambansa, and assuming both
legislative and executive powers. Proclamation No. 1081 was dated 21 September 1972 but it was actually
signed on 17 September. The formal announcement or promulgation of the proclamation was made only at
seven-thirty in the evening of 25 September, evidencing the plan to declare martial law even before the
supposed ambush against Enrile. He had also commanded his military collaborators to start arresting his
political opponents and close down all media and retail (fashion, food, religious, sports) establishments
about twenty-two hours before the announcement.[41]
The Proclamation read in part

My countrymen, as of the twenty-first of this month, I signed Proclamation № 1081

“ placing the entire Philippines under Martial Law...
”
— Ferdinand Marcos, September 21, 1972
The declaration of Martial Law was criticized as a planned precursor to extending Marcos' term in office,
which under the 1935 Constitution is limited to two terms of four years each or a maximum of eight years[42]
Rigoberto Tiglao, former press secretary and a former communist incarcerated during the martial law,[43]
countered by arguing that the liberal and communist parties provoked martial law imposition.[44]
MALACAÑANG

Manila

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No. 27 October 21, 1972

DECREEING THE EMANCIPATION OF TENANTS FROM THE BONDAGE OF THE SOIL, TRANSFERRING TO THEM THE
OWNERSHIP OF THE LAND THEY TILL AND PROVIDING THE INSTRUMENTS AND MECHANISM THEREFOR

In as much as the old concept of land ownership by a few has spawned valid and legitimate grievances that gave
rise to violent conflict and social tension,

The redress of such legitimate grievances being one of the fundamental objectives of the New Society,

Since Reformation must start with the emancipation of the tiller of the soil from his bondage,

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me
by the Constitution as Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant to
Proclamation No. 1081, dated September 21, 1972, and General Order No. 1 dated September 22, 1972, as
amended do hereby decree and order the emancipation of all tenant farmers as of this day, October 21, 1972:

This shall apply to tenant farmers of private agricultural lands primarily devoted to rice and corn under a system
of sharecrop or lease-tenancy, whether classified as landed estate or not;

The tenant farmer, whether in land classified as landed estate or not, shall be deemed owner of a portion
constituting a family-size farm of five (5) hectares if not irrigated and three (3) hectares if irrigated;

In all cases, the landowner may retain an area of not more than seven (7) hectares if such landowner is
cultivating such area or will now cultivate it;

For the purpose of determining the cost of the land to be transferred to the tenant-farmer pursuant to this
Decree, the value of the land shall be equivalent to two and one-half (2 1/2) times the average harvest of three
normal crop years immediately preceding the promulgation of this Decree;

The total cost of the land, including interest at the rate of six (6) per centum per annum, shall be paid by the
tenant in fifteen (15) years of fifteen (15) equal annual amortizations;

In case of default, the amortization due shall be paid by the farmers' cooperative in which the defaulting tenant-
farmer is a member, with the cooperative having a right of recourse against him;

The government shall guaranty such amortizations with shares of stock in government-owned and government-
control corporation; Hi hello
No title to the land owned by the tenant-farmers under this Decree shall be actually issued to a tenant-farmer
unless and until the tenant-farmer has become a full-fledged member of a duly recognized farmer's cooperative;

Title to land acquired pursuant to this Decree or the Land Reform Program of the Government shall not be
transferable except by hereditary succession or to the Government in accordance with the provisions of this
Decree, the Code of Agrarian Reforms and other existing laws and regulations;

The Department of Agrarian Reform through its Secretary is hereby empowered to promulgate rules and
regulations for the implementation of this Decree.

All laws, executive orders, decrees and rules and regulations, or parts thereof, inconsistent with this Decree are
hereby repealed and or modified accordingly.

Done in the City of Manila, this 21st day of October, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-two.

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Introduction & Quick Facts

Land

Relief

Drainage

Soils

Climate

Plant and animal life

People

Ethnic groups

Languages

Religion

Settlement patterns

Demographic trends

Economy

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

Resources and power

Manufacturing

Finance

Trade

Services

Labour and taxation

Transportation and telecommunications

Government and society

Constitutional framework

Local government

Justice

Political process

Security

Health and welfare

Housing

Education
Cultural life

Cultural milieu

Daily life and social customs

The arts

Cultural institutions

Sports and recreation

Media and publishing

History

Pre-Spanish history

The Spanish period

The 19th century

The Philippine Revolution

The period of U.S. influence

World War II

The early republic

The Marcos and early post-Marcos era

Martial law

The downfall of Marcos and return of democratic government

The Philippines since c. 1990

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Martial law

In September 1972 Marcos declared martial law, claiming that it was the last defense against the rising disorder
caused by increasingly violent student demonstrations, the alleged threats of communist insurgency by the new
Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), and the Muslim separatist movement of the Moro National Liberation
Front (MNLF). One of his first actions was to arrest opposition politicians in Congress and the Constitutional
Convention. Initial public reaction to martial law was mostly favourable except in Muslim areas of the south,
where a separatist rebellion, led by the MNLF, broke out in 1973. Despite halfhearted attempts to negotiate a
cease-fire, the rebellion continued to claim thousands of military and civilian casualties. Communist insurgency
expanded with the creation of the National Democratic Front (NDF), an organization embracing the CPP and
other communist groups.
Ferdinand E. Marcos, 1972.

Slim Aarons/Getty Images

Under martial law the regime was able to reduce violent urban crime, collect unregistered firearms, and
suppress communist insurgency in some areas. At the same time, a series of important new concessions were
given to foreign investors, including a prohibition on strikes by organized labour, and a land-reform program was
launched. In January 1973 Marcos proclaimed the ratification of a new constitution based on the parliamentary
system, with himself as both president and prime minister. He did not, however, convene the interim legislature
that was called for in that document.

General disillusionment with martial law and with the consolidation of political and economic control by Marcos,
his family, and close associates grew during the 1970s. Despite growth in the country’s gross national product,
workers’ real income dropped, few farmers benefited from land reform, and the sugar industry was in
confusion. The precipitous drop in sugar prices in the early 1980s coupled with lower prices and less demand for
coconuts and coconut products—traditionally the most important export commodity—added to the country’s
economic woes; the government was forced to borrow large sums from the international banking community.
Also troubling to the regime, reports of widespread corruption began to surface with increasing frequency.

Elections for an interim National Assembly were finally held in 1978. The opposition—of which the primary
group was led by the jailed former senator Benigno S. Aquino, Jr.—produced such a bold and popular campaign
that the official results, which gave Marcos’s opposition virtually no seats, were widely believed to have been
illegally altered. In 1980 Aquino was allowed to go into exile in the United States, and the following year, after
announcing the suspension of martial law, Marcos won a virtually uncontested election for a new six-year term.

Ferdinand Marcos waving, 1983.

A1C Virgil C. Zurbruegg//U.S. Department of Defense

The downfall of Marcos and return of democratic government

Advertisement

The assassination of Benigno Aquino as he returned to Manila in August 1983 was generally thought to have
been the work of the military; it became the focal point of a renewed and more heavily supported opposition to
Marcos’s rule. By late 1985 Marcos, under mounting pressure both inside and outside the Philippines, called a
snap presidential election for February 1986. Corazon C. Aquino, Benigno’s widow, became the candidate of a
coalition of opposition parties. Marcos was declared the official winner, but strong public outcry over the
election results precipitated a revolt that by the end of the month had driven Marcos from power. Aquino then
assumed the presidency.

Aquino, Corazon
Corazon Aquino (right), 1986.

Gerald B. Johnson/U.S. Department of Defense

Aquino’s great personal popularity and widespread international support were instrumental in establishing the
new government. Shortly after taking office, she abolished the constitution of 1973 and began ruling by decree.
A new constitution was drafted and was ratified in February 1987 in a general referendum; legislative elections
in May 1987 and the convening of a new bicameral congress in July marked the return of the form of
government that had been present before the imposition of martial law in 1972.

Euphoria over the ouster of Marcos proved to be short-lived, however. The new government had inherited an
enormous external debt, a severely depleted economy, and a growing threat from Moro and communist
insurgents. The Aquino administration also had to weather considerable internal dissension, repeated coup
attempts, and such natural disasters as a major earthquake and the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo. The
resumption of active partisan politics, moreover, was the beginning of the end of the coalition that had brought
Aquino to power. Pro-Aquino candidates had won a sweeping victory in the 1987 legislative elections, but there
was less support for her among those elected to provincial and local offices in early 1988. By the early 1990s the
criticisms against her administration—i.e., charges of weak leadership, corruption, and human rights abuses—
had begun to stick.

Clark Air Base

Buildings and vegetation at Clark Air Base, Philippines, destroyed by a thick, wet layer of ash following the
gigantic explosion of Mount Pinatubo on June 15, 1991.

Willie Scott/U.S. Geological Survey

Gregorio C. Borlaza

The Philippines since c. 1990

The presidential election of May 1992, in which Aquino was not a candidate, was a seven-way race in which the
winner, Fidel Ramos, received less than 24 percent of the overall vote. Ramos was a former army chief of staff
and defense minister under Aquino; he was unpopular in some quarters because he had headed the agency
charged with enforcing martial law under Marcos before turning against Marcos to give crucial support to
Aquino in 1986. Some observers had wryly noted during the election that the winner might come to envy the
losers, and indeed Ramos inherited the onus of having to deal with insurgencies from the right and the left, a
severe energy crisis that produced daily electricity outages, an infrastructure in decay, a large foreign debt, and
the troubles of a population half of whom lived in deep poverty.

The Ramos administration remedied the energy crisis and proceeded to create a hospitable environment for
economic recovery. Peace was successfully negotiated with the military rebels and the MNLF; it proved to be
more elusive with the NDF. A more open economy was created through a series of macroeconomic reforms.
Consequently, by the time of the Asian financial crisis that swept the region in 1997, the Philippine economy was
stable enough to escape serious damage. A proactive foreign and security policy prevented the deterioration of
relations with China, one of several countries with which the Philippines disputed a claim to certain islands and
islets in the South China Sea. Ramos’s foreign policy also earned positive diplomatic gains for the country
abroad.

The election of Joseph Ejercito Estrada—former movie star, mayor of a small town in Metro Manila, senator, and
vice president under Ramos—to the presidency in May 1998 brought a reversal of many of the economic,
political, and diplomatic accomplishments of the Ramos administration. Although Estrada generally maintained
economic growth and political stability in the first year of his administration, he subsequently came under fire
largely because of his failure to fulfill promises to reduce poverty and to open the economy further to private
enterprise. Estrada was impeached in November 2000, charged with bribery, graft and corruption, betrayal of
the public trust, and culpable violation of the constitution. The refusal of Estrada’s senatorial allies to open an
envelope that allegedly held evidence against him during the impeachment trial triggered a popular revolt; the
uprisings ultimately led to Estrada’s ouster, subsequent arrest, detention, and trial before the Sandiganbayan,
the country’s corruption court.

In January 2001 Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Estrada’s former vice president, was sworn in as the country’s 14th
president. A daughter of former president Diosdado Macapagal with a doctorate in economics, Arroyo was faced
with the challenges of leading a democracy that had remained dominated by the elite, stimulating the economy
to grow faster than the country’s population, providing jobs for an abundance of the country’s large group of
college graduates each year, and relieving poverty. Despite some reduction of poverty, as well as the curbing of
corruption in certain arenas, Arroyo struggled with political instability and widespread crime, including the
increasingly common kidnappings for ransom. She herself became implicated in corruption, which stirred
disillusioned soldiers to attempt a coup in 2003. The coup failed, and Arroyo was reelected to the presidency in
2004. Later allegations of election fixing and an increasingly repressive approach to government, however,
sparked a call for impeachment and another coup plot in 2006; once again the coup failed. Arroyo subsequently
declared a “state of emergency” and banned all public demonstrations. Although the declaration was quickly
lifted, the gesture was broadly perceived as emblematic of authoritarian rule. In September 2007 Estrada, who
had been under house arrest outside of Manila since 2001, was convicted on additional graft charges and given
a life sentence; however, Arroyo soon pardoned him of all charges.

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Lance Cpl. Ethan Hoaldridge/U.S. Marine Corps

Throughout the turmoil in the executive branch, political and economic issues continued to animate the
Philippines in other realms. In the Muslim south, increasingly militant and widespread unrest was a growing
concern. In the north, a concerted movement was under way to reformulate the country’s constitution. In the
international arena, remittances from overseas Filipinos (which have become an important component of the
economy) were jeopardized as neighbouring countries rewrote their laws regarding foreign employment and
threatened to deport undocumented workers.

Carolina G. Hernandez

Gregorio C. Borlaza

In 2009, underscoring the delicacy of the situation in the south, members of a powerful ruling clan in Mindanao
were implicated in a November incident in which a political opponent of the clan and his entourage were
massacred. Until then the Arroyo government had been allied with the clan as a means of counteracting Moro
separatists. However, in early December Arroyo broke with the clan and declared martial law in a portion of
Mindanao—the first time it had been imposed since the Marcos era—precipitating considerable domestic
debate. The decree was lifted several days later, after the government declared it had thwarted a potential
rebellion in Mindanao.

The 2010 presidential and parliamentary elections featured a number of candidates with familiar names.
Benigno S. (“Noynoy”) Aquino III, son of Benigno and Corazon, defeated a field of presidential hopefuls led by
Joseph Estrada. In addition, Arroyo, Imelda Marcos, and boxing star Manny Pacquiao each won seats in the
House of Representatives. In October 2012 Aquino announced the conclusion of a peace deal with the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that would grant a significant degree of autonomy to a Muslim-majority region
on the southern island of Mindanao. The four-decade conflict had claimed roughly 120,000 lives and displaced
some two million people.

Aquino, Benigno, III

Benigno Aquino III.

Bullit Marquez/AP

In early November 2013, large portions of the central Philippines were devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan, a
massive tropical cyclone that cut a broad swath some 500 miles (800 km) long across several islands before
exiting into the South China Sea. Thousands of people were killed, and hundreds of thousands were made
homeless. It was the most severe of several natural calamities to hit the country that year, including typhoons in
August and October and a magnitude-7.1 earthquake, also in October.

Super Typhoon Haiyan destruction

Community devastated in November 2013 by Super Typhoon Haiyan (or Yolanda) along the coast of Panay island
in Iloio province, central Philippines.

Reuters/Landov

Perhaps the most-pressing foreign policy issue for the Philippines in the 2010s was China’s increasingly assertive
posture in the South China Sea. As the Philippines worked to shore up its weak military forces, in 2014 it filed a
case with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. It sought a ruling under the UN Convention on the
Law of the Sea concerning a reef that was within Philippine territorial waters. China claimed ownership of waters
close to the Philippines and in April 2015 began construction of an artificial island at Fiery Cross Reef,
heightening tension in the region. In July 2016 the court concluded that there was no evidence of any historical
Chinese claim to the waters, and it ruled that China had violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights. In addition, it
stated that China’s island-building program had caused serious environmental damage. Officials from the
Philippines greeted the decision, but China dismissed the ruling, claiming that the court lacked both jurisdiction
and any kind of enforcement mechanism.

Spratly Islands: claim

Philippine residents of one of the Spratly Islands displaying a banner asserting the Philippines' claim to the
island, July 2011.

Rolex Dela Pena/AP

On the domestic front, a crowded field in the 2016 presidential election was headed by Rodrigo Duterte, the
longtime mayor of Davao City. Duterte rode to the top of the polls with incendiary populist rhetoric and a broad
anticorruption platform; he was elected president on May 9, 2016. Duterte had campaigned on a promise to
execute 100,000 criminals, and upon his inauguration in June, there was a dramatic spike in extrajudicial killings
of suspected illegal drug dealers.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

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