Professional Documents
Culture Documents
XIII. Ferdinand Marcos
XIII. Ferdinand Marcos
Marcos
( 1965 – 1986 )
Ferdinand Marcos was born on September 11, 1917 in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte,
the eldest among the three children of Mariano Marcos, a lawyer and an
Assemblyman of Ilocos Norte and Josefa Quetulio Edralin, a teacher.
Named by his parents after King Ferdinand of Spain,
He was baptized as an Aglipayan by Bishop Gregorio Aglipay himself.
He was of mixed Ilocano (Filipino ethnic group), Chinese and Japanese ancestry.
His first teachers were his parents.
He started his primary education in Sarrat Central School, transferred to
Shamrock Elementary School (Laoag), and completed his primary education in
1929 at the Ermita Elementary School (Manila)
When his father was elected as an Assemblyman in the Philippine Congress. He
entered and finished his secondary education at the University of the Philippines
High School from 1929 to 1933.
He joined the Upsilon Sigma Phi Fraternity in college.
Marcos died in Honolulu on September 28, 1989, of kidney, heart and lung
ailments.
2. Scholastic Achievements
At the end of World War II, Marcos became a member of the Philippine Veteran's
Commission, and later on became a technical assistant to Manuel Roxas, the first
president of the independent Philippine republic.
He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959, serving as
minority floor leader at some point and acting temporary President of the Liberal
Party in 1957.
He was one of the legislators who had established a record for having introduced
a number of significant bills, many of which found their way into the Republic
statute books.
In 1959, he ran for a seat in the Senate and obtained the highest number of votes,
the first minority party candidate to top a senatorial election.
He was a member of the Senate from 1959 to 1965, serving as its president from
1963 to 1965.
He became the youngest member of the House of Representatives.
In 1965 when he ran for president under the Nacionalista Party and defeated
Macapagal by a large margin.
Ferdinand Marcos was the topnotcher in the senatorial elections in 1959 and was
Senate President from 1959-1965.
4. Presidency
December 30, 1965 – Ferdinand Marcos took his oath of office as the sixth
President of the Third Philippine Republic.
At the beginning of his administration, President Marcos was beset by serious
problems. The National Treasury was almost empty because of the extravagance
of the Macapagal administration.
The government was short for funds for essential services including Education,
health, National Defense, Social Welfare and infrastructure.
Among the achievements of President Marcos during his first term ( 1965- 1969)
were the following:
1. Stabilization of government finance by means of more effective collection
of taxes, imposing new tax laws, and getting loans from foreign banks and
governments.
2. Greater production of rice by promoting the cultivation of “miracle rice”
and other fast growing rice seeds, the construction of more irrigation
systems, and giving financial and technical assistance to farmers.
3. Building of more roads and bridges, schoolhouses and public works. The
Philippine National Railways was also improved to foster land
transportation.
4. Intensive drive against smuggling, crime syndicates, and the communist
New People’s Army (NPA).
5. Holding of the Manila Summit Conference on October 24- 25, 1966,
attended by the heads of State of Australia, South Korea, New Zealand,
Philippines, South Vietnam, Thailand and the United States.
Marcos Wins Reelection (1969)
The Filipino people were satisfied by President Marcos’ performance during his
first term.
November 14, 1967 – The Nacionalista Party won a sweeping victory in
the local election. ( 8 senators and all local officials)
Benigno “Niinoy” Aquino Jr. – (former governor of Tarlac); The only
Liberal senatorial candidate that has been elected and the youngest of all
senatorial aspirants at the age of 34.
November 11, 1969 – The Nacionalista victory was repeated in the
Presidential election when President Marcos and Vice President Lopez
were elected again by the people.
The reelection of President Marcos in 1969 was unprecedented in the political
annals of the Philippine Republic.
He was the only president of the Philippines to be re elected for a second
term
He was the first Philippine President to take his oath of office in the
native language on December 30, 1969. All his predecessors took their
oath of office in English Language.
Second Term (1969 – 1986)
Since the Philippines achieved postwar independence in July 1946, there emerged
a persistent movement to change the Constitution of 1935. its defects became
apparent, as follows:
Foreign Relations
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.
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.
Socio-cultural Conditions
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.
Educational Development
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 known 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.
SCANDALS
On November 11, 1970, the whole nation was shocked when American actress Dovie
Beams called a press conference, bringing with her a tape recorder containing erotic murmurs,
moans and the genuine voice of President Marcos while making love with Beams.
Her affair with Marcos, although secretly guarded by the presidential aides, was finally
pushed to the public spotlight after Beams received several death threats. Marcos then denied all
allegations, even putting Beams to shame by branding her as a “psychiatry case” and releasing a
nude Polaroid photographs of her in the newspapers.
In turn, Beams released more sex tapes as well as clippings of the president’s pubic hair.
2. Declaration of Martial Law
September 21, 1972 – Pres. Marcos signed the Proclamation 1081 which placed the
entire country under the military. This marked the beginning of the Marcos
dictatorship.
September 23, 1972 – exactly 7:30pm. Marcos declared Martial Law on nationwide
radio and television.
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
The NPA killer squads were called Sparrow Units. They were feared in the areas
under their control. They also imposed taxed in their territories.
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.
January 17, 1981 - martial law was formally lifted by virtue of Proclamation No.
2045, as a precondition to the visit of Pope John Paul II.
Although this paved the way for a more open democracy, the government retained
much of its power for arrest and detention. He stepped down as prime minister
and ran for election as the first president of the Fourth Republic of the
Philippines.
The constitution had been significantly amended to provide foor a more or less
presidential system once again.
August 1, 1971 – The bloodiest act of Violence in Marcos regime, where the Liberal
Party had Political rally. 8 persons were killed and over 100 others injure.
January 11, 1972 – the suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus was lifted to maintain
peace and order.
When martial law was proclaimed, the first politician to be arrested by the
military on order of Ferdinand Marcos was Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. Aquino, a
popular political leader, spent nearly eight years in a military detention cell at Fort
Bonifacio.
In 1980, Marcos allowed Aquino to leave the country to enable him to undergo an
emergency heart bypass operation in the United States.
1983 - Aquino decided to come home, the government tried to stop him, claiming
that there were some people who wanted to kill him.
August 21, 1983, the China Air Lines jetliner carrying him landed at the Manila
International Airport at about 10:00 p.m., As Aquino and his military escorts
were going down a stairway, a shot was heard, followed later by more shots. After
a while, Aquino laid dead on the airport tarmac.
Rolando Galman - was pointed as Aquino's "assassin."
The assassination of Aquino was reported to have awakened the Filipinos to the
evils of Marcos as a dictator. Millions of Filipinos who sympathized with Aquino
bereaved family, joined the funeral march to mourn for the death of an intelligent
leader and to express their feelings against Marcos.
The Aquino assassination gave Marcos a bad image abroad, Public opinion in the
United States went against Marcos. President Reagan of the United States
cancelled his state visit to the Philippines.
October 14, 198 - President Marcos issued PD 1886 creating a five-man
independent body to investigate the Aquino assassination. Headed by Mrs.
Corazon Juliano Agrava, a retired Court of Appeals Justice, the investigation
body came to be known as the Agrava-Fact-Finding Board (AFFB).
President Marcos referred the two reports to the Sandiganbayan for trial. The trial
began in Feb. 1985, and was presided over by Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice
Manuel Pamaran. This trial became known as "Trial of the Century".
On December 2, 1985, the Sandiganbayan handed down its decision. The tribunal
ruled that the 26 accused were innocent and that it was Galman who was hired by
the communist who killed Aquino.
While a law student, he was arrested and tried for the murder in 1933 of Julio
Nalundasan, a political opponent of his politician father.
Judge Roman Cruz of Laoag Provincial Court of First Instance found Marcos
guilty as charged and sentenced to imprisonment. He was offered a pardon by
President Manuel Quezon, but turned it down.
After posting bail, he took the bar exam and emerged topnotcher, obtaining one of
the highest scores in history.
He then appealed his own case and was allowed to defend himself before
the Supreme Court of the Philippines under Chief Justice Jose P. Laurel.
He won acquittal a year later and became a trial lawyer in Manila.
6. LEGACY