A Brief Narrative on a Few Notable Events in Philippine History Pre to Post Martial Law

The Philippines was still a relatively new democracy. Marcos, having defeated the
incumbent President Diosdado Macapagal, has showed inspiration and drive, to bring
the Philippines into a new direction.

The first years of his term, before the acclaimed Martial Law, has somewhat been
overlooked, and less known.

The Philippines, being the young democracy it was, during the early 70s, was going
through a lot of change. Diosdado Macapagal, the former President, has stimulated the
economy, and has made efforts to enhance trade on an international level, paving way
for many projects and developments to come, before the Martial Law.

The Philippines under Marcos saw a lot of developments involving agricultural

advancements like irrigation, public works like roads, schools and other buildings.

On the international scale, the Philippines has been involved in disputes over the islands
of Sabbah, and have also become a founding member of the ASEAN.

We were also said to have been known as the Tiger of Asia,  as well as an economic
power house of some sort, and that the Philippines was the "Richest Country in Asia"
during that time while other sources dispute and downplay this as they point out that
the Philippine economy has already started to fall around the 80s, transitioning the title
to "Sick Man of Asia".

Based on GDP per capita, the Philippines, in 1965, according to the World Bank, placed
3rd highest, next to Singapore and Malaysia, then went down to 5th place, later on
during Martial law.

The Philippines as well has also been involved in the Korean and Vietnam wars, in which
our troops gallantly fought. We even accepted refugees from Vietnam, and offered
them asylum.

The wars around our Asian neighbors, as well as the red-scare happening in the western
world, continues to worsen this increasing paranoia.
With mysterious bombings and perceived chaos arising in the Philippines, with the
Miranda Bombing eventually leading to events like the First Quarter Storm, a reason to
suspended rights such as the Writ of Habeas Corpus, and ultimately, a Declaration of
Martial Law, on September 21, 1972.

This period of time included new restrictions such as curfews and the like. The new era,
supposedly crafted to purge communist insurgents, has lead to witch-hunts, rallies,
abuse, torture and chaos of all kind.

The events that transpired has inspired movements against the dictatorial
administration and the many said abuses performed by the military, and the para-
military group, known as the Police Constabulary, or the "PCs".

Such abuses were said to have victimized Pilipinos of various walks in life, ranging from
elderly professors to farmers, women and mothers, to teenage and college students.

The economy, once healthy, has started do decline, as more and more projects are
executed, which are said to be a source of pork-barrel and corruption for the
Administration's cronies.

These ambitious projects, involved the  structures like the Cultural Center of the
Philippines (built pre-Martial Law), the Philippine Heart Center, Bataan Nuclear Power
Plant, Philippine Science High School, and the Children's Medical Center, built from the
very early to late seventies.

In order to stop the support of communist China from supporting the armed struggle
staged by the Communist Party of the Philippines, Marcos went to Beijing to talk to Mao
Zedong, wherein he gleaned the support and recognition from the Chinese Government,
therefore leaving the CPP-NPA-NDF on their own.

The Martial Law period also saw the rise of the "New Society" and the birth of the
"Kabataang Barangay" which is now known to be the Sangguniang Kabataan, or the SK
Council. The Barangay itself, was reinstated under Martial Law, under Presidential
Decree No. 557, as these small units of government were formerly used the Spanish
term "barrio" instead of the more nationalistically-inclined "barangay".

The beginning of the end of Martial Law has been rather a phenomenal one, with the
assassination of Senator Aquino widely acclaimed to be the spark that caused a
spectacular peaceful revolution.

Snap elections were held as the candidate opposing the dictator, the widowed Corazon
Aquino, wife of Ninoy Aquino, has been said to be unjustly sidelined, as Marcos was said
to still win the elections. There were two inaugurations, with one being significantly
more patronized than the other, in which the effort to oust the Dictator from power,
has now been lead, by this strong leader from the opposition.

The EDSA Revolution, doubling as a historical event and as a miracle, has been a
confeontation of many Filipinos of all walks of life, against the tyrant Dictator's army.

In a flash the authoritarian figure that gripped the country longest, has finally let go of
power as he was exiled to Hawaii.

The Philippines, drowned in debt and poverty, needed to  rise up once more, and
become new again. Martial Law has already ended, and that Democracy has once again
been restored.

With poverty brewing, with the economy in decline, Cory Aquino then President, flew to
the United States where she gave a speech in US Congress, where we hear her say that
"I [Aquino] feel the pressing obligation to respond quickly as the leader of a people so
deserving of all these things [food, employment, etc]"

It is in this speech that She describes her husband's gruelling ordeal, the nation's
hardships, while clarifying her stance against communism.

With the Communist insurgency inflating from 500 to 16,000 troops because of martial
law Cory Aquino points out that "there is a lesson here to be learned about trying to
stifle a thing with the means by which it grows" where the movement indeed, did grow
in strength and numbers.

This speech, as historic as it was, was able to convince the United States, to glean a $
200 million aid appropriation to the Philippines, where this large donation would be
intended to be used for rebuilding the country.

With how the country was in shambles, and with the chaos that has ensued, a need for
a constitution has arisen. Considering the Malolos Constitution in 1899 to be our first,
we have already had 6 constitutions as of this writing.
Under the Martial Law, and under the Marcos administration, a new constitution has
been framed, and supposedly ratified, despite the many challenges that has been made
against it. Known as the 1973 Constitution, the Aquino Administration saw the beggining
of its replacement in 1986, as we saw the birth of the 1987 Constitution - the very same
constitution we adhere to up to this very day.

Sources:

Official Gazette of the Philippines

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/constitution-day/

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1986/09/18/speech-of-president-corazon-aquino-
during-the-joint-session-of-the-u-s-congress-september-18-1986/

House of Representatives

http://www.congress.gov.ph/legisdocs/basic_16/HB02321.pdf

Britannica

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Diosdado-Macapagal

Rappler Philippines

(https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/fact-check/philippine-economy-got-worse-after-
marcos-ousted)

Esquire Philippines

https://www.esquiremag.ph/politics/news/revisit-cory-aquino-s-historic-1986-speech-
before-the-us-congress-a00207-20180125
Joseph Scalice

https://www.josephscalice.com/2019/09/mao-welcomes-imelda-marcos-to-china/

The LawPhil Project, Arellano Law Foundation

https://lawphil.net/statutes/presdecs/pd1974/pd_557_1974.html