The reformist opposition, also The government’s use of Martial Law also faced opposition

known as the legal opposition, communist and secessionist from the religious sector.
was composed of members of the threats as justification for Martial Mainline Protestant churches have
upper-middle class. Law only contributed to the been vocal in their opposition of
growth of the political opposition the dictatorship since 1972; by
and the amassing of recruits to the 1978, they were holding mass
New People’s Army (NPA) and protest actions, and by 1981, they
the Moro National Liberation held boycott campaigns for the
Front (MNLF) in the provinces in April plebiscite and the June
the 1970s. presidential elections. Meanwhile
the Catholic Church, which
sympathized with Marcos’ anti-
communism, maintained a
position of “critical collaboration”
while paying attention to the
opposition among its members.
This allowed it a degree of
autonomy when it came to
carrying out their social projects,
which focused on alleviating
poverty and defending the poor
against communism. However,
the provincial clergy started
becoming radicalized after seeing
the effects of the Marcos
dictatorship on the poor.
They had different reasons why The group which was composed They feel that the actions of
they opposed because they were of many like the CPP also made President Marcos were against the
not united movement but an “anti-imperialist” alliances with rights of a human.
amalgamation of different middle nationalist senators like Lorenzo
and upper-class groups who had Tañada and Jose Diokno, who
different motives. All in all to could lend credibility and
bring down the Marcos Regime. publicity to claims of the Marcos
government’s human rights
violations. To bring the downfall
of the Marshall Law as well as
President Marcos.
Using nonviolent tactics, they When Martial Law was declared, They formed Christians for
advocated political (not the Moro National Liberation National Liberation, which
necessarily socioeconomic) Front (MNLF) was immediately clandestinely used Church “social
reforms. mobilized. Formed by students action” programs to get foreign
and politicians from Mindanao, its funding through private donor
goal was to create the Bangsa agencies that shared the same
Moro Republik (Moro National views.
Republic), composed of
Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan.
The Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) attempted to
 seize their “illegal” firearms
supplied by Libya, sparking a war
that lasted from 1973 to 1977.

1. 1
2. 3
3. 2
4. 4
5. 5
ACTIVITY4. PRACTICE EXERCISE
1. Why did Marcos call for a snap election?
- It was an attempt to consolidate support and show the United States the legitimacy of the Marcos
administration.
- It was also a way for Marcos to gain back the trust of the Filipino people as well as his political
power since his regime was declining.
2. How did the snap election fail?
- The opposition against Marcos was Cory Aquino and she had the support of Millions of Filipino
citizens.
- Massive poll fraud and rampant cheating marred the vote on the day of the elections. Thousands
of registered voters found their names missing from lists. This debauchery showed blatant
manipulation of electoral results, which in turn showed Aquino on the lead by 70% of the voters
canvassed.
3. What was the goal of the supposed coup planned by the RAM?
- It’s intent on strengthening military rule though a coup d’etat.
- It was composed of Defense Military Juan Ponce Enrile and handful of regular officers from the
Philippine Military Academy (PMA), who harbored resentment against General Fabian Ver, the
Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
4. Why was the EDSA People Power considered as a peaceful revolution?
- Thousands of people amassed at Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), Metro Manila’s
Main thorough are, calling for the peaceful ouster of the Dictator.

ACTIVITY 5. GUIDED PRACTICE

Summarize in three to five sentence how each factors contributed to the downfall of Marcos.
Popular anti-Marcos sentiment existed for the duration of Martial Law. According to David Wurfel.
There were three paramount types of opposition to martial law during the 1970s: reformist opposition,
revolutionary opposition, and religious opposition. These factions were the ones who helped with the
downfall of Marcos by operating in their own way.
As early as 1979, the health of President Marcos had been deteriorating. This was kept a secret at
first, but it was common knowledge then that Marcos was already sick, especially at the time of the
assassination of Ninoy Aquino. Marcos’ failing health, coupled with the looming threat from the anti-
capitalist left, led to widespread concern for a stable succession among the country’s economic elite
—the main beneficiaries of Martial Law’s crony capitalism.
 Economist James Boyce commented, “If the central aim of economic development is the reduction of
poverty, then the Philippine development strategy in the Marcos era was an abysmal failure.This was
so, despite the fact that the Marcos administration implemented its three-pronged development
strategy: The green revolution in agriculture, growth and diversity in agricultural and forestry exports,
and massive external borrowing. These operations “amount to a significant and growing drain on the
economy of the country.
After three years of exile in the United States, Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., the foremost leader of the
Marcos opposition, decided to come back to the Philippines, intending to restore democracy in the
country and convince President Marcos for an orderly succession. Previously, Aquino had been
incarcerated by the military for seven years before being released for bypass surgery in the United
States. This singular event further eroded the people’s support of the Marcos regime.
In the first week of November 1985, when President Marcos was interviewed in the David Brinkley
Show, he stated his intention to call for a snap election, even going so far as to invite the members of
the US Congress to observe, calling the accusation of fraud as unfounded. Massive poll fraud and
rampant cheating marred the vote on the day of the elections, February 7, 1986. Thousands of
registered voters—who had voted successfully in previous elections—found their names suspiciously
missing from the lists.
The Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) emerged in 1982 as a small, secret group intent on
strengthening military rule through a coup d’état. The divide between PMA-trained regulars and
officers from the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) was already evident in the early years of
Martial Law. By the middle of the year, the RAM went public, yet popular suspicion regarding the
movement’s integrity arose due to its inclusion of former military torturers.s

ACTIVITY 6. WINDSHIELD CHECK

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2. 2
3. 6
4. 7
5. 9
6. 5
7. 8
8. 10
9. 4
10. 1