PRE COLONIOAL PERIOD

 The earliest records of Filipino history begins in the year 900 and ends with
Spanish colonization in 1565.
 City-states were divided into strict social classes, with the ruling class largely
known as datu and the lowest class of alipin, with local dialect variations such as
timuay (Zamboanga, datu)
 The earliest records of contact between civilizations was with Chinese traders in
982, and Islam was introduced by Sultanates in 1380.
 In the early 1500s, the Bruneian Empire invades the Kingdom of Tondo (Luzon)
which further influences the islands under Islam until the arrival of Spaniards.
 No democracy is present during this period, with both city states and Sultanates
leading under monarchies or chieftaincies.
 The Filipinos lived in settlements called barangays before the colonization of the
Philippines by the Spaniards. As the unit of government, a barangay consisted of
30 to 100 families. It was headed by a datu and was independent from the other
group.
 Several barangays settled near each other to help one another in case of war or
any emergency. Laws are written and announced to the whole barangay by a
town crier, called umalohokan.
 LEADERS:
 DATU - Responsibilities include: governing his people, leading them in
war, and protecting them from enemies. The position of datu is passed on
to the eldest son, or if none, the eldest daughter. However, later, any
could be chosen, based on their talent and ability.
 CHALLENGES:
 During the pre-colonial period, the Philippines was
 too democratic that it lead to colonization.
 our laws and practices back then was not that firm and clear.
 also, in trading is where the early Filipinos were too open that it
invited many opportunities to many loop holes that can be exploited
SPANISH PERIOD
 DEMOCRACY AND HISTORY OF THE SPANISH PERIOD
o There was no Democracy at that time
o What happened from year 1521-1598
o Spain's objectives towards the colonization in the Philippines.
  What type of Government did they have?
o National government
o Local Government
o Provincial Government, City Government, Municipal Government
 How Filipinos fought for Freedom and Democracy
o KATINPUNAN - In 1892 Filipinos interested in the overthrow of Spanish
rule founded an organization following Masonic rites and principles to
organize armed resistance and terrorist assassinations within a context of
total secrecy. It operated as an alternative Filipino government complete
with a president and cabinet.
o The KKK members agreed on the following objectives:
 The political goal was to completely separate the Philippines from
Spain after declaring the country’s independence.
 The moral goal was to teach the Filipinos good manners, cleanliness,
hygiene, fine morals, and how to guard themselves against religious
fanaticism..
 The civic goal was to encourage Filipinos to help themselves and to
defend the poor oppressed.
 Leaders who fought for democracy
o Ferdinand Magellan
o Emilio Aguinaldo
o Miguel Lopez de Legazpi

AMERICAN PERIOD
 HOW WAS DEMOCRACY FOUGHT BY FILIPINOS DURING THIS PERIOD?
o DECEMBER 21, 1898 - ON DECEMBER 21, 1898, PRESIDENT
McKINLEY ISSUED A PROCLAMATION OF BENEVOLENT
ASSIMILATION
o JANUARY 1, 1899 - IN JANUARY 1, 1899, 6,000 FILIPINO TROOPS
REFUSED THE AMERICAN FORCES TO LAND ON ILOILO, UNLESS
THE OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT OF LUZON ORDERED THEM
o JANUARY 6, 1899 - ON JANUARY 6, FELIPE AGONCILLIO FILED A
REQUEST FOR AN INTERVIEW WITH THE PRESIDENT TO DISCUSS
AFFAIRS IN THE PHILIPPINES
o JANUARY 8-10, 1899 - AN ATTACK & A PEACEFUL SOLUTION
o FEBRUARY 4, 1899 – DECLARATION ABOUT PEACE AND FRIENDLY
RELATIONS
 o JUNE 2, 1899 - MALOLOS CONGRESS ENACTED AND RATIFIED A
DECLARATION OF WAR ON THE UNITED STATES
o MARCH 31, 1899 - THE FILIPINO REBELS DID NOT DO WELL IN THE
FIELD. AGUINALDO AND HIS PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT
ESCAPED AFTER THE CAPTURE OF MALOLOS ON MARCH 31, 1899
AND WERE DRIVEN INTO NORTHERN LUZON.
o 1901 - , AGUINALDO WAS CAPTURED AND SWORE ALLEGIANCE TO
THE UNITED STATES, MARKING ONE END TO THE WAR.
 WILLIAM McKINLEY
o MCKINLEY AUTHORIZED AN OFFER OF A GOVERNMENT
CONSISTING OF "A GOVERNOR-GENERAL APPOINTED BY THE
PRESIDENT; CABINET APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL;
AND GENERAL ADVISORY COUNCIL ELECTED BY THE PEOPLE."
THE REVOLUTIONARY CONGRESS VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO
CEASE FIGHTING AND ACCEPT PEACE AND, ON MAY 8, THE
REVOLUTIONARY CABINET HEADED BY APOLINARIO MABINI WAS
REPLACED BY A NEW "PEACE" CABINET HEADED BY PEDRO
PATERNO.
 WHO WERE THE LEADERS?
o EMILIO AGUINALDO
o MANUEL L. QUEZON
o GENERAL JACOB H. SMITH
 WHAT WERE THE CHALLENGES TO DEMOCRACY?
o Education was not widespread, the elite and the educated benefitted most
from the system instituted from the US
o THE DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM THAT DEVELOPED DID NOT
REPRESENT MOST OF THE POPULATION WORLD WAR 2
INTERRUPTED THE MILITARY TRAINING AND EDUCATION
PROGRAM.
 THE GOVERNMENTS O
JAPANESE PERIOD
HISTORY:
The Japanese occupied the Commonwealth of the Philippines between 1942 and 1945
during World War II. The invasion of the Philippines started on 8 December 1941, ten
hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. American aircrafts were severely damaged in the
initial attack. The 76,000 American and Filipino defenders in Bataan surrendered on
April 9, 1942, and were forced to endure the Bataan Death March on which 7,000–
10,000 died or were murdered. Most of the Philippine elite, with a few notable
exceptions, served under the Japanese. They also imposed curfews, ordered that if
anyone opposes them or accused of going against the Japanese were punished and
killed. Throughout the Philippines more than a thousand women, some being under the
age of 18, were imprisoned as "comfort women", kept in sexual slavery for Japanese
military personnel during the occupation. Japan occupied the Philippines for over three
years.
HOW WAS DEMOCRACY FOUGHT BY THE FILIPINOS DURING THIS PERIOD?
(December 7 1941), As soldier’s invaded Manila, General McArthur decided to declare
that Manila will be an open city to avoid its destruction and unnecessary blood shed
General Douglas McArthur and his American and Filipino soldiers fought the Japanese
colonization in Bataan but the resistance unfortunately failed and ended in (April 9 ,
1942). General McArthur left the country as last resort with his last words “I shall return”.
Alive soldiers left in Bataan were forced to carry out the famous 106km Bataan Death
March
During the chaos a group was formed (March 29 1042) and named HUKBALAHAP
(Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon) – A guerilla and fighting force of the Filipinos
against the Japanese. It’s a group compose of some farmers and some death March
survivors is led by Luis Taruc. This group were considered to be successful as they
were able to kill a lot of Japanese soldiers.
(Ocatober 20 1944) General Douglas McArthur returned as he promised and said
“People of the Philippines, I have returned” they then successfully captured Leyte after
a fierce battle in Leyte Gulf. (January 1945) his force attacked Luzon and after three
months General McArthur successfully conquered Luzon.
General McArthur then continuously liberated other parts of the country and slowly got
rid of the Japanese soldiers all over the Philippines. (July 4 1955) Successfully liberated
the Philippines from the Japanese.
WHO WERE THE LEADERS?
- JOSE YULO
- QUINTIN PARADES
- CLARO M RECTO
- ANTONIO DE LAS ALAS
- BENIGNO AQUINO SR
- JOSE P LAUREL
- The following commissioners formed the PEC (PHILIPPINE EXECUTIVE
COMMISION): Benigno Aquino, Sr. (Department of Interior), Antonio de las Alas
(Finance), Rafael Alunan (Farming and Trade), Jose P. Laurel (Justice), Claro M.
Recto (Education, Health and Public), Quintin Paredes(Working and
Communication). The courts are under the jurisdiction of the Commander-in-
 Chief of the Japanese Army. Jose Yulo served as Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court .
- KALIBAPI is the acronym for "Kapisanan sa Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas". -
It was the only political party that is allow to exist during the japanese
WHAT WERE THE CHALLENGES OF DEMOCRACY?
There was no democracy during this period because the Japanese authorities
immediately began organizing a new government structure and established a military
administration in the Philippines through which they directed civil affairs until October of
1943. The structure of the government during that time was the Japanese-sponsored
Philippine Republic and was a puppet state - where in it is controlled by the government
of another country and exercises their directions. Basically, the Japanese had full
authority and control over the Republic of the Philippines. This also means that the
challenges that the Filipinos had to face were extreme deprivation, the presence of the
military was always there, shortages of their needs like food and clothing, their sources
of income were from buying and selling, and they had to live in fear and just trying to
survive.
OTHER INFORMATIONS:
 It really created an effect on them that the nation divided themselves into pro-
Japanese groups and anti-Japanese groups.
 Some Filipinos were pro-Japanese in mentality because they believed that the
Japanese came as liberators who came to free their Asian brothers from the
western imperialists. As the Philippine Commonwealth and the Americans sided
with the landed politicians, many poor farmers sided with the Japanese to
become the Ganap and later the MAKAPILI.
 It was OK to collaborate with the enemy and one may even be rewarded as
many of the Philippine postwar leaders were collaborators while if one is not with
the big time, he suffered imprisonment.
 Patriotism was killed with the Japanese occupation and the so-called liberation
because to collaborate with the enemy is to be rewarded and admired.
 Manila was occupied by the Japanese on January 2, 1942. MacArthur retreated
with his troops to Bataan while the commonwealth government withdrew to
Corregidor Island before proceeding to the United States. The joint American and
Filipino soldiers in Bataan finally surrendered on April 9, 1942.
 Japan continues to account for a majority of the country's foreign trade. It has
been the top trading partner of the Philippines for many years. In the first
semester of 2015, Japan accounted for 14.7% or $8.765 billion of the country's
total foreign trade.
 The Philippines had suffered great loss of life and tremendous physical
destruction by the time the war was over. An estimated 527,000 Filipinos, both
military and civilians, had been killed from all causes; of these between 131,000
and 164,000 were killed in seventy-two war crime events.
 After leaving Corregidor, MacArthur and his family traveled by boat 560 miles to
the Philippine island of Mindanao, braving mines, rough seas, and the Japanese
navy.
 During the occupation period, Japanese soldiers and civilians from abroad were
repatriated to Japan, arms industries were dismantled, and political prisoners
were released.
 They wanted to gain power over their neighbors and also to oust American and
European influences from the region. Early in 1941, the western powers were
beginning to pay attention to the situation. America sent troops to the Philippines.
 Manila was declared an open city in December 1941 to avoid its destruction as
Imperial Japan invaded the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
 The Second Philippine Republic was established during the Japanese
occupation of the Philippines. At the outset of the occupation, the Japanese
government established a military administration over the Philippines, as well as
the Philippine Executive Commission, composed of several pre-war Filipino
political leaders.
 By March 1942, the Japanese invasion of the Philippines had compelled
MacArthur to withdraw his forces on Luzon to Bataan, while his headquarters and
his family moved to Corregidor. The doomed defense of Bataan captured the
imagination of the American public.
 When General of the Army Douglas MacArthur pledged to return to the
Philippines as he evacuated the islands early in World War II, he was reported to
have said: “I will return.
 The Philippines played a critical role in American strategy during World War II. ...
After U.S. forces were defeated from the islands, regaining the Philippines
became an important goal, especially for General MacArthur, who had been
forced to evacuate from his headquarters there in 1942 when the Japanese
attacked.
 The Japanese in Manila would not give up easily. In fact, it took 3 weeks of
intense fighting before they finally surrendered on February 23. Gen. MacArthur
continued to liberate other parts of the country. And finally proclaim general
freedom from the Japanese on July 4, 1945.
  Japanese started using propaganda to gain the trust and confidence of Filipinos
who refused to cooperate with them. They hung giant posters and distribute their
materials that contains such slogans as "the Philippines belong to the Filipinos."
they also used newspapers, movies, and others to publicize the same idea.
Promoting Japanese propaganda was one of the main objectives of the
KALIBAPI, but still Japanese failed to gain the trust of the Filipinos.

 TIMELINE OF THE EVENTS:

1941 - 1942
December 8th, 1941: Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor - Japanese intended the
attack as a preventive action to keep the United States Pacific Fleet from interfering with
its planned military actions in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United
Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States.
December 8th, 1941: Japanese Attack on Clark Field - Capture of the Philippines
was essential to control shipping routes between Japan and the Greater East Asia Co-
Prosperity Sphere.
January 2nd, 1942: Japanese occupy Manila and declare it an open city - To avoid
its destruction as Imperial Japan invaded the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
January 1942: Filipina guerrilla Yay Panlilio broadcasts her first acts of televised
resistance via radio station in Manila -
March 29th, 1942: Philippine Communist and Socialist leaders meet to establish
the Hukbalahap (Huks) to fend off the Japanese and all forms of imperialism in
the Philippines
April 9th, 1942: Bataan Death March - begin a forced march to a prison camp near
Cabanatuan
May 5th-6th, 1942: Japanese Attack on Corregidor
1942: Wendell Fertig’s Filipino Christian and Moro guerrilla establishment begins
taking shape on Mindanao
1942: Young Philippine Military Cadets establish the guerrilla organization, the
Hunters ROTC
1944 - 1946
October 20th, 1944: Return of General MacArthur to the island of Leyte
October 26th, 1944-December 1944: The U.S. Navy defeat the Japanese in the
Battle of Leyte Gulf
December 16th, 1944: Liberation of Mindoro and other Mindanao regions by Moro
guerrilla units
February 4th, 1945: The Retaking of Manila by the Allied Forces and Guerrillas
August 15th, 1945: The Japanese Imperial Army officially surrender in Baguio
City, Philippines
September 2nd, 1945: Official liberation of the Philippines from the Japanese
July 4th, 1946: Philippines celebrate their official independence

THIRD REPUBLIC AND MARTIAL LAW

 THIRD REPUBLIC
o Inagurated on July 4, 1946
o We fought by forces until the U.S government granted us the Philippine
Independence.
 Jones law
o Made into effect to recognize a genuine Third Republic of the
Philippines
o U.S. Congress pledged independence for the Philippines once
Filipinos have proven their capability for self-government
 TYDINGS-MCDUFFIE LAW
o Supported Jones Law by placing a ten year transition period since
the Philippines had a commonwealth status.
 LEADERS
o MANUEL ROXAS
 Term: July 4, 1946 – April 15, 1948
 Executive Order No.18
 He established the organization and operation of the
Department of Foreign Affairs.
 Republic Act No.256
 In order to strengthen sovereignty by proposing a Central
Bank for the Philippines to administer the Philippine banking
system
o ELPIDIO QUIRINO
 Term: April 17, 1948 – December 30, 1953
 Executive Order No.150, s.1948
 He created the Social Security Commission.
 Executive Order No.318, s.1950
 He created the Integrity Board to monitor graft and
corruption.
 Communist-led Hukbalahap (Huk) movement
 His administration faced a serious threat (People's Anti -
Japanese Army - Huk Commander, Luis Taruc).
o RAMON MAGSAYSAY
 term: December 30, 1953 – March 17, 1957
 Proclamation No.90, s.1954
 He established the National Resettlement
 and Rehabilitation Administration (NARRA)
 among other agrarian reforms.
 Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
 He made Philippines a member of the
 Organization
 Victory against the huks
 Gained the support of the people with the
 surrender of Huk leader, Luis Taruc.
 extremely popular and well-deserved reputation
o Carlos P. Garcia
 term: March 18, 1957- December 30, 1961
 Filipino First Policy
o To regain economic independence
o A national effort by Filipinos to “obtain major and
dominant participation in their economy.”
 Austerity program
o Aimed to mobilize national savings
 Republic Act No. 301
o The Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act
o to prevent corruption, and promote honesty and public
trust
 Bohlen–Serrano Agreement of 1959
o shortened the term of lease of the US military bases
in the country from the previous 99 to 25 years
o Diosdado Macapagal
 term: December 30, 1961 - December 30, 1965
 Proclamation No. 28
o declared June 12 a special public holiday throughout the
Philippines
 Republic Act No. 4166
o On August 4, 1964, renamed July 4 holiday as "Philippine
Republic Day", proclaimed June 12 as "Philippine
Independence Day",
CHALLENGES
Third Republic
- Economic rehabilitation
- Cultural rehabilitation
- Financial poverty (Annual deficit of over Php 200,000,000)
- Peace and order
- Distorted moral values of Filipinos
MARTIAL LAW
o PROCLAMATION NO. 1081
o Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos signed a Proclamation No. 1081 proclaiming
that the Martial Law in the Philippines. Marked the beginning of Marcos'
dictatorship
o DECLARED ON SEPT. 23, 1972
o 8 years (1972-1981)
o PEOPLE POWER REVOLUTION
o A peaceful bloodless revolution of united Filipinos gathering at EDSA who
protested against the tyrant Marcos. It aimed to claim back the democracy
and recover freedom in order to end the Marcos regime.
LEADERS:
Ferdinand Marcos
 term: 1965-1986
 Proclamation No. 1185, s. 1973
o He used Martial Law with a goal to stop the communist parties from
growing in power.
o "save the republic and reform society"
 Independent Departments
o Department of Agriculture (DoA), and Department of Natural Resources.
o Department of Public Works, and Department of Transportation and
Telecommunications
o Department of Tourism (DoT), and Department of Trade and Industry
(DTI)
 Republic Act No. 7638
o Department of Energy Act of 1992
o Created the Department of Energy (DoE)
 Presidential Decree No. 107
o Created the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)
 Worst economic and political crises
Benigno Aquino, JR.
 Assassinated on his return
o He was shot at the airport on his return on August 21, 1983.
 Awakened the Filipino to cry
o His assasination awakened the Filipinos to the evils of Marcos as a
dictator.
o Millions sympathized and mourned for his death.

Corazon Aquino
 Snap election
o She went against Marcos in one of the most controversial and confusing
elections in the country in Feb. 7, 1986.
o "Tama na, sobra na, palitan na!" vs "Marcos pa rin!"

CHALLENGES
o A new constitution
o Death of democracy
o Reorganization of government
o Control by Marcos family and cronies
o Stronger military power
o DEATH OF DEMOCRACY
 Arrest and detention of Marcos opponents and protesters
 Closing down of all newspapers and radio and tv stations…
 Government control of all public utilities and industries
 Travel ban abroad
 Ban on public meetings, student demonstrations and labor strikes
 Ban on private weapons
 Torture and murder of political prisoners

Corazon Aquino Period

CORAZON AQUINO
 Maria Corazon Aquino, née Maria Corazon Sumulong Conjuangco
 Born January 25, 1993 in Paniqui, Tarlac, Philippines
 Died August 1, 2009 in Makati
 Eleventh President of the Philippines, first female president
 TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year in 1986 because she ran a peaceful
movement in the same year
 Studied in a private school in the Philippines before going to the United States to
continue with her high school
 Studied law at Far Eastern University
 Left law school to raise her and Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.’s family, who she met
in FEU
 Her son, NoyNoy, was also elected as president of the Philippines a few months
after her death

1. How was democracy fought by Filipinos during this period?

 With the help of Cory Aquino, the Filipinos have made a silent protest against
Ferdinand Marcos. Due to his incompetency of being the rightful president, he
was voted out of the seat and was replaced with Cory Aquino when he has
decided to conduct a re-election
 Before Cory Aquino’s presidency, Ferdinand Marcos was the president wherein
he declared Martial Law.
 Cory Aquino led the Philippines eventful transition from dictatorship to democracy
 Won worldwide acclaim for her commitment to democracy
 Although none of the coup attempts was successful, they eroded confidence in
her administration

 When Cory Aquino stepped down after six years as the first woman president of
the Philippines, she was widely viewed as having made little impact on her
country's deep-rooted social and economic problems. The moment of her
departure from the presidency was a low point in her brief yet quite remarkable
political career, leaving as she did in an atmosphere of disenchantment and
unrealised hopes. Yet overall, she left a mark on the history of her troubled
country, so deep and so lasting that her death will bring a surge of emotion as
the heady days of the short but memorable Aquino era are reassessed. As
president of the Republic of the Philippines between 1986 and 1992, she led her
country's eventful transition from dictatorship to democracy. In a few
turbulent years, she gained a presidency which she had not wanted, and which
came to her at the cost of the death of her husband. She was thrust into power
by his assassination and by the passion of the millions who took to the streets to
sweep away the regime of Ferdinand Marcos. But in office, she could not bring
the Philippines' military fully under control: a number of coups were launched
against her, and indeed she was succeeded by a general. But the Philippines
never returned to the type of dictatorship she displaced, and she won
worldwide acclaim for her commitment to democracy. Maria Corazon
Cojuangco Aquino, popularly called Cory, was born in 1933 into a wealthy family
which had for generations been immersed in politics. Most of her education took
place in the US, where she took a degree in French and mathematics in New
York. Returning to the Philippines, she married Benigno Aquino, known as Ninoy,
who also came from a wealthy political family. At that point, she abandoned her
legal studies in order to become, in her words, "just a housewife". She raised five
children while her husband spent his career opposing the regime of Marcos, an
ex-soldier whose brutality and cunning kept him in power for two decades. It was
during his time ruling this poverty-stricken country that Marcos's wife, Imelda,
famously, or infamously, amassed more than 2,000 pairs of shoes in what was
seen as a monument to vanity and excess. When Marcos introduced martial law
in 1972, Ninoy and others were thrown in prison on trumped-up charges. In the
seven years her husband spent in jail, Aquino came to the forefront, campaigning
against his imprisonment. She acted as his link to the outside world as he kept
up his agitation from his prison cell, running for election and at one stage going
on hunger strike. She said of her role: "I am not a hero. As a housewife, I stood
by my husband and never questioned his decision to stand alone against an
arrogant dictatorship. I never missed a chance to be with my husband when his
jailers permitted it. I never chided him for the troubles he brought on my family
and their businesses." When Ninoy was diagnosed with a heart complaint,
Marcos allowed the family to travel to the US so that Ninoy could have triple-
bypass surgery. After successful surgery, they remained in America, Ninoy taking
an academic post at Harvard. After three years, however, he was persuaded by
supporters to return to the Philippines to help lead the opposition. Everyone knew
his life was in danger, but few realised that assassins would strike so quickly.
Just minutes after his plane landed at the heavily guarded Manila International
Airport in August 1983, he was shot dead on the tarmac. Marcos protested his
innocence of involvement in the incident, but few believed him. Uproar followed.
Marcos, in ordering such a flagrant killing, showed he had lost much of the guile
which had kept him in power. The huge attendance at Ninoy's funeral, and the
waves of protests that followed, indicated that his days were numbered. The
shooting removed an opponent of the Marcos regime but created another, even
more potent symbol, when Aquino returned to the Philippines and was drawn into
political activity. "I know my limitations and I don't like politics," she said. "I was
only involved because of my husband." Marcos, seeing his power slipping away,
called a presidential election in 1985 in the hope of shoring up his authority. Anti-
Marcos factions were fragmented, but most eventually accepted that Aquino
stood the best chance of providing unity. She hesitated, spending 10 hours in
meditation at a convent near Manila before deciding to run. She was to explain
later: "We had to present somebody who was the complete opposite of Marcos,
someone who has been a victim. Looking around, I may not have been the worst
victim, but I was the best-known." During the campaign, she conveyed the simple
but potent message that the time had come for democracy. She was, in her
trademark plain-yellow dresses, an ostensibly insignificant figure, but she was a
powerful human reminder of Marcos's use of violence. In the election, Marcos,
resorting to vote-rigging, declared himself the victor before all votes were
counted. The move was so brazen that it provoked an uprising in which millions
took to the streets. At this point, many of the major power elements concluded
that Marcos's time was over. Aquino had support from sources such as the
Catholic church, while some important army officers abandoned Marcos and
aligned themselves with her. Washington, too, dropped Marcos. Ronald Reagan
had followed previous administrations in regarding Marcos as a "Pacific
strongman" who provided a useful bulwark against communism. In doing so, the
US had tended to ignore his regime's corruption and breaches of human rights.
But the Ninoy assassination and the election-fixing lost him the sponsorship of
Washington, though the US did supply helicopters to whisk Marcos and Imelda
into exile (most of her shoes were left behind). "We are finally free," Aquino
declared at the time. "The long agony is over." She was fêted around the world,
Time magazine saying of her: "She managed to lead a revolt and rule a republic
without ever relinquishing her calm or her gift for making politics and humanity
companionable. In a nation dominated for decades by a militant brand of macho
politics, she conquered with tranquillity and grace." But in the years of her
presidency, little went right for her as moral strength failed to translate into the
sufficient political acumen to tackle the huge problems of the Philippines. Her
husband had, in fact, predicted that whoever succeeded Marcos was doomed to
fail. He would not for a moment, however, have thought that the successor would
be his wife, whose administration was overwhelmed by massive economic
difficulties. These included grinding poverty and the legacy of two decades of
totalitarian rule. An earthquake and an erupting volcano added to her woes. She
had herself referred to her country as "the basket case of South-East Asia". But
while Marcos had been firm – to the point of brutality – her government was
thought of as hesitant and indecisive. One area in which she did display
firmness, however, was in her relations with the army: she had little choice, since
various elements launched no fewer than seven coup attempts against her in
three years. With the help of generals who remained loyal to her, she faced down
all of these: the irony was that a woman who came to power on a platform of
peace should have to devote so much effort to fending off recurring violent
challenges. But she was cool under fire, and she indignantly sued when a
journalist claimed she had taken refuge under a bed during one attack. Her
personal chief of security, Colonel Voltaire Gazmin, recently testified that she
was steady under pressure. "I vividly remember the coup attempt of August
1987," he wrote. "I was out supervising the placement of armour around the
 palace when bursts of gunfire rang out. I rushed to the official residence and
found the president and her family upstairs. I asked them to go downstairs and
turn off all the lights, and instructed my guards to stand mattresses against the
windows. "I then made a head count and found one missing. I went back upstairs
and noticed light coming through the open bathroom door. It was the president
combing her hair." The colonel said that when he begged her to leave, she
replied that she needed to look "presidentially presentable". She was, he said,
"the calmest soul around". Although none of the coup attempts was
successful, they eroded confidence in her administration. After so many
unhappy economic and military experiences, she decided not to seek re-election
and backed a loyal general, Fidel Ramos, who succeeded her as president. She
was disappointed by her government's performance, but took consolation in the
fact that the administration which succeeded hers was installed by a democratic
vote. She will thus be remembered both for the manner of her assuming office
and for the manner of her vacating it.

2. Who were the leaders?

 President – Corazon Cojuangco -Aquino
 Vice President – Salvador Laurel
 Executive Secretary - Joker Arroyo (2/25/86 – 9/115/87)
- Catalinno Macaraig, Jr. (9/17/87 – 12/14/90)
- Oscar Orbos (12/16/90 – 7/14/91)
- Franklin Drilon (7/15/91 – 6/30/92)
 Secretary of National Defense (1986) – Juan Ponce Enrile
 Secretary of National Defense (1988-1991) – Fidel V. Ramos
 Secretary of Labor and Employment (1987-1990) Franklin Drilon
 Secretary of Justice (1990-1991) – Franklin Drilon
 Executive Secretary (1991-1992) – Franklin Drilon
 Secretary of Agriculture (1986-1987) – Ramon Mitra, Jr.
 Secretary of Interior (1986-1987) – Aquilino Pimentel, Jr.
 Secretary of Natural Resources (1986-1987) – Ernest Maceda
 Chairman of the Commission on Election (1988-1989) – Hilario Davide,
Jr.
  Chairman of the Presidential Commission on Good Government
(1986-1987) – Jovito Salonga
 Chairman o the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (1990-
1991) – Jejomar Binay
 Director of the National Bureau of Investigation (1989-1992) – Alfredo
Lim

3. What were the challenges to democracy?

 For the longest time of colonisation, our country has gained a system of
government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state,
typically through elected representatives— democracy. On June 12, 1898,
leaders of the revolution declared the country's sovereign state and proclaimed
the first Republic of the Philippines, the first constitutional democracy in Asia.

More than a decade ago, the Philippines was the Southeast Asia’s flag-bearer for
democracy. Technically, it had all the prescribed democratic institutions in place, such
as the congress and mechanisms for popular participation, from the national down to
local levels. Free elections have been the mode for selecting government leaders
since 1946. Its history was even immortalized during the 1986 EDSA Revolution where
the Filipinos showed how “people power” could peacefully topple the oppressive
Marcos regime. This was a period of democratic high in the Philippines that soon
inspired other nonviolent revolutions in the region and in Latin America. However,
this admirable image of Philippine democracy abroad proved to be skin deep, especially
after a series of coup attempts against the “People Power President” Corazon Aquino.
The country is not exempted from Southeast Asia’s “regression from democracy”.

The Filipinos’ once proud democratic innovations are decaying. First, street
protests in the metropolis are rendered ineffectual, if not harmful. Second, elections
have become an apparatus for extracting political power from the voters. Previously
ousted leaders or their family members, like Imelda Marcos and her son, as well as
Estrada and Arroyo, hold significant government positions. The number of incidences of
vote-buying and electoral violence increased, raising doubts about the efficacy of
elections to keep dominant political groups and clans in check. Whereas the oligarchs,
the few who hold much of the nation’s wealth and power, are guilty of these electoral
crimes, their mass market, composed of the the poor and “uneducated” is demeaned as
“bobotante” (ignorant voters) by the elite establishment. The “elites” question the
political underclasses’ ability to make sound leadership choices because of their
vulnerability to selling votes and to populism. Finally, the social media highway certainly
provides a quick route to awareness and whipping up a crowd. Some would argue that
the Filipinos have found in cyberspace a new alternative to the streets.

Yet, while the nation might be the world’s social networking capital for four consecutive
years, a spectacular Facebook community does not make a vibrant democracy.
Whether a pithy message means anything more than a string of ones and zeros
remains a big question. In the furious online expression in the Philippines two things
transpire: First, demands online call for more policies, more regulations, more laws – a
bigger government not bigger people – which downplays democracy’s crucial role in
keeping politics from solely being a legislative, rubber-stamping domain; second, there
springs a naïve belief that the Internet and other media outlets belong only to the people
as weapons against tyranny. In a true democracy, the power to make decisions is
shared indiscriminately, it is not concentrated on the few and the privileged. It is capable
of tirelessly challenging frozen assumptions and prevailing worldviews. It is not only
about formal procedures and policy reforms, but also the infinite potential of the people
to discredit these existing institutions through their own in search for better means of
governing that does not curtail freedom.

In a true democracy, the power to make decisions is shared indiscriminately, it is not

concentrated on the few and the privileged. It is capable of tirelessly challenging frozen
assumptions and prevailing worldviews. It is not only about formal procedures and
policy reforms, but also the infinite potential of the people to discredit these existing
institutions through their own in search for better means of governing that does not
curtail freedom.

The Philippines, in other words, has yet to prove the real power of democracy,
that resides in the possibility of a new collective salvation