CHAPTER 13:
THE
REPUBLICAN
YEARS
WORLD WAR II
WORLD WAR II JAPANESE SOLDIERS
ANTI-COMMUNISM
FILIPINO FIRST POLICY
DIOSDADO
MACAPAGAL’S
REGIME
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE
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•
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•
•
PRESIDENCY
•
Minimun Wage Law
Rural Health Law
Rural Bank Law
DOMESTIC POLICIES
• Economy
• Socio-ecnomic Program
• Land Reform
• Anti-corruption drive
• Stonehill contrevercy
• Inedepence day
FOREIGN POLICIES
• Noth Borneo claim
• Maphilindo
• Vietnam War
• Vietnam war
THE FOURTH
PHILIPPINE
REPUBLIC
FEDINAND
MARCOS’
REGIME
The history of the Philippines, from 1965–1986, covers
the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, also known as
Ferdinand Marcos Administration. The Marcos era
includes the final years of the Third Republic (1965–
72), the Philippines under martial law (1972–81), and
the majority of the Fourth Republic (1981–86).
FIRST
FIRST TERM
TERM
In 1965, Ferdinand Marcos won the presidential election and
became the 10th President of the Philippines. His first term was
marked with increased industrialization and the creation of solid
infrastructure nationwide, such as the North Luzon Expressway and
the Maharlika Highway.
Marcos did this by appointing a cabinet composed mostly of
technocrats and intellectuals, by increasing funding to the Armed
Forces, and mobilizing them to help in construction. Marcos also
established schools and learning institutions nationwide, more
than the combined total of those established by his predecessors
Marcos also sent 10,450 Filipino soldiers to Vietnam during his
term, under the PHILCAG (Philippine Civic Action Group). Fidel
Ramos, who was later to become the 12th President of the
Philippines in 1992, was a part of this expeditionary force.
In 1969, Marcos sought and won an unprecedented second term against Liberal
Party Senator Sergio Osmeña, Jr. However, he was unable to reduce massive
government corruption or to create economic growth proportional to
population growth. The Communist Party of the Philippines formed the New
Peoples Army while the Moro National Liberation Front fought for an
independent Mindanao. These events, together with student protests and
labour strikes were later used as justification for the imposition of martial law.
Congress called for a Constitutional Convention in 1970 in response to public
clamour for a new constitution to replace the colonial 1935 Constitution.
An explosion during the proclamation rally of the senatorial slate of the
opposition Liberal Party in Plaza Miranda in Quiapo, Manila on August 21,
1971, prompted Marcos to suspend the writ of habeas corpus hours after the
blast, which he restored on January 11, 1972 after public protests.
In September 1972, then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile was ambushed while
en route home. This assassination attempt was used by Marcos as a reason to issue
Presidential Proclamation No. 1081, proclaiming a State of martial law in the
Philippines on September 21.
Marcos, who thereafter ruled by decree, curtailed press freedom and other civil
liberties, abolished Congress, controlled media establishments, and ordered the
arrest of opposition leaders and militant activists, including his staunchest
critics Senators Benigno Aquino Jr. and Jose W. Diokno, virtually turning the
Philippines into a Totalitarian Dictatorship with Marcos as its Supreme Leader.
I am president. I am the most powerful man in the Philippines. All that I have
dreamt of I have. More accurately, I have all the material things I want of life — a
wife who is loving and is a partner in the things I do, bright children who will carry
my name, a life well lived — all. But I feel a discontent.
— Ferdinand Marco
At the 45th anniversary celebration of the Armed Forces of the Philippines on
December 22, 1980 the President proclaimed the near end of Martial Law on January.
In 1983, opposition leader Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. was assassinated at Manila
International Airport upon his return to the Philippines after a long period of exile in
the United States
This coalesced popular dissatisfaction with Marcos and began a series of events, including
pressure from the United States, that culminated in a snap presidential election on February
7, 1986. The opposition united under Aquino's widow, Corazon Aquino, and Salvador Laurel.
The election was marred by widespread reports of violence and tampering with results by
both sides.
The official election canvasser, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), declared Marcos
the winner, despite a walk-out staged by disenfranchised computer technicians on February
9. Majority of the people believed that Marcos’ win was played.
The ‘fraudulent’ result was not accepted by Aquino and her supporters.
International observers, including a U.S. delegation led by Senator Richard
Lugar, denounced the official results. General Fidel Ramos and Defense
Minister Juan Ponce Enrile then withdrew their support for the
administration, defecting and barricading themselves within Camp Crame.
This resulted in that peaceful 1986 EDSA Revolution that forced Marcos into
exile in Hawaii while Corazon Aquino became the 11th President of the
Philippines on February 25, 1986. Under Aquino, the Philippines would
adopt a new constitution, ending the Fourth Republic and ushering in the
beginning of the Fifth Republic.
