1. how do you think marcos handled the country economically?

In his first term Marcos tried to stabilize the financial position of the government through an
intensified tax collection. He improved agricultural production to make the country self-
sufficient in food, especially in rice. He also borrowed heavily from international financing
institutions to support a large-scale infrastructure works. As president, Ferdinand Marcos
embarked on a massive spending in infrastructural development, such as roads, health
centers and schools which gave the Philippines a taste of economic prosperity throughout the
1970's. He built more schools than all his predecessors combined. Marcos also tried to
strengthen the foreign relations of the Philippines. He hosted a seven-nation summit
conference on the crisis in South Vietnam in October, 1966. In support for the U.S. military
efforts in South Vietnam, he agreed to send Filipino troops to that war zone.
The second term of Marcos, he and Fernando Lopez were re-elected. They defeated the Liberal
Party ticket of Sergio Osmea, Jr. and Senator Genaro Magsaysay. In winning the election,
Marcos achieved the political distinction of being the first President of the Republic to be re-
elected.
The most important developments during the second term of Marcos were the following:
First was the 1971 Constitutional Convention. Here, the Congress of the Philippines called for
a Constitutional Convention on June 1, 1971 to review and rewrite the 1935 Constitution. The
Convention's image was tarnished by scandals which included the bribing of some delegates
to make them "vote" against a proposal to prohibit Marcos from continuing in power under a
new constitution. This scandal was exposed by Delegate Eduardo Quintero. For exposing the
bribery attempt, Quintero found himself harassed by the government. The other one was the
first Papal Visit to the Philippines On November 27, 1970, Pope Paul VI visited the Philippines.
It was the first time that the Pope had visited the only Catholic nation in Asia. Huge crowds met
the Pope wherever he went in Metro Manila. The Pope left on November 29.
However, there was a Rise of Student Activism. Students protests on the prevailing
conditions of the country saddled the second term of Marcos in office. 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 Malacaang. Six
students were killed and many were wounded. This event came to be know 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.
In addition, the establishment of New Peoples Army (NPA) arose. Because of the perceived
deplorable condition of the nation, the communist movement subdued by President Magsaysay
in 1950's, revived their activities and clamor for reform. A more radical group, the Maoists, who
believed in the principles of Mao-Tse-Tung (leader of China) took over the communist
movement. They reorganized the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and created a new
communist guerilla army called the New People's Army (NPA).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.

As a result, acts of violence increased. In the early 1970's many of the acts of violence were
inspired by the communists. Some, however, were believed to have been planned by other
terrorist incidents rocked Metro Manila. The bloodiest was the Plaza Miranda Bombing on
the night of August 1, 1971 where the Liberal Party had a political rally. Eight persons were
killed and over 100 others were injured. Marcos blamed the communists for the tragic incident.
He suspended the writ of habeas corpus to maintain peace and other. The suspension was
lifted on January 11, 1972. Hundred of suspected subversives among the ranks of students,
workers and professionals were picked up and detained by the government.
2. how about his term in martial law? On September 21, 1972, Marcos declared Martial
Law. This marked the beginning of the Marcos dictatorship. Proclamation 1081 placed the
entire country under the military. His main reason for declaring Martial Law is "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. On the other hand, 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. They staged ambuscades and
engaged in terrorist activities such as assassination of local officials who were known to be
engaged in corrupt activities. The NPA killer squads were called Sparrow Units. They were
feared in the areas under their control. They also imposed taxed in their territories. To fight the
growing NPA threat, Marcos increased the armed forces to over 200,000 men. He also
organized Civilian Home Defense Forces in the rural areas threatened by the NPAs. Several
NPA leaders were captured. 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.

POLITICAL PARTIES DURING THE MARCOS REGIME In the early years of martial
law, political parties were suspended. Political parties resumed only with the election for the
Interim Batasang Pambansa on April 7, 1978. It was the first national election under Martial
law.The second electoral exercise was the election of local officials held on January 30, 1980. As
expected, political parties resurfaced. Those who supported President Marcos formed the
Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) which became in fact anew political party. Its members were
from the ranks of the Liberal and Nacionalist parties. The KBL dominated all the elections held
during the Marcos era. New political parties emerged to fight the KBL. One such group was the
Lakas ng Bayan (LABAN) founded in 1978 by the opposition group headed by former Senator
Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. LABAN had a 21-man ticket in Metro Manila for the 1978 IBP elections.
The KBL candidates headed by Imelda R. Marcos prevailed in the elections.Aside from
LABAN, the other partied organized were the Mindanao Alliance, the Partido Demokratiko ng
Pilipinas (PDP), Bicol Saro, Pusyon Bisaya and Pinaghiusa in Cebu. Later on these small
political parties united themselved into one umbrella organization that came to be known as the
United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO) headed by former Senator Salvador H.
Laurel. The UNIDO had its first electoral exercise in the 1984 Batasan elections. The great
majority of the 60 or so opposition lawmakers who were elected in 1984 were UNIDO
candidates.

ECONOMIC CHANGES UNDER MARCOS To hasten the economic development, President
Marcos implemented a number of economic programs. These programs helped the country to
enjoy the period of economic growth I the mid-1970's up to the early 1980's.
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.
To help finance a number of economic development projects such as soil exploration, the
establishment of geothermal power plants, the Bataan Nuclear Plant, hydro-electric dams, the
construction of more roads, bridges, irrigation systems and other expensive infrastructure
projects, the government engaged in foreign borrowings.Foreign capital was invited to invest in
certain industrial projects. They were offered incentives including tax exemption privileges and
the privilege of bringing out their profits in foreign currencies. One of the most important
economic programs in the 1980's was the Kilusang Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran (KKK). This
program was started in September 1981. Its aim was to promote the economic development of
the barangays by encouraging the barangay residents to engage in their own livelihood
projects.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.

FOREIGN-RELATIONS POLICY UNDER MARCOS REGIME In 1976 President Marcos
announced to the Filipino people his policy of establishing relations with communist countries
such as the People's Republic of Chine (june 9, 1975) and the Soviet Union (June 2, 1976).
Relations with the United States was modified. It was no longer based on the "sentemental ties"
but on mutual respect for each other's national interest. Thus, the military and economic
agreements between U.S. and the Philippines were amended to reflect this new relationship. In
the amendments to the RP-U.S. Military Bases Agreement of 1947, the U.S. acknowledged the
sovereignty of the Philippines over the American military bases in the country (Subic and Clark).
These bases would have a Filipino commander and would fly the Philippine flag. IN addition,
the U.S agreed to pay rentals to the Philippines for the use of the bases.
Marcos established closer ties with the Asian countries. The Philippines became a leading
member of the Third-World the collective name for the developing countries at that time. The
Philippines actively participated in such world conferences as the United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development (UNCTAD) meeting held in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1976 and in the
International Meeting on "Cooperation and Development held by the heads of 21 nations in
Cancun, Mexico, in 1981. took his oath of office on June 30, 1981 at the Luneta Park for a six-
year term ending in 1987. On that occasion Marcos announced the establishment of a "New
Republic of the Philippines".
The lifting of Martial LawAfter implementing the program of development, Pres. Marcos
issued Proclamation NO. 2045 on January 17, 1981, lifting Martial Law. Martial Law lasted for
eight years, 3 months and 26 days. Mr. Marcos lifted Martial law to show to the Filipinos and the
world that the situation in the Philippines was already back to normal. The government had
already been functioning smoothly under the 1973 Constitution. Despited the lifting of Martial
law, however, Marcos remained powerful and practised authoritarian rule.