“MARCOS’S ECONOMIC REGIME,

1965-1972.”

A Seminar Paper Presented to the

Faculty of STI College – Novaliches.

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the

Subject The Contemporary World.

Submitted by

Abenoja Jayson
Ante, Carlos Miguel
Baratas, Angelie
Labao, John Maverick
Magsombol, Joshua Steven
Molen, Loloy
Morales, Andrian

September, 2019
 ABSTRACT

The study we examine is about the economy before and during Marcos first
became President in 1965, the Philippines was already the second largest economy
in Asia, behind only Japan at a time when the entirety of Asia was still recovering from
the ravages of World War II. Following an economic strategy of import substitution
industrialization, the Philippine economy before Marcos was characterized by growing
industrial production in sectors including textiles, clothing, metal works, machinery and
petroleum products. During his first term as president, Marcos initiated ambitious public
works projects--roads, bridges, schools, health centers, irrigation facilities, and urban
beautification projects--that improved the quality of life and also provided generous pork
barrel benefits for his friends. Massive spending on public works was, politically, a cost-
free policy not only because the pork barrel won him loyal allies but also because both
local elites and ordinary people viewed a new civic center or bridge as a benefit. By
contrast, a land reform program--part of Marcos's platform as it had been that of
Macapagal and his predecessors--would alienate the politically all-powerful landowner
elite and thus was never forcefully implemented. The dramatic rise and fall of the
Philippine economy during this period is attributed to the Marcos administration's heavy
dependence on foreign loans, its policy of establishing monopolies under Marcos
cronies which resulted in significant income inequality, corruption by government
officials, and the capital flight which has historically been attributed to the Marcos
family's economic plunder.