*In the American satirical magazine Puck, “Uncle Sam”, an allegory of the United States, teaches his

students, an allegorical representation of his new colonies, of “civilization.” Noticeable is the boy
representing the Philippines, resembling President Emilio Aguinaldo. 
If Filipino Satire in cartoons and prose had its first boom in the Commonwealth Era, all the more was it so
during the Third Republic period–at time when the Philippines became a newly independent country.
This era lasted from 1946 to 1972, and was an exciting period for literature. Satirical pieces flourished and
sold like pancakes. According to historian Alfred McCoy, those were the times when “the noisy Philippine
press was said to be among the freest in the world.” The then future National Artist for Literature, Nick
Joaquin, made waves through his satirical commentaries on the funny and strange conventions and
drama in Congress via the Philippines Free Press. It was read by the public voraciously like radio dramas.
And this was also the time when satirical cartoons on our dailies took to new heights.
Look at these editorial cartoons by artist E.Z. Izon. These works of his were *naturally* critical of any
leader, especially those with authoritarian tendencies like Marcos in the late 60s and early 70s. True
enough, Marcos got full blown authoritarian upon the declaration of Martial Law on September 23, 1972,
as some of the media suspected.

*Free Press editorial cartoon of the members of the Constitutional Convention, most of whom were
rumored to have been bribed by Marcos. Cartoon printed in 1972. By artist E.Z. Izon. Source:
Presidential Museum and Library.

*Philippines Free Press editorial cartoon of the Quintero exposé, pointing to the bribery in the January
6, 1972 dinner of 39 ConCon delegates at Malacañang. Source: Presidential Museum and Library.
During the Martial Law Period, when every political commentary was censored, and when dissenters were
all accused of being Communists, creativity was high once again. While other writers like Jose Lacaba
wrote under a pseudonyms, some even went as far as to producr underground newspapers, called the
“Mosquito Press”, and campus journalism, especially in the University of the Philippines were full of
lengthy commentaries and great political cartoons. 

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