(Lesson 8) History of the Philippines Post-Martial Law 1986–present

The return of democracy and government reforms beginning in 1986 were

hampered by national debt, government corruption, coup attempts, disasters, a
persistent communist insurgency, and a military conflict with Moro
separatists. During Corazon Aquino's administration, U.S. forces withdrew from the
Philippines, due to the rejection of the U.S. Bases Extension Treaty, and leading to the
official transfer of Clark Air Base in November 1991 and Subic Bay to the government
in December 1992. The administration also faced a series of natural disasters,
including the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in June 1991. After introducing a constitution
that limited presidents to a single term, Aquino did not stand for re-election. Aquino
was succeeded by Fidel V. Ramos. During this period the country's economic
performance remained modest, with a 3.6% percent GDP growth rate. Political stability
and economic improvements, such as the peace agreement with the Moro National
Liberation Front in 1996, were overshadowed by the onset of the 1997 Asian financial
crisis.

Corazon Aquino administration 1986–1992

With the People Power Revolution, Corazon Aquino's assumption into power

marked the restoration of democracy in the country. Aquino immediately formed a
revolutionary government to normalize the situation, and provided for a transitional
"Freedom Constitution" that restored civil liberties and dismantled the heavily Marcos-
ingrained bureaucracy— abolishing the Batasang Pambansa and relieving all public
officials. The Aquino administration likewise appointed a constitutional commission
that submitted a new permanent constitution that was ratified and enacted in February
1987. The constitution crippled presidential power to declare martial law, proposed
the creation of autonomous regions in the Cordilleras and Muslim Mindanao, and
restored the presidential form of government and the bicameral Congress.

Progress was made in revitalizing democratic institutions and respect for civil liberties,
but Aquino's administration was also viewed as weak and fractious, and a return to full
political stability and economic development was hampered by several attempted
coups staged by disaffected members of the Philippine military. Aquino privatized
many of the utilities the government owned, such as water and electricity. This practice
was viewed by many as Aquino catering to oligarchic as well U.S. interests, losing the
government's power of regulation.

Economic growth was additionally hampered by a series of natural disasters. In June

1991, Mount Pinatubo in Central Luzon erupted, after being dormant for 600 years. It
was the 2nd largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century. It left 700 dead and 200,000
homeless, and cooled global weather by 1.5 °C. On September 16, 1991, despite
lobbying by President Aquino, the Philippine Senate rejected a treaty that would have
allowed a 10-year extension of the U.S. military bases in the country. The United States
turned over Clark Air Base in Pampanga to the government in November, and Subic Bay
Naval Base in Zambales in December 1992, ending almost a century of U.S. military
presence in the Philippines.

Fidel Ramos administration 1992–1998

 In the 1992 elections, Defense Secretary Fidel V. Ramos (Lakas-NUCD),
endorsed by Aquino, won by just 23.6% of the vote, over Miriam Defensor
Santiago (Mds), Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr. (NPC), House Speaker Ramon Mitra (LDP),
former First Lady Imelda Marcos (KBL), Senate President Jovito Salonga (LP) and Vice
President Salvador Laurel (NP). Early in his administration, Ramos declared "national
reconciliation" his highest priority. He legalized the Communist Party and created the
National Unification Commission (NUC), chaired by lawyer Manuel C. Herrera, to lay the
groundwork for talks with communist insurgents, Muslim separatists, and military
rebels. In June 1994, Ramos signed into law a general conditional amnesty covering all
rebel groups, and Philippine military and police personnel accused of crimes
committed while fighting the insurgents. In October 1995, the government signed an
agreement bringing the military insurgency to an end. A standoff with China occurred
in 1995, when the Chinese military built structures on Mischief Reef in the
disputed Spratly Islands claimed by the Philippines as Kalayaan Islands.

Ramos was heavily criticized for passing an oil-deregulation law, thus inflating prices
of gasoline products. Ramos was also criticized for alleged corruption in his handling
of the Philippine Centennial Exposition and the PEA-AMARI land deal, in which Ramos
allegedly received kickbacks amounting to millions of pesos. A peace agreement with
the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) under Nur Misuari, a major Muslim
separatist group fighting for an independent Bangsamoro homeland in Mindanao, was
signed in 1996, ending the 24-year-old struggle. However an MNLF splinter group,
the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) under Salamat Hashim continued the armed
Muslim struggle for an Islamic state.
Joseph Estrada administration 1998–2001

Estrada assumed office amid the Asian Financial Crisis. The economy did,
however, recover from it. From a low −0.6% growth in 1998 to a moderate growth of
3.4% by 1999. Like his predecessor there was a similar attempt to change the 1987
constitution. The process is termed as CONCORD or Constitutional Correction for
Development. Unlike the Charter changes under Ramos and Arroyo, the CONCORD
proposal, according to its proponents, would only amend the 'restrictive' economic
provisions of the constitution that are considered as impediments to the entry of more
foreign investments in the Philippines. However, Estrada was not successful in
amending the constitution. On March 21, 2000, President Estrada declared an "all-out-
war" against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) after the worsening secessionist
movement in Mindanao. The government later captured 46 MILF camps including the
MILF's headquarters: Camp Abubakar. In October 2000, Ilocos Sur governor Luis
"Chavit" Singson, a close friend of Estrada, accused the President of receiving
collections from jueteng, an illegal numbers game.

On November 13, 2000, the House of Representatives impeached Estrada on grounds

of bribery, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the
constitution. His impeachment trial in the Senate began on December 7, but broke
down on January 17, 2001, after 11 senators allied with Estrada successfully blocked
the opening of confidential bank records that would have been used by the
prosecution to incriminate the President. In response, millions of people massed up at
the EDSA Shrine, where in 1986 the People Power Revolution had ousted Marcos,
demanding Estrada's immediate resignation. Estrada's cabinet resigned en masse and
the military and police withdrew their support. On January 20, the Supreme Court
declared the presidency vacant and swore in Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as
the country's 14th President. Estrada and his family evacuated the Malacañang
Palace soon after. Nevertheless, Estrada himself stood before the Supreme Court on
grounds that he did not resign, but just went on an indefinite leave. The Supreme
Court upheld the legitimacy of Arroyo with finality on March 2, 2001.

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo administration 2001–2010

 Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (the daughter of the late
President Diosdado Macapagal) was sworn in as Estrada's successor on the day of his
departure. Estrada later challenged the legitimacy of Arroyo's government, claiming he
did not resign from office, but the Supreme Court twice upheld Arroyo's legitimacy.
After Estrada was arrested on corruption charges in April 2001, thousands of his
supporters staged an "EDSA III" to overthrow the Arroyo government, but the attempt
failed when the protest rallies degraded into violence. Arroyo's accession to power was
further legitimated by the mid-term congressional and local elections held in May
2001, when her coalition won an overwhelming victory.

Arroyo's initial term in office was marked by fractious coalition politics as well as a
military mutiny in Manila in July 2003 that led her to declare a month-long nationwide
state of rebellion. Although she had declared in December 2002 that she would not
contest the May 2004 presidential election, citing a need to heal divisiveness, she
reversed herself in October 2003 and decided to run. She was re-elected and sworn in
for her own six-year term as president on June 30, 2004. In 2005, a tape of a
wiretapped conversation surfaced bearing the voice of Arroyo apparently asking an
election official if her margin of victory can be maintained. The tape sparked protests
calling for Arroyo's resignation. Arroyo admitted to inappropriately speaking to an
election official, but denied allegations of fraud and refused to step down. Attempts to
impeach the president failed later that year. Toward the end of her term, Arroyo
spearheaded a controversial plan for an overhaul of the constitution to transform the
present unitary and presidential republic with a bicameral legislature into
a federal parliamentary government with a unicameral legislature.
Benigno Aquino III administration 2010–2016

PREDIDENT BENIGNO AQUINO III

On June 9, 2010, at the Batasang Pambansa Complex, in Quezon City,

the Congress of the Philippines proclaimed Aquino as the President-elect of the
Philippines, following the 2010 election with 15,208,678 votes, while Jejomar Binay,
the former mayor of Makati City, was proclaimed as the Vice President-elect of the
Philippines with 14,645,574 votes, defeating runner-up for the vice presidency Mar
Roxas, the standard-bearer of the Liberal Party for vice president. The presidential
transition began when Aquino won the 2010 Philippine presidential election. The
transition was in charge of the new presidential residence, cabinet appointments and
cordial meetings between them and the outgoing administration.

On May 11, 2010, outgoing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed an

administrative order, creating the Presidential Transition Cooperation Team. Arroyo
instructed outgoing Executive Secretary Leandro Mendoza to lead the transition
team. The transition team was created "to ensure peaceful, orderly and efficient
transition on the 30th of June". On June 9, 2010, the transition team started informal
meetings with the Aquino transition team.

On June 16, 2010, Aquino organized his transition team in a letter to

outgoing Presidential Management Staff Secretary Elena Bautista-Horn. Aquino
appointed the members of his transition team; defeated runner-up for the vice
presidency Mar Roxas, incoming Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, Jr.,
former Secretary of Education Florencio Abad, former Secretary of Finance Cesar
Purisima, and Julia Abad, daughter of Florencio Abad and Aquino's chief of staff. The
presidential residence of Aquino is the Bahay Pangarap (English: House of
Dreams), located inside of Malacañang Park, at the headquarters of the Presidential
Security Group across the Pasig River from Malacañan Palace. Aquino is the first
president to make Bahay Pangarap his official residence. Aquino refused to live
in Malacañang Palace, the official residence of the President of the Philippines, or in
Arlegui Mansion, the residence of former presidents Corazon Aquino and Fidel V.
Ramos, stating that the two residences are too big, and also stated that his small
family residence at Times Street in Quezon City would be impractical, since it would be
a security concern for his neighbors.

Aquino named long-time friend, Paquito Ochoa, Jr., as Executive Secretary. Aquino

appointed Corazon Soliman as Secretary of Social Welfare & Development, a position
she once held under the Arroyo administration but later resigned in 2005. On June 22,
2010, Leila de Lima accepted the offer to join the cabinet and later took over the helm
of the Department of Justice on July 2, 2010. On July 15, 2010, Vice President Jejomar
Binay was appointed as chairman of HUDCC. On June 24, 2010, Br. Armin Luistro FSC,
president of De La Salle University, accepted the post of Secretary of Education after
meeting with the school's stakeholders. On June 27, 2010, Aquino reappointed
incumbent Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alberto Romulo. On June 29, 2010, Aquino
officially named the members of his Cabinet, with Aquino himself as Secretary of the
Interior and Local Government. Aquino also announced the formation of a truth
commission that will investigate various issues including corruption allegations against
outgoing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Aquino named former Chief
Justice Hilario Davide, Jr. to head the truth commission.

The inauguration of President Benigno Aquino III and Vice President Jejomar Binay was

held at the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta Park, Manila on June 30, 2010. The oath of
office was administered by Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the
Philippines Conchita Carpio-Morales, who officially accepted Aquino's request to swear
him into office, reminiscent of the decision of his mother, who in 1986, was sworn into
the presidency by Associate Justice Claudio Teehankee. Aquino refused to allow Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines Renato Corona to swear him into office,
due to Aquino's opposition to the appointment of Corona by outgoing President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo. Aquino was congratulated by the President Barack Obama of
the United States, Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, and the government of Australia.
In 2013 the government announced it was drawing up a new framework for potential
peace talks with the New People's Army. In 2015, a clash which took place in
Mamasapano, Maguindanao killed 44 members of the Philippine National Police-
Special Action Force, resulting in efforts to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law reaching an
impasse

Rodrigo Duterte administration 2016–present

PRESIDENT RODRIGO R. DUTERTE

Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte of PDP–Laban won the 2016 presidential

election by a landslide, garnering 39.01% or 16,601,997 of the total votes, becoming
the first Mindanaoan to become president. On the other hand, Camarines Sur 3rd
District representative Leni Robredo won with the second-narrowest margin in history,
against Senator Bongbong Marcos. On May 30, the Congress had proclaimed Rodrigo
Duterte, despite his absence, as president-elect and Leni Robredo as vice president-
elect. The presidential transition of Rodrigo Duterte began when Duterte won the 2016
Philippine presidential election. The transition was in charge of the new presidential
residence, cabinet appointments and cordial meetings between them and the outgoing
administration.

Duterte's presidency began following his inauguration on June 30, 2016 at the Rizal

Ceremonial Hall of the Malacañang Palace in Manila, which was attended by more than
627 guests. On July 12, 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in favor of the
Philippines in its case against China's claims in the South China Sea. On August 1,
2016, the Duterte administration launched a 24-hour complaint office accessible to
the public through a nationwide hotline, 8888, and change the nationwide emergency
telephone number from 117 to 911. By October 2016, one hundred days after Duterte
took office, the death toll for the Philippine Drug War passed 3,000 people. As of
February 2019, the death toll for the Philippine Drug War is 5,176.

In middle of October to November 2016, President Duterte announced numerous times

his shift to ties with China and Russia. The president also blasted the United States
and Barack Obama, as well as the United Nations and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-
moon, numerous times in various live interviews and speeches while in the Philippines,
Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Brunei, and Laos. On November 8, 2016, the Supreme Court
of the Philippines ruled in favor of the burial of the late president and
dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani, the country's official
cemetery for heroes, provoking protests from various groups. Duterte initiated the
"Build, Build, Build" program in 2017 that aimed to usher the Philippines into a new
"golden age of infrastructure" and was expected to create more jobs and business
opportunities, which, in turn, would sustain the country's economic growth and
accelerate poverty reduction. The construction industry needs two million more
workers to sustain the program. The program is made up of numerous projects in
various sectors, such as air, rail, and road transport as well as other public utilities and
infrastructures. The country is expected to spend $160 billion to $180 billion up to
2022 for the public investments in infrastructure. The program has been linked to
supporting recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2017, Duterte signed
the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, which provides for free tuition
and exemption from other fees in public universities and colleges for Filipino students,
as well as subsidies for those enrolled in private higher education institutions. He also
signed 20 new laws, including the Universal Health Care Act, the creation of
the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, establishing a national
cancer control program, and allowing subscribers to keep their mobile numbers for
life.