Philippine Development Program

An Essay

Presented to

Prof. Ashnor C. Mascara

College of Public Affairs

Bachelor of Public Administration

Mindanao State University

Marawi City

In partial fulfillment

On the requirements for the course

Developmental Theories and Issues (BPA101)

1st Semester 2021

Fatma Tahara M. Capal

December 23, 2021

 Ferdinand Marcos was the 10th President of the Philippines, a position he kept

for more than 20 years (December 30, 1965 – February 25, 1986). Although his tenure

was marred by controversies and unresolved cases, his contributions to infrastructure

development will live on in Philippine history. In his inaugural speech on December 30,

1965, he promised to make the country great once more, and in some ways, he

succeeded. Infrastructures unparalleled in our country's history were built to provide a

stadium for Filipinos to showcase cultural heritage, propagate arts and culture, start

generating tourism, improve health conditions, and boost the economy.

The Philippines Cultural Center. Executive Order No. 30 s. was issued to

establish it. The CCP, founded in 1966 by President Ferdinand Marcos, offers

performance and exhibition venues for various local and international production

companies at its 62-hectare (150-acre) complex in Pasay and Manila. On September 8,

1969, three days before President Marcos' 52nd birthday, the Cultural Center of the

Philippines was inaugurated. CCP is a significant national cultural institute in the

Philippines. It has a strong network of regional artists and creative professionals

throughout the country. The CCP also covers film and broadcast arts, along with literary

and visual arts, and enhances the development of aspiring artists in these fields through

such a variety of workshops, seminars, anthologies, exhibits, symposia, and contests

and awards. It has featured the Bolshoi, Kirov, and Royal Danish ballets, as well as

postmodern American, French, German, and Philippine companies, since its inception.

The CCP also provides a Cultural Exchange Program, which helps arts councils across

the country enhance and evolve through workshops and seminars.

 The next infrastructure is The Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas (Folk Arts

Theater). The Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas is another name for the Folk Arts

Theater. It is one of the Cultural Center of the Philippines' performance stadiums. This

covered performance space amphitheater is where popular concerts, musicals, and

plays are typically staged. It has a seating capacity of 8,458 people divided into ten

sections. The theater is named after Francisco Baltazar, also known as Francisco

Balagtas, who was inspired by the country's greatest author. Leandro V. Locsin

developed the theater in 1974 and it was built in 90 days. The structure was licensed

and regulated by First Lady Imelda Marcos in 1974 for the Miss Universe Beauty

Pageant, which was to be hosted in Manila that year.

Next, the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC). The Philippine

International Convention Center (PICC) is a convention center in Pasay City, Metro

Manila, located in the Cultural Center of the Philippines complex. This cutting-edge

facility has hosted numerous local and international conventions, meetings, fairs, and

band social activities. Until 2005, the PICC also housed the Vice President of the

Philippines' headquarters. Presidential Decree No. 520 permitted the Central Bank of

the Philippines (now Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) to build an international conference

tower, acquire a suitable location, and establish a corporation to handle a conference

center. As a result, the PICC was established under the Corporation Code. The state-of-

the-art PICC Complex was built in a record-breaking 23 months, from November 1974

to September 1976, with architect Leandro Locsin, who was later named a National

Artist. The PICC is committed to bringing countries and people and governments

together and providing a venue for them to meet and exchange ideas that may lead to
greater global understanding and peace. It appeals to organizers of international,

regional Asia Pacific, and local events as a venue for meetings, conferences,

exhibitions, and special events by supplying highly advanced conferencing

infrastructure and instruments, as well as friendly, effective, and professional service.

Miss Universe 1994 was held at the Philippine International Convention Center.

Makiling Center for the Arts (National Arts Center). The National Arts Center,

situated in Mount Makiling, Los Baos, Laguna, and currently managed by the Cultural

Center of the Philippines, is a haven for aspiring young Filipino artists. First Lady Imelda

Marcos founded the Center in 1976 as a haven for young and aspiring artists. Its

various structures and facilities are spread across 13.5 hectares of the Makiling Forest

Reservation, and it also houses the Philippine High School for the Arts, a government-

run secondary educational institution for talented young artists.  Along with its plateau-

like spot in the center, the Tanghalang Maria Makiling, or Open-Air Theater, is the only

NAC structure noticeable from surrounding communities. It provides a 360-degree view

of the surrounding areas, including Crocodile Island, Talim Island, Crocodile Lake, and

Mount Banahaw and the Rizal Mountains on clear days. Live shows and conventions

can be held in the open-air theater/auditorium.

Another infrastructure is Nayong Pilipino. Nayong Pilipino was built from the

ground up in 1969 with the help of former First Lady Imelda Marcos. It is in the midst of

its fourth product cycle in nearly 50 years. A 32-acre theme park located about a 10-

minute road going from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) that highlights

scaled-down multiple copies of the country's popular tourist attractions, including Mayon

Volcano, Banaue Rice Terraces, and Chocolate Hills. It also celebrates Filipino
creativity in the arts and crafts. However, after 32 years of operation, Asia's first

amusement park was forced to close its doors in 2001 and was relocated from its

original location near Ninoy Aquino International Airport I. President Gloria M Arroyo

managed to give Nayong Pilipino a permanent place in Clark as a popular destination of

the Centennial Expo in 2006. With a new Memorandum of Agreement between Clark

Development and Nayong Pilipino in March 2012, the Aquino administration brought

new life into Nayong Pilipino. Philippine Heart Center. The Philippine Heart Center in

Quezon City, formerly known as the Philippine Heart Center for Asia, was founded in

1975 by Presidential Decree No. 673 approved by President Ferdinand E. Marcos.

Cardiovascular specialists such as Christian Barnard, Denton Cooley, Donald Effler,

and Charles Bailey started practicing at the center, which opened on February 14, 1975.

Avenilo P. Aventura (1974-1986), a cardiovascular surgeon who executed many

founding operations in the Philippines, including the first successful renal transplantation

in 1970, the first CABG in 1972, and established and implanted the first ASEAN

bioprosthesis, the PHCA porcine valve, was the very first Director of the PHC. Imelda

Francisco was also the first patient hospitalised to the PHC on April 14, 1975.

The Lung Center of the Philippines is the next structure. On January 16, 1981,

President Ferdinand Marcos issued Presidential Decree No. 1823, establishing the

Lung Center of the Philippines that can provide health care targeted squarely at lung

and pulmonary disease. It is on Quezon Avenue in Quezon City. On July 29, 1986,

President Corazon Aquino positioned it under the administration of the Ministry of

Health via Executive Order No. 34. On May 16, 1998, a burned down much of the

center's structure and devices. It reopened on March 1, 1999, and a new building is
currently under construction, partially funded by its insurance policy. The National

Kidney and Transplant Institute, which was once the National Kidney Foundation of the

Philippines, was founded on January 16, 1981, as a tertiary referral hospital that also

provides blood donors services. The two-story institute in Quezon City is made up of

three interconnected buildings (Main, Annex, and Dialysis Center).

The San Juanico Bridge in the Philippines connects Samar and Leyte throughout

the San Juanico Strait and is part of the Pan-Philippine Highway. Its lengthiest distance

is a steel girder viaduct constructed on reinforced concrete piers, with an arch-shaped

truss design for its span length. With an overall length of 2.16 kilometers (1.34 mi), it is

the Philippines' longest bridge spanning a body of seawater. Construction began in

1969 across the San Juanico Strait from Cabalawan, Tacloban City, to Santa Rita,

Samar, and was completed in 1973. Many of Marcos' infrastructures, such as the

Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Philippine Heart Center, and the San Juanico

bridge, still remain today because the people behind all these infrastructures genuinely

think that the mission of presenting a venue for exhibition or performance, giving

assistance to the sick, and connecting people is not complete. Until now, these

infrastructures have continued to benefit our economy in their own way. Some of them

are well-known landmarks that benefit various sectors of the economy, such as the real

estate market, by inflating the value of nearby homes or properties or improving access

to businesses.
Reference:

Samonte, J. (2019, October 10). Infrastructures Built During Marcos’ Time. Real Estate

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