INDIVIDUAL PROJECT IN READINGS IN THE PHILIPPINE HISTORY -SS01

“HISTORY RECURRENCE”

MOLINA, DESIE D.-OLSA122A023-SS01-PROJECT

I. INTRODUCTION

History helps us understand how events in the past made things the way they are today.

However, some people believed that history has a tendency to repeat itself. As memory fades,

events from the past can become events of the present. According to William Strauss, an author,

and historian Neil Howe, this is due to the cyclical nature of history —history repeats itself and

flows based on the generations. They have stated that four generations are needed to cycle

through before similar events begin to occur, which would put the coming of age of the

millennial generation in parallel to the events of the early 20th century.

In Philippine History, the political side of the country is always viewed to be recurring.

Political parties are weak, with elections instead dominated by individual and familial

personalities. Are we condemned to repeat history for failing to learn from it? This is one of the

bigger caveats when it comes to presidential elections. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo became

president just like her father, Diosdado Macapagal. Benigno Aquino III duplicated his mother

Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino’s feat and Bong-bong Marcos became president just like his late

father Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. Furthermore, some recurring events that as well happened was

Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and Rodrigo Duterte’s proclamation of Martial Law and the power ability

to attack the Philippine media. We see them as a political dynasty that led to the destruction of

democracy. There was also a controversy about extrajudicial killing which fuels the opposition to

our government and especially the well-known dispute of China and Philippines. As we put a
perspective on the meaning of history recurrence, the question of what causes it lies in its nature

and can also be the people as a failure.

They wield power for their own benefit. It has gone so bad that these dynasties now hold

simultaneous national and local positions. Oligarchy is bad for our governance and, therefore we

should adopt policies to prevent or dismantle these oligarchies. Can this happening be stopped

from recurring? Are we stuck in this cycle of history repeating itself? The analysis of the

similarity between the events that occurred in the Philippines will be discussed in this study. This

research will examine the past and present events to illustrate how history recurrence is defined

by citing people and happenings that are involved in the topic.

II. 1ST HISTORY RECURRENCE: POLITICAL DYNASTY IN PHILIPPINE

GOVERNMENT

Political dynasties in the Philippines are typically characterized as families that have

established their political or economic dominance in a province and have coordinated efforts to

move on to involvement in national government or other positions. Notable Philippine political

dynasties include the Marcos, Aquino, Binay, Macapagal, Duterte, and Roxas families. There has

been a lot of debate regarding the effects political dynasties have on the political and economic

status of Philippine society. Some people say there is nothing political dynasty. Any qualified

person has an inherent right to run for public office. This kind of thing happens also in highly

developed countries. The situation, in our case, is not a question of right, which should have been

modified in the first place as required in the existing Constitution. It is a question of

effectiveness in governance over the long term. It may be true that similar things happen in

highly developed countries. But not to the very wide extent that we do. We have allowed

political dynasties to be the norm, not the exception. Moreover, our social and economic settings

and the scruples of local politicians are far different from those in developed countries.

These familial politicians have things in common. Aside from bearing the same names in

politics, they are all similar in the way that they have been involved in corruption. None of these

presidents focused on developing our country. There is a saying that they are following their

parent’s footprints and it is a fact. In a study done in 2012 by economists Beja, Mendoza,
Venida, and Yap, it was estimated that 40% of all provinces in the Philippines have a provincial

governor and congressman that are related in some way. Another 2014 study done by Querubin

of the Department of Politics at New York University indicated that an estimated 50–70% of all

politicians are involved or associated with a political dynasty within the Philippines, including

local government units. In the same study, it was concluded that approximately 70% of all

jurisdiction-based legislators in the current Congress are involved in a political dynasty, with

40% of them having ties to legislators who belonged to as far as 3 Congresses prior. It is also

said that 77% of legislators between the ages of 26–40 is also dynastic, which indicates that the

second and third generations of political dynasties in the Philippines have begun their political

careers as well. Political dynasties have long been a feature of the Philippine political landscape.

Political dynasties started emerging after the Philippine Revolution when the First Republic of

the Philippines was established. With the decline of Spain's economic power and international

prestige in the 19th century, the expansion of British and American influence around the world,

and the political current of emergent nationalism among the children of the economically

enfranchised bourgeois, the power of the peninsulares', or Spanish-born aristocracy declined

propitiously. According to one study, these provinces "are afflicted by low levels of human

development, bad governance, violence, and poor business climates". Research suggests that

either poverty results in the creation of a political dynasty or that these dynasties exacerbate bad

governance and worsen poverty conditions. The study used empirical data that correlated
political dynasty presence with socio-economic development. This study stated that "this partial

correlation coefficient finds a positive relationship between poverty incidence and the proportion

of political dynasties in each province.

The most well-known familial politicians started with the Aquino and Marcos in the present.

Primary Source/s:

A cynic scenario: Communism wipes out

Oligarchy and Capitalism

“The Marcoses and the Lopezes in

happier days”

A greedy oligarchy unconcerned

over, even blocking, the
redistribution of assets and radical
basic reforms that could improve the
lives of the majority of Filipinos.
Secondary Source/s:

Published on behalf of SOAS

University of London, South East Asia
Research is an international quarterly
peer review journal. South East Asia
Research publishes papers on all
aspects of South East Asia within the
disciplines of archaeology, art history,
economics, geography, history,
language and literature, law, music,
political science, social anthropology
and religious studies. Papers are
based on original research or field
work.
III. 2ND HISTORY RECURRENCE: MARTIAL LAW

When martial law is in effect, the military commander of an area or country has unlimited

authority to make and enforce laws. Martial law is justified when civilian authority has ceased to

function, is completely absent, or has become ineffective. Further, martial law suspends all

existing laws, as well as civil authority and the ordinary administration of justice. At 7:17 pm on

September 23, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos announced on television that he had placed the

entirety of the Philippines under martial law.This marked the beginning of a 14-year period of

one-man rule that would effectively last until Marcos was exiled from the country on February

25, 1986. Even though the formal document proclaiming martial law – Proclamation No. 1081,

which was dated September 21, 1972 – was formally lifted on January 17, 1981, Marcos retained

essentially all of his powers as dictator until he was ousted. Numerous explanations have been

put forward as reasons for Marcos to declare martial law in September 1972, some of which
were presented by the Marcos administration as official justifications, and some of which were

dissenting perspectives put forward by either the mainstream political opposition or by analysts

studying the political economy of the decision. Of the various threats cited in the Proclamation

1081 document as rationalizations for the declaration of Martial Law, the most extensively

described was the threat supposedly posed by Communist insurgents – specifically the newly

formed Communist Party of the Philippines, a Maoist organization that had only recently broken

off from the Marxist–Leninist Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas.

This is quite similar to what Rodrigo is claiming as the reason why he declared Martial

Law in Mindanao, a big part of the Philippines. At 10:00 p.m. PST (UTC+08:00) on May 23,

2017, amid a Maute group-related escalation of conflicts in Mindanao as well as recent clashes in

Marawi between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Islamist group, Philippine

President Rodrigo Duterte placed the whole of Mindanao, including Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-

Tawi, under martial law. The proclamation was announced during a press briefing held in

Moscow, where Duterte was on an official visit; the state of martial law will be in effect for 60

days. Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the declaration was possible given the

"existence of rebellion," while Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano explained that the step

was taken with "the safety, the lives, and property of people of Mindanao" in mind.

[Implementation is to be pursuant to the 1987 Constitution, which provides for a maximum 60-

day state of martial law without congressional approval for an extension, the continuation of
government functions, and the safeguard of individual freedoms. However, Duterte insisted that

it will not be any different from martial law under President Ferdinand Marcos. While the

declaration does not currently affect citizens and government units in Luzon or the Visayas,

Duterte suggested that he might extend the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas

corpus to the Visayas and martial law to the entire country if needed to "protect the people."

Congress approved a resolution supporting the measure on May 31, 2017.

Primary Source/s:

A mass rally organized by the Movement

of Concerned Citizens for Civil Liberties
(MCCCL) was held at Plaza Miranda in
Quiapo. (Photo courtesy of Philippines
Free Press Magazine)

“FM Declares Martial Law”—the headline of

the September 24, 1972 issue of the Sunday
Express, which was the Sunday edition of
Philippines Daily Express. The Daily Express
was the only newspaper allowed to circulate
upon the declaration of Martial Law
Secondary Source/s:

Maid in Malacañang is a 2022 Filipino

family drama film about the fictionalized
retelling of the Marcos family's last three
days in Malacañang Palace before they were
forced to be exiled to Hawaii during the
People Power Revolution in 1986. Written
and directed by Darryl Yap and produced by
Viva Films, the film stars Cesar Montano,
Cristine Reyes, Diego Loyzaga, Ella Cruz,
and Ruffa Gutierrez, alongside Karla
Estrada, Elizabeth Oropesa, and Beverly
Salviejo as the titular maids of Malacañang
Palace.
1V. 3RD HISTORY RECURRENCE: ATTACK AGAINST JOURNALISTS

An important feature of any democracy is the free circulation of information. For people

to properly assess what is happening in the country, what their leaders are doing, and how all

these affect them, they have the fundamental right to obtain and engage this information. Forms

of media like the newspaper, radio, and television play a vital role in ensuring that key

information reaches people. On September 28, 1972, Marcos issued Letter of Instruction No. 1,

authorizing the military to take over the assets of major media outlets including the ABS-CBN

network, Channel 5, and various radio stations across the country. This was within the first week

of his declaration of Martial Law. As justification for this mass sequestration of media assets, the

Letter of Instruction cited the involvement of these media outlets with the Communist

movement. Specifically, Marcos accused mainstream media of discrediting the administration,

by propagating news that exposed its weaknesses to feed the flames of the Communist

movement.

This event of closing a media group company recurred in the reign of former president

Rodrigo Duterte. Mr. Duterte has accused ABS-CBN of bias, including favoring a political

opponent in the 2016 election and had earlier warned that he would not allow the renewal of its

franchise. Philippine lawmakers on formally shut down the country’s largest broadcast network,

the latest major blow against the news media as President Rodrigo Duterte cracks down on

outlets that have been critical of his leadership. After 13 hearings, a committee of the House of

Representatives most of whose members are allied with Mr. Duterte voted by an overwhelming

majority to deny ABS-CBN’s application for renewal of its broadcast franchise. It is evident that

ABS CBN being contradictory to the government led to its closure. Both Rodrigo and Marcos

took the chance to use their power to do so.

Primary Source/s:

Primitivo Mijares, who served as Chairman of the

Media Advisory Council, was Marcos’s top media
man and propagandist. As chair of the council,
Mijares had the power to dictate and censor content
in all forms of media. In a change of heart, he
confessed in a 24-page memo to the US House
International Organizations subcommittee how he
had aided Marcos in silencing media stories that
exposed government abuses while fabricating others
that would trumpet the administration’s supposed
successes.
 Carrying placards “Defend Press Freedom,”
“Ibalik ang ABS-CBN,” and “Vote Yes to
Franchise,” ABS-CBN employees and supporters
held a short program outside the gates of the
House of Representatives in time for the 12th
hearing on the company’s franchise renewal.

Secondary Source/s:
 A critical discourse analysis of ABS-CBN’s
coverage of President Duterte’s public addresses
on the COVID-19 pandemic by University of the
Philippines students.

The findings of the research were mapped in a

diagram likened to the ABS-CBN logo to unravel
the interplay between the network’s condition and
Duterte’s leadership.

V. 4TH HISTORY RECURRENCE: HATE TOWARDS CHINESE

 From Limahong's failed invasion, Koxinga's raids to the Chinese uprisings and

expulsions, relations between the ethnic Chinese on the one hand, and Filipinos (whether native,

mestizo or creole) and peninsular Spaniards on the other have always been difficult. In Rizal's

own time, there was already a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment in the Philippines. The Chinese

were seen, as many of them are seen today, as foreigners who supported the ruling classes with

money, in exchange for their favor and protection, and in many cases, power. Rumors, historical

fact, and current events of that time fueled this opinion. In El Filibusterismo, Rizal goes to great

lengths to describe what he saw as a malevolent streak of opportunism on the part of the Chinese.

In Chapter 19 Rizal writes about the rumor of how a local parish donated candlesticks and altar

panels of pure silver to their local Catholic church. The Spanish frailocracia got wind of it, so

they immediately ordered similar-looking ornaments from Hong Kong made of Ruolz silver. The

originals they had melted and minted into Mexican silver pesos, which they then deposited to

their bank accounts in Hong Kong to the great profit of the Chinese brokers who facilitated the

transfer. Rizal created the character Quiroga, a Chinese businessman who was slick with

politicians and Manila high society in his bid to be appointed as China's first consul to the

Philippines. In Quiroga, Rizal packed all the anti-Chinese stereotypes he held in real life --

artificial in manner, hypocritical, cunning, bootlicker of government officials, engaging in

business speculations, intent on nothing but profit. Quiroga held a dinner party at his mansion in

Quiapo, then a very upscale community, and was all smiles and handshakes while his Filipina
wife was locked away in a bedchamber. Simoun also exposed that Quiroga was actually in a

tight financial bind after a botched rent-seeking campaign involving the wife of a very influential

person. As the novel progressed Rizal presented Quiroga as just another character to be killed off

in Simoun's planned revolution.

The Philippines today, however, may have to face the stricter implementation of rules

and regulations by Chinese authorities in its trade dealings and commercial transactions. This

was evident when China imposed stringent food and safety standards and requirements leading

to the ban on Philippine banana imports in 2012 upon the discovery of mill bugs in several

containers of bananas shipped to China. Moreover, with the possibility of the recurrence of a

similar or related incident remaining high, both the Philippine and Chinese governments may

likewise be tempted to enforce stricter rules in other areas such as visa applications. Such actions

could prove counterproductive and would only result in fueling bilateral tensions. Before this

dispute Relations between the Philippines and China, which span several centuries, have been

predominantly warm and cordial. But in recent years, both countries have experienced fiery

issues that have resulted in their “cooling off,” hitting a low point since the establishment of their

diplomatic relations in June 1975.

Primary Source/s:

In Chapter 16 Rizal refers to an incident in 1886, a few years before the publication of the Fili.
The guilds of mestizos and natives were continually watching one another, venting their
bellicose spirits and their activities in jealousy and distrust. At mass one day the
gobernadorcillo of the natives was seated on a bench to the right, and, being extremely thin,
happened to cross one of his legs over the other, thus adopting a nonchalant attitude, in order
to expose his thighs more and display his pretty shoes. The gobernadorcillo of the guild of
mestizos, who was seated on the opposite bench, as he had bunions, and could not cross his
legs on account of his obesity, spread his legs wide apart to expose a plain waistcoat adorned
with a beautiful gold chain set with diamonds. The two cliques comprehended these
maneuvers and joined battle.

On the following Sunday all the mestizos, even the thinnest, had large paunches and spread
their legs wide apart as though on horseback, while the natives placed one leg over the other,
even the fattest, there being one cabeza de barangay who turned a somersault.

Seeing these movements, the Chinese all adopted their own peculiar attitude, that of sitting as
they do in their shops, with one leg drawn back and upward, the other swinging loose. There
resulted protests and petitions, the police rushed to arms ready to start a civil war, the curates
rejoiced, the Spaniards were amused and made money out of everybody, until the General
settled the quarrel by ordering that every one should sit as the Chinese did, since they were
the heaviest contributors, even though they were not the best Catholics. The difficulty for the
mestizos and natives then was that their trousers were too tight to permit of their imitating
the Chinese.

But to make the intention of humiliating them the more evident, the measure was carried out
with great pomp and ceremony, the church being surrounded by a troop of cavalry, while all
those within were sweating. The matter was carried to the Cortes, but it was repeated that the
Chinese, as the ones who paid, should have their way in the religious ceremonies, even though
they apostatized and laughed at Christianity immediately after. The natives and the mestizos
had to be content, learning thus not to waste time over such fatuity.
Wenceslao Retana, a Spanish journalist in Manila at that time, writes in his notes:

In this paragraph, Rizal alludes to an incident that had very serious results. There was
annually celebrated in Binondo a certain religious festival, principally at the expense of the
Chinese mestizos. The latter finally petitioned that their gobernadorcillo be given the
presidency of it, and this was granted, thanks to the fact that the parish priest (the Dominican,
Fray José Hevia Campomanes) held to the opinion that the presidency belonged to those who
paid the most. The Tagalogs protested, alleging their better right to it, as the genuine sons of
the country, not to mention the historical precedent, but the friar, who was looking after his
own interests, did not yield. General Terrero (Governor, 1885–1888), at the advice of his liberal
councilors, finally had the parish priest removed and for the time being decided the affair in
favor of the Tagalogs. The matter reached the Colonial Office (Ministerio de Ultramar) and the
Minister was not even content merely to settle it in the way the friars desired, but made
amends to Padre Hevia by appointing him a bishop.
Secondary Source/s:

A research study that aims to clarify the dispite

between China and Philippines with regard to
territorial claims.

VI. 5TH HISTORY RECURRENCE: EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLING; HUMAN RIGHTS

VIOLATION

The dictatorship of Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos in the 1970s and 1980s is

historically remembered for its record of human rights abuses, particularly targeting political

opponents, student activists, journalists, religious workers, farmers, and others who fought
against the Marcos dictatorship. Based on the documentation of Amnesty International, Task

Force Detainees of the Philippines, and similar human rights monitoring entities, historians

believe that the Marcos dictatorship was marked by 3,257 known extrajudicial killings, 35,000

documented tortures, 77 'disappeared', and 70,000 incarcerations. Some 2,520 of the 3,257

murder victims were tortured and mutilated before their bodies were dumped in various places

for the public to discover - a tactic meant to sow fear among the public, which came to be known

as "salvaging." Some victims were even subjected to cannibalism. Victims were raided and

arrested in their own homes without warrants, and illegally detained without charges or clear

information about the status of their case. Arrest, Search and Seizure Orders (ASSO) did not

undergo its usual bureaucratic process and at times were merely lists of people to be arrested.

Because of the lack of prior investigation, military men could insert names in the list of people to

be arrested.

It was more than a decade before it recurred under the administration of Duterte.

Extrajudicial killing is unlawful and brutal. In speeches made after his inauguration on June 30

of 2016, Duterte urged citizens to kill suspected criminals and drug addicts. He said he would

order police to adopt a shoot-to-kill policy, and would offer them a bounty for dead suspects. In a

speech to military leadership on July 1, Duterte told Communist rebels to "use your kangaroo

courts to kill them to speed up the solution to our problem". On July 2, the Communist Party of

the Philippines stated that it "reiterates its standing order for the NPA to carry out operations to
disarm and arrest the chieftains of the biggest drug syndicates, as well as other criminal

syndicates involved in human rights violations and destruction of the environment" after its

political wing Bagong Alyansang Makabayan accepted Cabinet posts in the new government. On

July 3, the Philippine National Police announced they had killed 30 alleged drug dealers since

Duterte was sworn in as president on June 30. The later stated they had killed 103 suspects

between May 10 and July 7. On July 9, a spokesperson of the president told critics to show proof

that there have been human rights violations in the drug war. Later that day, the Moro Islamic

Liberation Front announced it was open to collaborating with police in the drug war. On August

3, Duterte said that the Sinaloa cartel and the Chinese triad are involved in the Philippine drug

trade. On August 7, Duterte named more than 150 drug suspects including local politicians,

police, judges, and military. On August 8, the United States expressed concerns over the

extrajudicial killings. Many activists as well as reform group go against Duterte and Marcos but

still resulted to numerous rate of death toll.

Primary Source/s:
 1986 rally against the Marcos
dictatorship in which protesters hold up
images of Escalante Massacre victims.

Protest by local human rights groups,

remembering the victims of the drug
war, October 2019.

Secondary Source/s:

A reenactment of an extrajudicial
killing during the 'National Day of
Protest' on September 21, 2017, on
the 45th Anniversary of the
Proclamation of Martial Law

VII. CONCLUSION
 The study started asking the question: Are we condemned to repeat history for failing to

learn from it? The discussion of historic recurrences as sources of lessons for the future

demonstrates that it is important not to ignore the fact that history can recur in many forms.

Thus, history repeats itself and provides lessons that allow for avoiding mistakes in choosing

political or social courses. The reason is that many states follow the same stages of development,

depending on the adopted regimes and selected authorities. In addition, people’s choice to learn

from the past is also associated with the idea that historical events can repeat because decisions

made by authorities can be similar under certain conditions, and common outcomes can be

predicted. In this context, leaders address historical lessons while focusing on conclusions from

this or that event. Therefore, this point is directly associated with the statement that certain

causes can lead to similar consequences when people adopt decisions from the past, and history

recurs.

VIII. REFERENCES
Thuillier, M. (2019, May 2). “Opinion: History is repeating itself - right before our eyes” The

Daily North Western.

https://dailynorthwestern.com/2019/05/03/opinion/thuillier-history-is-repeating-itself-

right-before -our-eyes/

Maceda, E. (2022, May 27). “SEARCH FOR TRUTH: history repeats itself” philstar GLOBAL

https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2022/05/07/2179276/history-repeats-itself

Political dynasties in the Philippines. (2023). Retrieved March 1, 2023, from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_dynasties_in_the_Philippines#:~:text=Notable%2

0Philippine%20political%20dynasties%20include,economic%20status%20of%20Philippi

ne%20society.

Killiam, E.W. (1989). Martial Law in Times of Civil Disorder. Law and Order 37(9), 44-47

https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/martial-law-times-civil-

disorder#:~:text=Martial%20law%20involves%20the%20temporary,to%20make%20and

%20enforce%20laws.

Proclamation No. 216. (2023). Retrieved March 1, 2023, from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proclamation_No._216#:~:text=May%202017)-

,Proclamation%20No.,Duterte%20on%20May%2023%2C%202017.
Anonymous. (n.d.). Martial Law Museum. Breaking the News: Silencing the Media Under

Martial, Retrieved from

https://martiallawmuseum.ph/magaral/breaking-the-news-silencing-the-media-under-

martial-law/

Anonymous. (n.d.). Philippines-China Relations: Beyond the Territorial Disputes. Retrieved

from

https://fsi.gov.ph/philippines-china-relations-beyond-the-territoral-disputes/

Human rights abuses of the Marcos dictatorship. (2023). Retrieved March 1, 202. from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_abuses_of_the_Marcos_dictatorship