PROBLEMS AND ISSUES ARISE DURING HIS TERMS 1965-1986

FIRST TERM (December 30, 1965-1969)

- The 1965 Philippine presidential and vice presidential elections were held on November
9, 1965. Incumbent President Diosdado Macapagal lost his opportunity to get a second
full term as president of the Philippines to Senate President Ferdinand Marcos.

- Expansion of the Philippine military

o One of Marcos's earliest initiatives upon becoming president was to significantly
expand the Philippine military. He also increased the budget of the armed
forces, tapping them into civil projects such as the construction of schools.

- Loans for construction projects

o Marcos began taking up massive foreign loans to fund the "rice, roads, and
school buildings". With tax revenues unable to fund his administration's 70%
increase in infrastructure spending from 1966 to 1970, Marcos began tapping
foreign loans, creating a budget deficit 72% higher than the Philippine
government's annual deficit from 1961 to 1965.
o This began a pattern of loan-funded spending which the Marcos administration
would continue until the Marcoses was deposed in 1986, resulting in economic
instability still being felt today, and debts that experts say the Philippines will
have to keep paying well into 2025.

- Jabidah exposé and Muslim reactions

o Marcos’ plan is to take control of Sabah from Malaysia aka North Borneo. Now
this in turn would justify the intervention from the PH Government and this
whole plan was codename Operation Merdeka/Oplan Merdeka means
Freedom.
o In 1967, the Marcos Regime began recruiting nearly 200 indigenous Tausug and
Badjao People from Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. They were be trained into a commando
unit Called Jabida and they were promised with a benefit in the honor of become
an elite force in the PH military but being unknown to them that the overall
intentions was to send these muslim men to Borneo to create a dress in Sabah
o JIBIN ARULA
o In March 1968 a Muslim man named Jibin Arula was fished out of the waters of
Manila Bay, having been shot. He was brought to then-Cavite Governor Delfin N.
Montano, to whom he recounted the story of the Jabidah Massacre, saying that
numerous Moro army recruits had been executed en-masse by members of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on March 18, 1968.
 o Although the lack of living witnesses other than Arula severely hampered the
probes on the incident, it became a major flashpoint that ignited the Moro
insurgency in the Philippines.
o This eventually led to the formation of the Mindanao Independence Movement
in 1968, the Bangsamoro Liberation Organization (BMLO) in 1969, and the
consolidation of these various forces into the Moro National Liberation Front
(MNLF) in October 1972.
SECOND TERM (November 11, 1969-1972)
- Presidential elections were held on November 11, 1969, and Marcos was reelected for a
second term. He was the first and last Filipino president to win a second full term.
- Marcos's second term was characterized by social unrest, beginning with the 1969
Balance of Payments Crisis, which was already underway during the second
inauguration. Opposition groups began to form, and Marcos responded to groups with
military force. The most notable of these was the series of protests during the first
three months of 1970 – a period that has since come to be known as the First Quarter
Storm.
- Social unrest after the balance of payments crisis
o While Marcos had won the November 1969 election by a landslide, and was
inaugurated on December 30 of that year, Marcos's massive spending during the
1969 presidential campaign had taken its toll and triggered growing public
unrest. (Marcos launched US$50 million worth of infrastructure projects in 1969
to create an impression of progress for the electorate. Marcos was reported to
have spent PhP 100 for every PhP 1 that Osmeña spent, using up PhP 24 Million
in Cebu alone.)
- First Quarter Storm
o By the time Marcos gave the first State of the Nation Address of his second term
on January 26, 1970, the unrest born from the 1969–1970 balance of payments
crisis exploded into a series of demonstrations, protests, and marches against
the government.
- Early growth of the CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines) New People's Army
o On December 29, 1970, Philippine Military Academy instructor Lt Victor Corpuz
led New People's Army rebels in a raid on the PMA armory, capturing rifles,
machine guns, grenade launchers, a bazooka, and thousands of rounds of
ammunition in 1970. In 1972, China, which was then actively supporting and
arming communist insurgencies in Asia as part of Mao Zedong's People's War
Doctrine, transported 1,200 M-14 and AK-47 rifles for the NPA to speed up NPA's
campaign to defeat the government.
- Plaza Miranda bombing
 o The Liberal Party's campaign rally was held to proclaim the candidacies of eight
senatorial bids as well as the candidate for the mayoralty race in Manila. As a
crowd of about 4,000 gathered to hear speeches, two grenades were reportedly
tossed on stage.
o Nagtuturuan sila ngayon kung sino yung suspect behind bombing, may
nagsasabing it is either the Communist Party of the Philippines or Marcos Sr.
o May nainterview kasi ang Washington Post na isang anonymous former CPP at
ang sabi nya is yung CPP daw yung nagbomba kasi alam daw ng leader nil ana si
Jose Maria Sison na si Marcos yung masisisi sa nangyari.
o And some historians claims Marcos was responsible sa bombing as will be his
reason para magkaroon ng rason to put Philippines under Martial Law.
- 1971 suspension of the writ of habeas corpus
o And marami pang putukan at sabugan yung nangyari within the year of 1971,
and Central Intelligence Agency stated that Marcos was responsible for at least
one of them.
o Marcos's suspension of the writ became the event that forced many members of
the moderate opposition, such as Edgar Jopson, to join the ranks of the radicals.
In the aftermath of the bombing, Marcos lumped all of the opposition together
and referred to them as communists, and many former moderates fled to the
mountain encampments of the radical opposition to avoid being arrested by
Marcos's forces.
- 1972 Manila bombings
o Another false flag attack took place with the attempted assassination of Defense
Minister Juan Ponce Enrile in 1972.
o Plaza Miranda was soon followed by a series of about twenty explosions that
took place in various locations in Metro Manila in the months immediately
preceding Marcos's proclamation of martial law. The first of these bombings
took place on March 15, 1972, and the last took place on September 11, 1972,–
twelve days before martial law was announced on September 23 of that year.

MARTIAL LAW ERA (1972-1981)

- Marcos's declaration of martial law became known to the public on September 23,
1972, when his press secretary, Francisco Tatad, announced through the radio that
Proclamation № 1081, which Marcos had supposedly signed two days earlier on
September 21, had come into force and would extend Marcos's rule beyond the
constitutional two-term limit.
- Ruling by decree, he almost dissolved press freedom and other civil liberties to add
propaganda machine, closed down Congress and media establishments, and ordered
the arrest of opposition leaders and militant activists, including senators Benigno Aquino
Jr., Jovito Salonga and Jose W. Diokno. Marcos claimed that martial law was the prelude
 to creating his Bagong Lipunan, a "New Society" based on new social and political
values.
- The early years of martial law gained public approval, as it was believed to have caused
crime rates to drop. But unfortunately, the number of 2000 to 3000 members of NPA is
never lessen, instead it rises up to 24,000 members.
- From the declaration of martial law in 1972 until 1983, the US government provided
$2.5 billion in bilateral military and economic aid to the Marcos regime and about $5.5
billion through multilateral institutions such as the World Bank.
- Arrests
o However, unlike Ninoy Aquino's Senate colleagues who were detained without
charges, Ninoy, together with communist NPA leaders Lt. Corpuz and Bernabe
Buscayno, was charged with murder, illegal possession of firearms, and
subversion.
- 1973 martial law referendum
o The 1973 Philippine martial law referendum was a national referendum in which
the citizens' assemblies voted for:
 The ratification of the 1973 Constitution
 The suspension of the convening of the Interim National Assembly
provided in the transitory provisions of the 1973 Constitution
 The continuation of Martial Law
o Martial law was put on vote in July 1973 in the 1973 Philippine martial law
referendum and was marred with controversy resulting to 90.77% voting yes and
9.23% voting no.
o The referendum was set from July 27 to July 28, 1973.
- The military
o Between 1972 and 1976, Marcos increased the size of the Philippine military
from 65,000 to 270,000 personnel. At the same time, Marcos made efforts to
foster the growth of the domestic weapons-manufacturing industry and heavily
increased military spending.
- 1978 Philippine parliamentary election
o By 1977, reports of "gross human rights violations" had led to pressure from the
international community, including newly elected US President Jimmy Carter,
put pressure on the Marcos Administration to release Ninoy Aquino and to hold
parliamentary elections to demonstrate that some "normalization" had begun
after the declaration of martial law. Marcos did not release Aquino, but
announced that the 1978 Philippine parliamentary election would be held in
1978.
o The elections were held on April 7, 1978, for the election of the 166 (of the 208)
regional representatives to the Interim Batasang Pambansa (the nation's first
parliament). The elections were contested by several parties including Ninoy
 Aquino's newly formed party, the Lakas ng Bayan (LABAN) and the regime's party
known as the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL).
o Irregularities noted during the election included "prestuffed ballot boxes, phony
registration, 'flying voters', manipulated election returns, and vote buying",[220]
and LABAN's campaigning faced restrictions,[220] including Marcos's refusal to
let Aquino out of prison in order to campaign. All of the party's candidates,
including Aquino, lost the election.
o Marcos's KBL party won 137 seats, while Pusyon Bisaya led by Hilario Davide Jr.,
who later became the Minority Floor Leader, won 13 seats.
- Prime Minister
o In 1978, Ferdinand Marcos became Prime Minister of the Philippines, marking
the return of the position for the first time since the terms of Pedro Paterno and
Jorge Vargas during the American occupation. Based on Article 9 of the 1973
constitution, it had broad executive powers that would be typical of modern
prime ministers in other countries.

THIRD TERM (1981-1986)

- On June 16, 1981, six months after the lifting of martial law, the first presidential
election in twelve years was held. President Marcos ran while the major opposition
parties, the United Nationalists Democratic Organizations (UNIDO), a coalition of
opposition parties and LABAN, boycotted the election. Marcos won a massive victory
over the other candidates.
- Armed conflict with the CPP–NPA
o After the lifting of martial law, the pressure on the communist CPP–NPA
alleviated. The group was able to return to urban areas and form relationships
with legal opposition organizations, and became increasingly successful in
attacks against the government throughout the country. The violence inflicted by
the communists reached its peak in 1985 with 1,282 military and police deaths
and 1,362 civilian deaths.
- 1980s economic collapse
o Because the Marcos administration's spending had relied so heavily on debt
since Marcos's first term in the 60s, the Philippines was left vulnerable when the
US economy went into recession in the third quarter of 1981, The Philippine
economy began going into decline in 1981, continuing to do so by the time of the
Benigno Aquino Jr. assassination in 1983. The economic and political instability
combined to produce the worst recession in Philippine history in 1984 and 1985,
with the economy contracting by 7.3% for two successive years and poverty
incidence at 49% or almost half the Philippine population.
- Aquino's assassination
 o On August 21, 1983, opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr. was assassinated on
the tarmac at Manila International Airport.
o The opposition blamed Marcos directly for the assassination while others
blamed the military and his wife, Imelda. Popular speculation pointed to three
suspects; the first was Marcos himself through his trusted military chief Fabian
Ver; the second theory pointed to his wife Imelda who had her own burning
ambition now that her ailing husband seemed to be getting weaker, and the
third theory was that Danding Cojuangco planned the assassination because of
his own political ambitions.
o On November 22, 2007, Pablo Martinez, one of the soldiers convicted in the
assassination of Ninoy Aquino, alleged that it was Marcos crony Danding
Cojuangco who ordered the assassination of Ninoy Aquino Jr. while Marcos was
recuperating from his kidney transplant. Cojuangco is the cousin of Aquino's wife
Corazon Cojuangco Aquino. Martinez also alleged only he and Rolando Galman
knew of the assassination, and that Galman was the actual shooter, which is not
corroborated by other evidence of the case.

- Physical decline

- During his third term, Marcos's health deteriorated rapidly due to kidney ailments,
as a complication of a chronic autoimmune disease lupus erythematosus. He had a
kidney transplant in August 1983, and when his body rejected the first kidney
transplant, he had a second transplant in November 1984.

EDSA PEOPLE POWER

- The 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution gathered millions of Filipinos from all walks of
life to march along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), the main artery of Metro
Manila, to end the dictatorship of President Ferdinand E. Marcos and begin a new era
marked by true freedom and democracy.
- The armed marine troops under the command of Marcos withdrew from the site.
Celebrities expressed their support putting up a presentation to showcase the injustices
and the anomalies carried out by the Marcos administration. Finally, in the morning of
February 25, 1986, Corazon Aquino took the presidential oath of office, administered by
the Supreme Court Associate Justice Claudio Teehankee at Club Filipino located in San
Juan. Aquino was proclaimed as the 11th President of the Republic of the Philippines.
She was the first lady president of the country. People rejoiced over their victory
proving the success of the EDSA People’s Power Revolution, the historic peaceful
demonstration. Although in 2001, there was an attempt to revive People Power in the
efforts to oust then President Joseph Estrada, it was not as strong as the glorifying
demonstration in 1986. The bloodless, People Power Revolution in EDSA renewed the
 power of the people, strengthened the meaning of democracy and restored the
democratic institutions of government.

HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSED

There are various statistics for human rights abuses committed during the Marcos regime.Task
Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) has recorded:

2,668 incidents of arrests, 398 disappearances, 1,338 salvagings, 128 frustrated salvagings,
and 1,499 killed or wounded in massacres

Amnesty International reports:

70,000 imprisoned, 34,000 tortured, and 3,240 documented as killed

Historian Alfred McCoy gives a figure of 3,257 recorded extrajudicial killings by the military from
1975 to 1985, 35,000 tortured and 70,000 incarcerated. The newspaper Bulatlat places the
number of victims of arbitrary arrest and detention at 120,000, the extrajudicial execution of
activists under martial law at 1,500 and Karapatan (a local human rights group)'s records show
759 involuntarily disappeared with their bodies never found.According to the late Susan
Quimpo, co-author of Subversive Lives, 80,000 was a low figure for the number of persons
incarcerated during the Marcos regime. In addition to these, up to 10,000 Moro Muslims were
killed in massacres by the Philippine Army, Philippine Constabulary, and the Ilaga pro-
government paramilitary group.
Muslim massacres
- Jabidah Massacre 68 Moros Killed.
- 21 cases of Massacres in Ilaga 518 people dead, 184 injured, and 243 houses burned
down.
- Tacub Massacre, dozens of bodies were strewn all over the road of the barangay after
the incident.
- Manili Massacre, 70-79 Moros were killed.
- The Burning of Jolo, Sulu that killed over 1,000 and possibly up to 20,000 civilians.
- The Malisbong Massacre, where about 1,500 male Moros were killed inside a mosque,
3,000 women and children aged 9–60 were detained, and about 300 women raped by
the Philippine Constabulary.
- The Pata Island massacre, 3,000 Tausug civilians, including women and children, were
killed by PH Military.
- Tong Umapoy Massacre, passenger of the boat, 57 people on board were killed.
"Moderate" and "radical" opposition
The media reports of the time classified the various civil society groups opposing Marcos
into two categories.[136][137] The "Moderates", which included church groups, civil
libertarians, and nationalist politicians, were those who wanted to create change through
political reforms.[136] The "radicals", including a number of labor and student groups,
wanted broader, more systemic political reforms.