GEN 004: Readings in Philippine History

Student Activity Sheet #27

Name: Arly Claire M. Cepada Class Number: 05-2223-001864

Section: BSA-A2 Schedule: Every Wednesday and Saturday Date: April 28, 2023

INTRODUCTION
This lesson will discuss the downfall of the Marcos administration. First, it will discuss the different contributing
factors. Secondly, it will highlight the different sectors in the society who opposed Marcos. Lastly, it will present the
sequence of events which finally led to EDSA People Power.

LESSON TARGETS
1. I can understand the major facts that led to the downfall of the Marcos regime.
2. I can understand the sequence of events which led to the EDSA People Power.

LESSON REVIEW/PREVIEW
Activity 1. Pretest.
Fill up the table below.
Who were they?
Why did they oppose?
reforms in the country
How did they oppose?
“Opposition to Martial Law”
Reformist Opposition Revolutionary Opposition
upper-middle class Rebels from NPA and MNLF
They wanted political To oppose the rising human
rights violations and collapse
of economy under Marcos
nonviolent tactics War
Religious Opposition
Catholic Church, Protestant,
and other
religious sectors
They saw the effects of
Martial Law to the poor
protest actions and
organizing people

Activity 2. Hook Activity

Arrange the following events in order.

1 1. Declaration of Martial Law

3 2. Death of Ninoy Aquino
2 3. Ratification of the 1973 Constitution
5 4. EDSA People Power
4 5. Snap Elections
Activity 4. Practice Exercise
Answer the following questions in not less than five sentences.
1. Why did Marcos call for a snap election?

 Early elections were called by Marcos in the hopes that they would strengthen American backing, quell
demonstrations and complaints in both the Philippines and the US, and finally put to rest the debate over
Benigno Aquino Jr.'s passing. Marcos had to hold a sudden election in order to demonstrate to the world that
there was still democracy in the Philippines due to his deteriorating popularity. He intended to demonstrate
the legitimacy of his regime.

2. How did the snap election fail?

 On election day, February 7, 1986, there was a colossal amount of poll fraud and widespread cheating.
Numerous registered voters who had cast valid ballots in prior elections noticed that their names seemed to
be missing from the lists. A delegation led by senators and congressmen from the United States was among
the 850 foreign observers that flew in to witness the vote fraud. February 9th. A large mismatch between the
computer tabulation and the tally board, which revealed blatant election results manipulation, prompted 35
COMELEC staff and computer operators to leave the COMELEC Tabulation Center in protest. Precincts
were harassed by the military in the countryside, and vote-rigging was pervasive. NAMFREL, on the other
hand, demonstrated Aquino in the lead with about 70% of the votes canvassed.

3. What was the goal of the supposed coup planned by the RAM?

 The original goal of the RAM coup was to establish a Military Junta, but Enrile's failed strategy instead paved
the way for the People Power Revolution, which eventually succeeded in deposing Marcos and installing a
democratic administration headed by Cory Aquino. RAM's objective was to detain the Marcoses in order to
topple their dictatorship.

4. Why was the EDSA People Power considered as a peaceful revolution?

 Because it had the power to alter the course of history, the EDSA People Power revolution was peaceful.
Without even a single casualty, the Philippines.

Activity 5. Guided Practice

Summarize in three to five sentences how each factors contributed to the downfall of Marcos.

During the Marcos era, they expressed the widespread anti-

Opposition to Martial Law in the 1970s
Marcos sentiments. Martial Law was followed for the length of
widespread anti-Marcos sentiment. Reformist opposition,
revolutionary opposition, and religious opposition were the
three main types of opposition to martial law in the 1970s,
according to David Wurfel. Upper-middle class individuals
made formed the reformist opposition, also referred to as the
legal opposition. They promoted political (not necessarily
social) improvements while employing nonviolent methods.
However, the reformist opposition was a mingling of many
middle- and upper-class groups with various goals rather than
a cohesive movement. Because of this, Marcos tolerated them
as long as they were unable to successfully unseat him or win
the support of the general populace.

He mismanaged the economy as a result. In an effort to allay

what his administration referred to as "doubts concerning the
question of presidential succession," President Ferdinand E.
Marco’s health and the issue of successions Marcos stated today that the Prime Minister would assume the
presidency in the event of Mr. Marcos' incapacitation.

Early in 1970, the Philippines had an economic crisis, which

was mostly brought on by President Marcos' wasteful use of

The collapse of the Philippine Economy
public funds in his reelection campaign. In order to get a
US$27.5 million standby credit line from the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), the government, which was unable to
service its US$2.3 billion international debt, renegotiated its
external debt and devalued the Philippine peso to P6.40 to the
US dollar. The government bowed to the demands of the IMF
because it was unable or unable to make the required changes
to address its economic problems on its own. It was a pattern
that would appear more frequently during the ensuing 20 years.

Aquino was put on trial in a military court-martial on charges of

The Assassination of Ninoy Aquino
murder, unlawful firearm possession, and subversion. Before
being permitted to receive treatment for a heart problem in the
United States, he was imprisoned for seven years. He returned
to Manila after three years in exile but was shot dead before he
could step onto the runway. His murder set off a series of
circumstances that eventually resulted in the People Power
Revolution of 1986.

According to the results, a sizable portion of eligible voters did

The failure of the snap election of 1986
not cast a ballot. Only 20 million ballots were cast out of the 26
million registered voters. According to this, fewer people cast
ballots in the snap election than in the 1984 general election,
when 89% of registered voters did so. It caused other social
movements, as well as governments, to recognize the Marcos
dictatorship's illegitimacy.

The original goal of the RAM coup was to establish a Military

Coup Plot by the RAM
Junta, but Enrile's failed strategy instead paved the way for the
People Power Revolution, which eventually succeeded in
deposing Marcos and installing a democratic administration
headed by Cory Aquino. Enrile and Ramos left the Marcos
administration after the coup failed. This caused the military to
disintegrate and change sides.

Activity 6. Windshield Check

Arrange the following events in order

3 1. Snap elections of 1986

2 2. Cory Aquino announced her intention to run
7 3. Jaime Cardinal Sin asked the people to protect Ramos and Enrile
5 4. RAM Coup de etat
9 5. Corazon C. Aquino and Salvador H. Laurel took their oaths as President and Vice
President respectively
6 6. Ramos and Enrile's defection from the military
8 7. Four-day EDSA People Power Revolution
10 8. Marcos forced to leave the country
4 9. Batasang Pambansa proclaimed Marcos and Arturo Tolentino as the winners
1 10.President Marcos stated his intention to call for a snap election