Ferdinand Marcos

[edit] Martial Law and the New Society

Marcos had a vision of a "Bagong Lipunan (New Society)"—similar to the "New Order" that was imposed in Indonesia under dictator Suharto. He used the martial law years to implement this vision.

According to Marcos' book, "Notes on the New Society", it was a movement urging the poor and the privileged to work as one for the common goals of society, and to achieve the liberation of the Filipino people through self-realization. Marcos confiscated businesses owned by the oligarchy. More often than not, they were taken over by Marcos' family members and close personal friends, who used them as fronts to launder proceeds from institutionalized graft and corruption in the different national governmental agencies. In the end, some of Marcos' cronies used them as 'cash cows'. "Crony capitalism" was the term used to describe this phenomenon. This phenomenon was intended to have genuinely nationalistic motives by redistributing monopolies that were traditionally owned by Chinese and Mestizo oligarchs to Filipino businessmen. In practice, it led to graft and corruption via bribery, racketeering, and embezzlement. By waging an ideological war against the oligarchy, Marcos gained the support of the masses. Marcos also silenced the free press, making the state press the only legal one. He also seized privately owned lands and distributed them to farmers. By doing this, Marcos abolished the old oligarchy, only to create a new one in its place. Marcos, now free from day-to-day governance (which was left mostly to Enrile), also used his power to settle old scores against old rivals, such as the Lopezes, who were always opposed to the Marcos administration. Leading oppositionists such as Senators Benigno Aquino, Jose Diokno, Jovito Salonga and many others were imprisoned for months or years. This practice considerably alienated the support of the old social and economic elite and the media who criticized the Marcos administration endlessly.

The declaration of martial law was initially very well received, given the social turmoil the Philippines was experiencing. The rest of the world was surprised at how the Filipinos accepted his self-imposed dictatorship. Soon after Marcos declared martial law, one American high-ranking official described the Philippines as a country composed "of 40 million cowards and one son of a bitch", otherwise, he reasoned they should have risen against the destroyer of their freedom. [8]. Crime rates plunged dramatically after dusk curfews were implemented. The country would enjoy economic prosperity throughout the 1970's in the midst of growing dissent to his strong-willed rule towards the end of martial law. Political opponents were given the opportunity or forced to go into exile. As a result, thousands migrated to other countries, like the U.S. and Canada. Public dissent on the streets was not tolerated and leaders of such protests were promptly arrested, detained, tortured, or never heard from again. Communist leaders, as well as sympathizers, were forced to flee from the cities to the countrysides, where they multiplied. Lim Seng, a feared drug lord, was arrested and executed in Luneta in 1972. As martial law dragged on for the next nine years, human rights violations went unchecked, and graft and corruption by the military and the administration became widespread, as made manifest by the Rolex 12.

Over the years, Marcos' hand was strengthened by the support of the armed forces, whose size he tripled, to 230,000 troops, after declaring martial law in 1972. The forces included some first-rate units as well as thousands of unruly and ill-equipped personnel of the civilian home defense forces and other paramilitary organizations.

Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile, Chief of Staff of the Philippine Constabulary Fidel Ramos, and Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Fabian Ver, were the chief administrators of martial law from 1972 to 1981, and the three remained President Marcos' closest advisors until he was ousted in 1986. Enrile and Ramos would later abandon Marcos' 'sinking ship' and seek protection behind the 1986 People Power revolution. The Catholic hierarchy and Manila's middle class were crucial to the success of the massive crusade.

[edit] Return of formal elections and the end of martial law

On April 7, 1978, the first formal election (instead of referenda) in the Philippines since martial law was called by Marcos for the Interim Batasang Pambansa (National Assembly). Marcos' party, the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (New Society Movement), headed by First Lady Imelda Marcos, won 151 of the 161 seats available, as reported by the government voting commission. None of the members of Ninoy Aquino's LABAN party were elected. Only two regional opposition political parties gained elective seats in the 1978 election: the Pusyon Bisaya of Francisco Tatad which gained 13 elective seats and the Mindanao Alliance of Homobono Adaza, Reuben Canoy and Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. which gained only one seat. As a result, LABAN denounced the administration, alleging massive cheating.

LABAN boycotted the 1980 local elections and it, along with other political parties, would also boycott the 1981 legislative elections. Marcos himself served two concurrent posts, as both President and interim Prime Minister, from this period until the lifting of martial law in 1981.

On January 17, 1981, martial law was formally lifted by virtue of Proclamation No. 2045, as a precondition to the visit of Pope John Paul II. Although this paved the way for a more open democracy, the government retained much of its power for arrest and detention. He stepped down as prime minister and ran for election as the first president of the Fourth Republic of the Philippines. None of the major opposition parties fielded a candidate, including Ninoy Aquino's LABAN, the largest opposition party during that time. Only the Nacionalista Party, Marcos' former party, fielded a candidate--retired general Alejo Santos--and only then under duress. Marcos handily won 91.4% of the vote while Santos only got 8.6%. Marcos won by a margin of over 16 million votes, the largest to date in a Philippine presidential election. Finance Minister Cesar Virata was elected as Prime Minister by the Batasang Pambansa.

[edit] Economy

To help finance a number of economic development projects, such as infrastructure, the Marcos government engaged in borrowing money. Foreign capital was invited to invest in certain industrial projects. They were offered incentives including tax exemption privileges and the privilege of bringing out their profits in foreign currencies. One of the most important economic programs in the 1980s was the Kilusang Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran (Movement for Livelihood and Progress). This program was started in September 1981. Its aim was to promote the economic development of the barangays by encouraging the barangay residents to engage in their own livelihood projects. The government's efforts resulted in the increase of the nation's economic growth rate to an average of six percent to seven percent from 1970 to 1980.^{[citation needed]} The rate was only less than 5% in the previous decade. The Gross National Product rose from P55 billion in 1972 to P193 billion in 1980.^{[citation needed]} Tourism rose, contributing to the economy's growth. Most of these "tourists" were Filipino balikbayans (returnees) who came under the Ministry of Tourism's Balikbayan Program, launched in 1973.

The huge economic growth was largely financed, however, by U.S. economic aid and several loans made by the Marcos government. The country's foreign debts were less than US$1billion when Marcos assumed the presidency in 1965, and more than US$28billion when he left office in 1986. A sizable amount of these monies went to Marcos family and friends in the form of behest loans. These loans were assumed by the government and still being serviced by taxpayers [9] Today, more than half of the country's revenues are outlayed for the payments on the interests of loans alone.

Another major source of economic growth was the remittances of overseas Filipino workers. Thousands of Filipino workers, unable to find jobs locally, sought and found employment in the Middle East, Singapore and Hong Kong. These overseas Filipino workers not only helped ease the country's unemployment problem but also earned much-needed foreign exchange for the Philippines.

The Philippine economy suffered a great decline after the Aquino assassination in August 1983. The wave of anti-Marcos demonstrations in the country that followed scared off tourists. The political troubles also hindered the entry of foreign investments, and foreign banks stopped granting loans to the Philippine government.

In an attempt to launch a national economic recovery program, Marcos negotiated with foreign creditors including the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), for a restructuring of the country's foreign debts – to give the Philippines more time to pay the loans. Marcos ordered a cut in government expenditures and used a portion of the savings to finance the Sariling Sikap (Self-Reliance), a livelihood program he established in 1984.

However, the economy experienced negative economic growth beginning in 1984 and continued to decline despite the government's recovery efforts. The recovery program's failure was caused by civil unrest, rampant graft and corruption within the government and by Marcos' lack of credibility. Marcos himself diverted large sums of government money to his party's campaign funds. The unemployment rate ballooned from 6.30% in 1972 to 12.55% in 1985.

[edit] Downfall

See also: 1986 EDSA Revolution

The Manila Bulletin headline, August 22, 1983.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer's headline, February 26.

During these years, his regime was marred by rampant corruption and political mismanagement by his relatives and cronies, which culminated with the assassination of Benigno Aquino Jr.. Marcos can be considered the quintessential kleptocrat, having looted billions of dollars from the Filipino treasury. Much of the lost sum has yet to be accounted for. He was also a notorious nepotist, appointing family members and close friends to high positions in his cabinet. This practice led to even more widespread mishandling of government, especially during the 1980s when Marcos was mortally ill with lupus and was in and out of office. Perhaps the most prominent example is the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, a multi-billion dollar project that turned out to be a white elephant which allegedly provided huge kickbacks to Marcos and his businessman-friend, Herminio Disini, who spearheaded the project. The reactor, which turned out to be based on old, costly designs and built on an earthquake fault, has still to produce a single watt of electricity. The Philippine government today is still paying interests on more than US$28 billion public debts incurred during his administration. It was reported that when Marcos fled, U.S. Customs agents discovered 24 suitcases of gold bricks and diamond jewelry hidden in diaper bags; in addition, certificates for gold bullion valued in the billions of dollars are allegedly among the personal properties he, his family, his cronies and business partners had surreptitiously taken with them when the Reagan administration provided them safe passage to Hawaii [10] [11].

During his third term, Marcos's health deteriorated rapidly due to kidney ailments. He was absent for weeks at a time for treatment, with no one to assume command. Many people questioned whether he still had capacity to govern, due to his grave illness and the ballooning political unrest. With Marcos ailing, his equally powerful wife, Imelda, emerged as the government's main public figure. Marcos dismissed speculations of his ailing health--he used to be an avid golfer and fitness buff who liked showing off his physique. In light of these growing problems, the assassination of Aquino in 1983 would later prove to be the catalyst that led to his overthrow. Many Filipinos came to believe that Marcos, a shrewd political tactician, had no hand in the murder of Aquino but that he was involved in cover-up measures. However, the opposition blamed Marcos directly for the assassination while others blamed the military and his wife, Imelda. The 1985 acquittals of Gen. Fabian Ver as well as other high-ranking military officers for the crime were widely seen as a miscarriage of justice.

By 1984, his close personal ally, U.S. President Ronald Reagan, started distancing himself from the Marcos regime that he and previous American presidents had strongly supported even after Marcos declared martial law. The United States, which had provided hundreds of millions of dollars in aid, was crucial in buttressing Marcos' rule over the years [12]. During the Carter administration the relation with the U.S. soured somewhat when President Jimmy Carter targeted the Philippines in his human rights campaign. In 1981 Vice President George Bush seemed to signal a different approach when in his visit to Manila he told Marcos, "We love your adherence to democratic principles and to democratic processes." [13]

In the face of escalating public discontent and under pressure from foreign allies, Marcos called a snap presidential election for 1986, with more than a year left in his term. He selected Arturo Tolentino as his running mate. The opposition united behind Aquino's widow, Corazon and her running mate, Salvador Laurel.

The final tally of the National Movement for Free Elections, an accredited poll watcher, showed Aquino winning by almost 800,000 votes. However, the government tally showed Marcos winning by almost 1.6 million votes. This appearance of blatant fraud by Marcos led the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines and the United States Senate to condemn the elections. Both Marcos and Aquino traded accusations of vote-rigging. Popular sentiment in Metro Manila sided with Aquino, leading to a massive, multisectoral congregation of protesters, and the gradual defection of the military to Aquino led by Marcos' cronies, Enrile and Ramos. It must be noted that prior to his defection, Enrile's arrest warrant, having been charged for graft and corruption, was about to be served.^{[citation needed]} This so-called "People Power movement" drove Marcos into exile, and installed Corazon Aquino as the new president. At the height of the revolution, Enrile revealed that his ambush was faked in order for Marcos to have a pretext for imposing martial law. However, Marcos maintained that he was the duly-elected and proclaimed President of the Philippines for a fourth term.

The Marcos family and their associates went into exile in Hawaii and were later indicted for embezzlement in the United States. Marcos died in Honolulu on September 28, 1989 of kidney, heart and lung ailments. He was interred in a private mausoleum at Byodo-In Temple on the island of Oahu, visited daily by the Marcos family, political allies and friends. The late strongman's remains are currently interred inside a refrigerated crypt in Ilocos Norte, where his son, Ferdinand, Jr., and eldest daughter, Imee, have since become the local governor and representative, respectively. A Mount Rushmore-esque bust of Ferdinand Marcos, commissioned by Tourism Minister Jose Aspiras, was carved into a hillside in Benguet. It was subsequently destroyed by suspects that include left-wing activists, members of a local tribe who have been displaced by its construction, and looters hunting for the Marcos legendary hidden treasure.[14] Imelda Marcos was acquitted of embezzlement by a U.S. court in 1990, but is still facing a few hundred additional graft charges in Philippine courts in 2006.

In 1995 some 10,000 Filipinos won a U.S. class-action lawsuit filed against the Marcos estate. The charges were filed by victims or their surviving relatives for torture, execution and disappearances. [15] Human rights groups place the number of victims of extrajudicial killings under martial law at 1500 and Karapatan (a local human rights group's) records show 759 involuntarily disappeared (their bodies never found). While military historian Alfred McCoy in his book "Closer than Brothers: Manhood at the Philippine Military Academy" and in his speech "Dark Legacy" cite 3,257 extrajudicial killings, 35,000 torture victims, and 70,000 incarcerated during the Marcos years. [16] [17]. The newspaper "Bulatlat" place the number of victims of arbitrary arrest and detention at 120,000 [18].

[edit] Legacy

President Marcos's official Malacañan Palace portrait since 1986; the portrait he had selected for himself was lost during the People Power Revolution

His practice of using the politics of patronage in his desire to be the "amo" or godfather of not just the people, but the judiciary, legislature and administrative branches of the government ensured his downfall, no matter how Marcos justified it according to his own philosophy of the "politics of achievement". This practice entailed bribery, racketeering, and embezzlement to gain the support of the aforementioned sectors. The 14 years of his dictatorship, according to critics, have warped the legislative, judiciary and the military [19] [20].

Another allegation was that his family and cronies looted so much wealth from the country that to this day investigators have difficulty determining precisely how many billions of dollars have been salted away. The Swiss government has also returned US$684 million in allegedly ill-gotten Marcos wealth [21]and [22]and [23].

According to staunch Marcos critic Jovito Salonga, author of the book "Presidential Plunder: the Quest for the Marcos Ill-Gotten Wealth," monopolies in several vital industries have been created and placed under the control of Marcos cronies, such as coconut (under Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. and Juan Ponce Enrile), tobacco (under Lucio Tan), banana (under Antonio Floirendo), manufacturing (under Herminio Disini and Ricardo Silverio), and sugar (under Roberto Benedicto). The Marcos and Romualdez families became owners, directly or indirectly, of the nation's largest corporations, such as the Philippine Long Distance Company (PLDT), the Philippine Airlines (PAL), Meralco (a national electric company), Fortune Tobacco, the San Miguel Corporation (Asia's largest beer and bottling company), numerous newspapers, radio and tv broadcasting companies, several banks, real estate properties in New York, California and Hawaii. It was no exaggeration when Imelda Marcos declared in an interview, that her family "own practically everything in the Philippines." [24]. The Aquino government also accused them of skimming off foreign aid and international assistance. This is a clear example of the aforementioned "crony capitalism" that Marcos introduced during the New Society.

His apologists claim Marcos was a good president gone bad and that he was a man of rare gifts--a brilliant lawyer, a shrewd politician and keen legal analyst with a ruthless streak and a flair for leadership. Having been in power for more than 20 years, Marcos also had the very rare opportunity to lead the Philippines toward prosperity, with massive infrastructure he put in place as well as an economy on the rise.

However, he put these talents to work by building a regime that he apparently intended to perpetuate as a dynasty. A former aide of Marcos said that "Nobody will ever know what a remarkable president he could have made. That's the saddest part". Among the many documents he left behind in the Palace, after he fled in 1986, was one appointing his wife as his successor.

Opponents state that the evidence suggests that he used the communist threat as a pretext for seizing power. However, the communist insurgency was at its peak during the late 1960's to early 1970's when it was found out that the People's Republic of China was shipping arms to support the communist cause in the Philippines after the interception of a vessel containing loads of firearms. After he was overthrown, former Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile stated that certain incidents had been contrived to justify the imposition of Martial Law [25] and [26], such as Enrile's ambush.

The Martial Law dictatorship may have helped boost the communist insurgency's strength and numbers, but not to the point that could have led to the overthrow of the elected government. Marcos' regime was crucial in the United States' fight against communism and its influences, with Marcos himself being a staunch anti-communist. Marcos however had an ironically mild streak to his "strongman" image, and as much as possible avoided bloodshed and confrontation.^{[citation needed]}

His most ardent supporters claim Marcos was serious about Martial Law and had genuine concern for reforming the society as evidenced by his actions during the period, up until his cronies, whom he entirely trusted, had firmly entrenched themselves in the government. By then, they say he was too ill and too dependent on them to do something about it. The same has been said about his relationship with his wife Imelda, who became the government's main public figure in light of his illness, by then wielding perhaps more power than Marcos himself.

It is important to note that many laws written by Marcos are still in force and in effect. Out of thousands of proclamations, decrees and executive orders, only a few were repealed, revoked, modified or amended [27]. Few credit Marcos for promoting Filipino culture and nationalism. His 21 years in power with the help of U.S. massive economic aid and foreign loans enabled Marcos to build more schools, hospitals and infrastructure than any of his predecessors combined ^[1]. Due to his iron rule, he was able to impose order and reduce crime by strict implementation of the law. The relative economic success that the Philippines enjoyed during the initial part of his presidency is hard to dispel. Many of Marcos' accomplishments were overlooked after the so-called "People Power" EDSA Revolution, but the Marcos era definitely had accomplishments in its own right.

A journalist said that "The Marcoses were the best of us, and they were the worst of us. That's why we say we hate them so much."

According to Transparency International, Marcos is the second most corrupt head of government ever, after Suharto. [28]. Even so, according to a recent survey, some Filipinos prefer Marcos' rule due to the shape of the country in administrations succeeding his. [29] Many admire his autocratic, strong-arm rule, saying that his style of leadership is sorely missed and needed in the post-EDSA Philippines where too much democracy has ruined the body politic, with fractious standoffs in Congress, endless so-called "People Power" demonstrations, deadlocks in the Senate and movie actors as well as traditional politicians being elected into public office. A few are nostalgic for the Marcos era, where the government was well-organized and laws were strictly followed by civilians, leading to a relatively disciplined populace.

On the other hand, many despise his regime, his silencing the free press, his curtailing of civil liberties such as the right to peaceably assemble, his dictatorial control, the imprisonment, torture, murder and disappearance of thousands of his oppositionists, and his supposed shameless plunder of the nation's treasury. There is no middle ground. It is quite evident that the EDSA Revolution left the Philippine society polarized, perhaps beyond repair. Nostalgia remains high in parts of the populace for the Marcos era due to the downward spiral the Philippines fell into after his departure. It can be said that his public image has been significantly rehabilitated after worsening political and economic problems that have hounded his successors. The irony is that these economic troubles are largely due to the country's massive debts incurred during his administration. The Marcos Era's legacy, polarizing as it is, remains deeply embedded in the Philippines today.

[edit] Writings

• Today's Revolution: Democracy (1971)
• Marcos' Notes for the Cancun Summit, 1981 (1981)
• Progress and Martial Law (1981)
• The New Philippine Republic: A Third World Approach to Democracy (1982)
• An Ideology for Filipinos (1983)
• Toward a New Partnership: The Filipino Ideology (1983)

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Ferdinand Marcos

• Philippine government website on the country's presidents
• A biography of Ferdinand Marcos
• Never Again: Legacies of the Marcos dictatorship A website critical of the Martial Law years and the Marcos regime chronicling abuses by the military as well as Marcos' ill-gotten wealth
• The Man of Steal: Great Marcos Moments A critical article on Marcos' corruption trial
• The Philippine Presidency Project
• Marcos Presidential Center The official website of the Marcos Foundation
• Autocrat with a regal manner
• Inquirer News article on a recent survey on previous presidents' performance ratings
• Transparency International's Top 10 Most Corrupt Heads of State
• Obituary on Google Groups
• Sydney swimwear model is at the centre of renewed attempts to locate millions of dollars sent out of the Philippines by former dictator Ferdinand Marcos
• Paying debt, honorable thing to do
• Philippines loses out on Marcos millions
• Philippine cult idolises Marcos
• Heroes and Killers of the 20th Century: killer file: Ferdinand Marcos
• Teodoro M. Locsin on the Conscience of the Filipinos (1986)
• Philandering dictator added Hollywood star to conquests
• Philippines blast wrecks Marcos bust

[edit] References

• Salonga, Jovito (2001). Presidential Plunder: The Quest for Marcos Ill-gotten Wealth. Regina Pub. Co., Manila
• Bonner, Raymond (1987). Waltzing with a Dictator: The Marcoses and the Making of American Policy. Times Books, New York ISBN 0-8129-1326-4
• Aquino, Belinda, editor (1982). Cronies and Enemies: the Current Philippine Scene. University of Hawaii
• Romulo, Beth Day (1987). Inside the Palace: The Rise and Fall of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. Putnam, New York ISBN 0399132538
• Celoza, Albert F. (1997). Ferdinand Marcos and the Philippines: The Political Economy of Authoritarianism. Praeger, Westport, CT ISBN 027594137X
• Lacsamana, Leodivico Cruz (1990). Philippine History and Government, Second Edition. Phoenix Publishing House, Inc., p. 47.
• Spence, Hartzell (1964). For Every Tear a Victory: The Story of Ferdinand E. Marcos. McGraw-Hill, New York
• Seagrave, S. (1988). The Marcos Dynasty. Harper & Row, New York ISBN 0-06-015815-8
• Hamilton-Paterson, James (1999). America's Boy: A Century of Colonialism in the Philippines. Henry Holt, New York ISBN 0805061185

• Marcos, Ferdinand (1973). Notes on the New Society of the Philippines.
• Mijares, Primitivo (1976). The Conjugal Dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos and Imelda Marcos. Union Square Publishing. ISBN 1141121476
• McCoy, Alfred (1999) Closer than Brothers: Manhood at the Philippine Military Academy. Yale University Press, New Haven ISBN 0-300-07765-3
• McCoy, Alfred. Dark Legacy: Human Rights Under the Marcos Regime. speech at the Ateneo University, 20 Sept. 1999
• Abaya, Hernando (1984).The Making of a Subversive: a Memoir. New Day, Quezon City ISBN 9711001543
• Gleek, Davis Jr.(1988). President Marcos and the Philippine Political Culture
• Espiritu, Augusto (1993). How Democracy was Lost: A Political diary of the 1971-72 Constitutional Convention. New Day, Quezon City ISBN 9711005336
• Vizmanos, Danilo (2000). Through the Eye of the Storm. Ken Inc., Manila ISBN 9718558411
• Library of Congress: Country Studies: Philippines. The Inheritance from Marcos

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