|
|
 |
|
|
| Pinoy Memories 36 |
 |
Pinoy Memories - Philippine President Marcos
explains his "New Society" plan for the ordinary
Filipino since declaring Martial Law through-out
the nation on September 21, 1972.
Martial law and the New Society:
Proclamation of martial law - The spate of
bombings and subversive activities led President
Marcos to declare that "there is throughout the
land a state of anarchy and lawlessness, chaos and
disorder, turmoil and destruction of a magnitude
equivalent to an actual war between the forces of
our duly constituted government and the New
People's Army and their satellite
organizations...and that public order and safety
and security of the nation demand that immediate,
swift, decisive and effective action be taken to
protect and insure the peace, order and security
of the country and its population and to maintain
the authority of the government."
On September 21, 1972 President Marcos issued
Presidential Proclamation No. 1081 placing the
entire country under martial law but it was
announced only two days later. In proclaiming
martial law, President Marcos assured the public
that "the proclamation of martial law is not a
military takeover" and that civilian government
still functions.
Initial measures - In his first address to the
nation after issuing Proclamation
No. 1081, President Marcos said that martial law
has two objectives: (1) to save the republic, and
(2) to "reform the social, economic and political
institutions in our country."
In accordance with the two objectives, President
Marcos issued general orders and letters of
instruction to that effect:
General Order No. 1 -- The President proclaimed
that he should govern the nation and direct the
operations of the Government, including all its
agencies and instrumentalities, as
Commander-in-Chief of all the armed forces of the
Philippines;
General Order No. 2 -- The President directed the
Secretary of National Defense to arrest or cause
the arrest and take into his custody the
individuals named in the attached list and to hold
them until otherwise so ordered by the President
or by his duly designated representative, as well
as to arrest or cause the arrest and take into his
custody and to hold them otherwise ordered
released by him or by his duly authorized
representative such persons who may have committed
crimes described in the Order;
General Order No.3 -- The President ordered that
all executive departments, bureaus, offices,
agencies and instrumentalities of the National
Government, government owned or controlled
corporations, as well all governments of all the
provinces, cities, municipalities and barrios
should continue to function under their present
officers and employees, until otherwise ordered by
the President or by his duly designated
representatives. The President further ordered
that the Judiciary should continue to function in
accordance with its present organization and
personnel, and should try and decide in accordance
with existing laws all criminal and civil cases,
except certain cases enumerated in the Order.
General Order No. 4 -- The President ordered that
a curfew be maintained and enforced throughout the
Philippines from twelve o'clock midnight until
four o'clock in the morning.
General Order No. 5 -- All rallies, demonstrations
and other forms of group actions including strikes
and picketing in vital industries such as in
companies engaged in manufacture or processing as
well as in production or processing of essential
commodities or products for exports, and in
companies engaged in banking of any kind, as well
as in hospitals and in schools and colleges are
prohibited.
General Order No. 6 -- No person shall keep,
possess or carry outside of his residence any
firearm unless such person is duly authorized to
keep, possess or carry any such firearm.
Letter of Instruction No. 1 -- The President
ordered the Press Secretary and the Secretary of
National Defense to take over and control or cause
the taking over and control of newspapers,
magazines, radio and television facilities and all
other media of communications for the duration of
the national emergency.
Letter of Instruction No. 2 -- The President
ordered the Secretary of National Defense to take
over the management, control and operation of the
Manila Electric Company (Meralco), the Philippine
Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), the
National Waterworks and Sewerage Authority
(Nawasa), the Philippine National Railways (PNR),
the Philippine Airlines, Air Manila, Filipinas
Orient Airways, and other public utilities.
Letter of Instruction No. 3 -- The President
ordered the Secretary of National Defense to take
over the possession, control, operation of all
privately owned aircraft and watercraft of
whatever make bearing Philippine registry and to
keep such under his custody for the duration of
national emergency or until otherwise ordered by
the President.
Letter of Instruction No. 4 -- The President
ordered the Secretary of Foreign Affairs not to
issue travel papers such as passports and other
like documents to any citizens of the Philippines
except to those who are being sent abroad in the
service of the Philippines.
Letter of Instruction No. 5 -- The President
ordered the Secretary of Justice and all
subordinate officials under him not to issue any
police or immigration clearance to any citizen of
the Philippines who may wish to depart for other
country.
Letter of Instruction No. 6 -- The President
ordered the Secretary of Finance and all
subordinate officials under him not to issue any
tax clearance to any citizen of the Philippines
who may wish to depart for other country.
Pursuant to General Order No. 1, the following
were arrested and detained by the military:
Representatives Roque Ablan, Jr.(Ilocos Norte),
Rafael Aquino (Sorsogon) and Rolando Puzon;
Senators Benigno Aquino, Jr., Jose W. Diokno and
Ramon Mitra; Governors Rolando Puzon
(Kalinga-Apayao) and Lino Bocalan (Cavite); former
Senator Francisco "Soc" Rodrigo; Con Con delegates
Napoleon Rama, Enrique Voltaire Garcia, II,
Teofisto Guingona, Jr., Bren Guiao, Alejandro
Lichauco, Jose Nolledo, Jose Concepcion, Jr., and
Jose Mari Velez; journalists Joaquin 'Chino"
Roces, Maximo Soliven, Teodoro Locsin, Sr., Amando
Doronilla, Renato Constantino, and Luis Mauricio.
Others arrested are as follows: Hernando Abaya,
Ang Nay Quang, Luis Beltran, Jorge Bocobo, IV,
Ramon Chramico, Cipriano cid, Chua Giok Su @ Bob
Chua, Herminio Caloma, Romeo Dizon, Armando
Eufemio, Rolando Fadul, Rolando Feleo, Jose
Fuentes @ Joey, Rosalinda Galang @ Roz, Go Eng
Guan, Flora Lansang, Teodosio Lansang, Guillermo
Ponce de Leon, Joel Rocamora, etc. Most of the
arrested were members of the opposition
"sympathetic to the rebels or supporting the rebel
movement" and members of the communist movement.
As a result of LOI No. 1, all newspapers,
television and radio stations and other means of
mass media were closed and placed under military
control. Some of them were later permitted to
reopen but under strict censorship. On September
22, 1972, the President signed Letter of Authority
No.1, authorizing the Press Secretary and the
Secretary of National Defense to permit the
operation of Radio Philippines Network (RPN),
Kanlaon Broadcasting System (KBS), and the Daily
Express, "it having been established that they
have not participated in a conspiracy to seize
political and state power in the Philippines and
to take over the government by force and violence.
The 1973 Constitution -- On March 16, 1967, the
Philippine Congress passed Resolution No. 2
calling for a Constitutional Convention to change
the Constitution.
Election of the delegates to the Convention were
held on November 20, 1970 pursuant to Republic Act
No. 6132, otherwise known as the "1970
Constitutional Convention Act."
The Constitutional Convention formally began on
June 1, 1971. Former President Carlos P. Garcia, a
delegate from Bohol, was elected President.
Unfortunately he died on June 14, 1971 and was
succeeded by another former President, Diosadado
Macapagal of Pampanga.
Before the Convention could finish its work,
martial law was proclaimed. Several delegates were
placed under detention and others went into hiding
or voluntary exile. The martial law declaration
affected the final outcome of the convention. In
fact, it was said, that the President dictated
some provisions of the Constitution.
On November 29, 1972, the Convention approved its
Proposed Constitution of the Philippines.
On November 30, 1972, the President issued
Presidential Decree No.73 setting the date of the
plebiscite on January 15, 1973 for the
ratification or rejection of the proposed
Constitution. On January 7, 1973, however, the
President issued General Order No. 20 postponing
indefinitely the plebiscite scheduled on January
15.
On January 10-15, 1973 Plebiscite, the Citizen
Assemblies voted for (1) ratification of the 1973
Constitution, (2) the suspension of the convening
of the Interim National Assembly, (3) the
continuation of martial law, and (4) moratorium on
elections for a period of at least seven years. On
January 17, 1973 the President issued Proclamation
No. 1102 announcing that the proposed Constitution
had been ratified by an overwhelming vote of the
members of the Citizen Assemblies, organized by
Marcos himself through Presidential Decree No. 86
Various legal petitions were filed with the
Supreme Court assailing the validity of the
ratification of the 1973 Constitution.
On March 30, 1973, a divided Supreme Court ruled
in Javellana vs. Executive Secretary (6 SCRA 1048)
that "there is no further obstacle to the new
Constitution being considered in force and
effect."
The 1973 Constitution would have established in
the Philippines a parliamentary government, with
the President as a ceremonial head of state and a
Prime Minister as the head of government. This was
not implemented as a result of the
referendum-plebiscite held on January 10-15, 1972
through the Citizen Assemblies whereby an
overwhelming majority rejected the convening of a
National Assembly.
From 1972 until the convening of the Interim
Batasang Pambansa in 1978, the President exercised
absolute legislative power.
1976 Amendments to the Constitution
On October 16-17, 1976 majority of barangay voters
(Citizen Assemblies) approved that martial law
should be continued and ratified the amendments to
the Constitution proposed by President Marcos.
The 1976 Amendments were: an Interim Batasang
Pambansa (IBP) substituting for the Interim
National Assembly, the President would also become
the Prime Minister and he would continue to
exercise legislative powers until martial law
should have been lifted. The Sixth Amendment
authorized the President to legislate:
Whenever in the judgment of the President there
exists a grave emergency or a threat or imminence
thereof, or whenever the Interim Batasang Pambansa
or the regular National Assembly fails or is
unable to act adequately on any matter for any
reason that in his judgment requires immediate
action, he may, in order to meet the exigency,
issue the necessary decrees, orders or letters of
instructions, which shall form part of the law of
the land.
First national election under martial law
On April 7, 1978, the first national election
under martial law was held. The election for 165-
members of the Interim Batasang Pambansa resulted
to the massive victory of the administration
coalition party, the "Kilusang Bagong Lipunan ng
Nagkakaisang Nacionalista, Liberal, at iba pa" or
KBL. First Lady Imelda Marcos, KBL Chairman for
NCR, won the highest number of votes in Metro
Manila. Only 15 opposition candidates in other
parts of the country won. Among them were:
Francisco Tatad (former Secretary of Public
Information to Pres. Marcos), Reuben Canoy
(Mindanao Alliance), Homobono Adaza (MA), and
Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. None of the members of
Laban ng Bayan of former Senator Benigno Aquino,
Jr. were elected. The Opposition denounced the
massive votebuying and cheating in that elections.
The opposition Liberal Party boycotted the
elections as a futile exercise.
On April 21, 1978, the election of 14 sectoral
representatives (agricultural, labor, and youth)
was held.
On June 12, 1978 the Interim Batasang Pambansa was
convened with Ferdinand E. Marcos as
President-Prime Minister and Querube Makalintal as
Speaker.
Lifting of martial law - After putting in force
amendments to the Constitution and legislations
securing his sweeping powers and with the Batasan
under his control, President Marcos lifted martial
law on January 17, 1981. However, the suspension
of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus
continued in the autonomous regions of Western
Mindanao and Central Mindanao. The Opposition
dubbed the lifting of martial law as a mere "face
lifting" as a precondition to the visit of Pope
John Paul II.
1981 presidential election and the Fourth Republic
On June 16, 1981, six months after the lifting of
martial law, the first presidential election in
twelve years was held. As to be expected,
President Marcos run and won a massive victory
over the other candidates -- Alejo Santos of the
Nacionalista Party (Roy Wing) and Cebu Assemblyman
Bartolome Cabangbang of the Federal Party. The
major opposition parties, Unido (United Democratic
Opposition, a coalition of opposition parties,
headed by Salvador Laurel) and Laban, boycotted
the elections.
In an almost one-sided election, President Marcos
won an overwhelming 88% of the votes, the highest
in Philippine electoral history. The Nacionalista
candidate Alejo Santos garnered only 8.6% of the
votes and Cabangbang obtained less than 3%.
On June 30, 1981, President Marcos was inaugurated
in grandiose ceremonies and proclaimed the "birth
of a new Republic." The new Republic lasted only
for less than five years. Economic and political
crises led to its demise.
The failed impeachment attempt
On August 13, 1985, fifty-six Assemblymen signed a
resolution calling for the impeachment of
President Marcos for graft and corruption,
culpable violation of the Constitution, gross
violation of his oath of office and other high
crimes.
They cited the San Jose Mercury News exposé of
the Marcoses' multi-million dollar investment and
property holdings in the United States. The
properties allegedly amassed by the First Family
were the Crown Building, Lindenmere Estate, and a
number of residential apartments (in New Jersey
and New York), a shopping center in New York,
mansions (in London, Rome and Honolulu), the Helen
Knudsen Estate in Hawaii and three condominiums in
San Francisco, California.
The Assemblymen also included in the complaint the
misuse and misapplication of funds "for the
construction of the Film Center, where X-rated and
pornographic films are exhibited, contrary to
public morals and Filipino customs and
traditions."
The following day, the Committee on Justice, Human
Rights and Good Government dismissed the
impeachment complain for being insufficient in
form and substance:
The resolution is no more than a hodge-podge of
unsupported conclusions, distortion of law,
exacerbated by ultra partisan considerations. It
does not allege ultimate facts constituting an
impeachable offense under the Constitution. In
sum, the Committee finds that the complaint is not
sufficient in form and substance to warrant its
further consideration. It is not sufficient in
form because the verification made by the affiants
that the allegations in the resolution "are true
and correct of our own knowledge" is transparently
false. It taxes the ken of men to believe that the
affiants individually could swear to the truth of
allegations, relative to the transactions that
allegedly transpired in foreign countries given
the barrier of geography and the restrictions of
their laws. More important, the resolution cannot
be sufficient in substance because its careful
assay shows that it is a mere charade of
conclusions.
Economy - Economic performance during the Marcos
era was strong at times, but when looked at over
his whole regime, it was not characterized by
strong economic growth. Penn World Tables report
real growth in GDP per capita averaged 3.5% from
1951 to 1965, while under the Marcos regime (1966
to 1986), annual average growth was only 1.4%. 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
($7.7 billion) in 1972 to P193 billion ($27
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.
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 moneys 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. 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 by Fidel Ramos'
assassination squad 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.
The "Downfall" begins - 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. Critics
considered Marcos as the quintessential
kleptocrat, having looted billions of dollars from
the Filipino treasury. Much of the lost sum has
yet to be accounted for, but recent documents have
revealed that it was actually Fidel Ramos who had
diverted the money (source required to
substantiate this). 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.
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. 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."
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] The "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. Marcos' wife was
found to have over 2500 pairs of shoes in her
closet.
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. 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.[25] 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. The newspaper "Bulatlat" place the number
of victims of arbitrary arrest and detention at
120,000.
The Legacy - Prior to Marcos, Philippine
presidents had followed the path of "traditional
politics" by using their position to help along
friends and allies before stepping down for the
next "player." Marcos essentially destroyed this
setup through military rule, which allowed him to
rewrite the rules of the game so they favored the
Marcoses and their allies.
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.
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.
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.
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 1960s to early 1970s 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, 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. 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. 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. Even so, according to a recent
survey, some Filipinos prefer Marcos' rule due to
the shape of the country in administrations
succeeding his. 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. It is quite
evident that the EDSA Revolution left the
Philippine society polarized. 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.
Tags : pinoy |
|
Affichage : 141059
Durée : 146 s |
| pinoy ako |
 |
you're a Filipino if...(juz watch the vid)
enjoy:D!
note: girl po aq nde po aq guy..jhedrick po ang
screen name q kc combination ng names nmin ng bf
q:D n aq lng po ang gumagawa ng mga vids:D
ahehe..un lng po
Tags : pinoy ako orange and lemons filipino pride |
|
Affichage : 57805
Durée : 333 s |
| .: huwad - crazy as pinoy :. |
 |
l
Naaalala mo pa bah bago mawalan ng malay
Nangingisay ngisay hindi makagulapay
Sa pag-ibig ko sayo
Ak0'y litong-lito
Di k0h akalain na magiging ganito
Biglang nagbag0 ang takb0 natut0 ng sumalisi
Parang akyat-bahay nagdaraan sa kisame
Diskarte kong ito kusa niyang mabubuk0
Mahuli na't mahuli uuli't ulitin k0h
Mamatay-matay kasi ak0h sa tamis ng iy0ng ngiti
Mga kur0t m0h sakin na nakakakilite...
Mga hapl0s m0ng nakakabuhay ng patay...
Matamis m0ng 00'y di k0h na mahihintay
Pan0 k0h ba ilalagay ang pus0 k0h sa'yong tabi
Hinahanap-hanap kita mapaaraw mapagabi
At hindi mapakali pag di kita matatanaw
Magwawala ak0h kapag hindi ka lumitaw
Chorus:
Ikaw ay aking mahal
Puso't kaluluwa'y
Sayo ko lang ibibigay...
Ang pag-ibig kong ito
Ay para lang sa'yo
Ohh mahal k0h...
ll
Ngunit biglang nagbago ang takbo ng buhay ko
Nang sabihin niya sa akin ang mahal niya'y di ako
Ginamit niya ak0h upang kanyang makalimutan
Dating kasintahan na nakikipagbalikan
Wala na raw lahat ng pinangako niya sa akin
Pagmamahal k0h raw sa iba ko na ibaling
Per0 pan0ng gagawin ang magmahal lim0t ko na
Ngayong poot at galit ang tanging nadarama
Akin bang naituwid ang aking pagkakamali
Kung ako ay napapayag ak0'y nagkunwari
Di k0h mawari ang bigat na dinadala ng kal00ban
Ikaw ang kasalanang di ko kayang maiwasan
Minabuti na lang na ak0'y magbilang
Araw na nagdaan muntik ng mabuang
Gumawa ng kanta at ak0'y sinita
Lagi na lang tulala para bang nalanta
Sinabi mo nga na maraming hadlang
Ramdam k0h na rin na mag kalabuan
Yun bang dahilan Yun bang paraan
Heto k0h ngayon umuwing luhaan
ll Chorus:
Ikaw ay aking mahal
Puso't kaluluwa'y
Sa'y0 k0h lang ibibigay
Ang pag-ibig k0ng it0h...
Ay para lang sa'yo
Bakit sinayang m0h...
Ngayon... kahit ika'y mahal
Pilit lilimutin
Pagkat ak0'y nasasaktan
Paaasahin lang ako
Pagkatapos ay ano
Iiwan lang ak0h...
lll
O aking mahal bat ako nilinlang
Ano akala mo sa akin hangal
Akala mo sa akin hindi ko matatant0
Na ang isang katulad m0h ay mananans0
Nagbabalat ka pang daig mo pa'y kamelyo
Animot papel ngunit mas mabangis pa sa leon
Nagbabalak balak ak0'y iy0ng sakmalin
Masisisi mo ba ak0 kung ikaw ay aking sapakin
At sa pag-ibig niyang huwad (HUWAD)
Aking inilahad (inilahad)
Ang nararamdaman pagkat ak0'y kanyang sinagad
(sagad)
Pinipilit ko namang siya'y aking intindihin
Ngunit walang kasing sakit ang ginawa niya sa akin
mamen'
Oo o aking mahal nagtiwala ak0h sa iy0 ng lub0s
Iniwan mo nanaman(nanaman)
Pati pera k0'y ub0s (na ub0s)
Hindi mo na lang sinabi agad
Bakit hindi mo nalang ipinagtapat
Pina-ibig mo pa ak0h sinayang ang lahat-lahat
lll Chorus:
Ngayon kahit ika'y mahal
Pilit kalilimutan ayoko nang maging hangad
Ang pag-ibig k0ng it0h na para lang say0
Bakit Sinayang mo...
Tags : huwad -crazy as pinoy |
|
Affichage : 1040254
Durée : 306 s |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| |
|
