Ferdinand Marcos

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This article is about a former president of the Philippines. For his son, a politician and senator of the
Philippines, see Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr.
His Excellency
Ferdinand Marcos
PLH

Marcos in 1982.
President of the Philippines
In office
December 30, 1965 February 25, 1986
Prime
Minister
Himself (19781981)
Cesar Virata (19811986)
Vice
President
Fernando Lpez (19651973)
Arturo Tolentino (Feb 1625, 1986)
Preceded by Diosdado Macapagal
Succeeded by Corazon Aquino
3rd Prime Minister of the Philippines
In office
June 12, 1978 June 30, 1981
Preceded by
Office established
(Position previously held by Jorge B.
Vargas)
Succeeded by Cesar Virata
Secretary of National Defense
In office
August 28, 1971 January 3, 1972
President Himself
Preceded by Juan Ponce Enrile
Succeeded by Juan Ponce Enrile
In office
December 31, 1965 January 20, 1967
President Himself
Preceded by Macario Peralta
Succeeded by Ernesto Mata
11th President of the Senate of the Philippines
In office
April 5, 1963 December 30, 1965
President Diosdado Macapagal
Preceded by Eulogio Rodriguez
Succeeded by Arturo Tolentino
Senator of the Philippines
In office
December 30, 1959 December 30, 1965
Member of the Philippine House of Representatives
from Ilocos Norte's Second District
In office
December 30, 1949 December 30, 1959
Preceded by Pedro Albano
Succeeded by Simeon M. Valdez
Personal details
Born
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos
[1]

September 11, 1917
Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, Philippines
Died
September 28, 1989 (aged 72)
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Resting place
Marcos Museum and Mausoleum, Batac,
Ilocos Norte, Philippines
Political party Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (19781989)
Other
political
affiliations
Liberal Party (19461965)
Nacionalista Party (19651978)
Spouse(s) Imelda Romuldez (19541989)
Children
Ma. Imelda Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.
Irene Marcos-Araneta
Alma mater
University of the Philippines College of
Law
Profession Lawyer
Religion
Roman Catholicism, formerly Iglesia
Filipina Independiente
Signature

Military service
Allegiance Philippines
Rank Major
Battles/wars World War II
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. (September 11, 1917 September 28, 1989), was a Filipino
dictator who held the title of President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member
of the Philippine House of Representatives (19491959) and a member of the Philippine Senate (1959
1965). He was Senate President from 1963-1965.
While in power he implemented wide-ranging programs of infrastructure development and economic
reform. However, his administration was marred by massive authoritarian corruption, despotism,
nepotism, political repression, and human rights violations.
In 1983, his government was accused of being involved in the assassination of his primary political
opponent, Benigno Aquino, Jr. Public outrage over the assassination served as the catalyst for the
People Power Revolution in February 1986 that led to his removal from power and eventual exile in
Hawaii. It was later discovered that he and his wife Imelda Marcos had moved billions of dollars of
embezzled public funds to the United States, Switzerland, and other countries, as well as into alleged
corporations during his 20 years in power.

Early life[edit]
Ferdinand Edralin Marcos was born 11 September 1917, in the town of Sarrat, Ilocos Norte to Mariano
Marcos and Josefa Edralin.
[2]
He was baptized into the Philippine Independent Church.
[3]

In December 1938, Ferdinand was prosecuted for the murder of Julio Nalundasan along with his father,
Mariano, his brother, Pio, and his brother-in-law Quirino Lizardo; Nalundasan one of the elder Marcos'
political rivals. Nalundasan had been shot and killed in his house in Batac on 20 September 1935the
day after he had defeated Mariano Marcos a second time for a seat in the National Assembly. According
to two witnesses, the four had conspired to assassinate Nalundasan, with Ferdinand Marcos eventually
pulling the trigger. In late January 1939, they were denied bail
[4]
and in the fall
[when?]
of 1939 they were
convicted. Ferdinand and Lizardo received the death penalty for premeditated murder, while Mariano
and Pio were found guilty of contempt of court. The Marcos family took their appeal to the Supreme
Court of the Philippines, which overturned the lower court's decision on 22 October 1940, acquitting
them of all charges except contempt.
[5]

Marcos studied law at the University of the Philippines, attending the prestigious College of Law. He
excelled in both curricular and extra-curricular activities, becoming a valuable member of the
university's swimming, boxing, and wrestling teams. He was also an accomplished and prolific orator,
debater, and writer for the student newspaper. He also became a member of the University of the
Philippines ROTC Unit (UP Vanguard Fraternity) where he met his future cabinet members and Armed
Forces Chiefs of Staff. He sat for the 1939 Bar Examinations, receiving a near-perfect score and
graduating cum laude despite the fact that he was incarcerated while reviewing; had he not been in jail
for 27 days, he would have graduated magna cum laude. He was elected to the Pi Gamma Mu and the
Phi Kappa Phi international honour societies, the latter giving him its Most Distinguished Member Award
37 years later.
[6]

He claimed to have led a 9,000-man guerrilla force called Ang Mahrlika (Tagalog, "The Noble") in
northern Luzon during the Second World War, although his account of events was later cast into doubt
after a United States military investigation exposed many of his claims as either false or inaccurate.
[7]

The gifted child[edit]
In Seagrave's book "The Marcos Dynasty", he mentioned that Marcos possessed a phenomenal memory
and exhibited this by memorizing complicated texts and reciting forward and backward such as the 1935
Constitution of the Philippines. Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, in an interview with the Philippine Star
on March 25, 2012, shared her experience as a speech writer to President Marcos: "One time, the
Secretary of Justice forgot to tell me that the President had requested him to draft a speech that the
President was going to deliver before graduates of the law school. And then, on the day the President
was to deliver the speech, he suddenly remembered because Malacaang was asking for the speech, so
he said, 'This is an emergency. You just have to produce something.' And I just dictated the speech. He
liked long speeches. I think that was 20 or 25 pages. And then, in the evening, I was there, of course.
President Marcos recited the speech from memory."
[8]

Personal life[edit]
He was married to Imelda Romualdez-Marcos, on May 1, 1954 and the marriage produced three
children:
Maria Imelda "Imee" Marcos (born November 12, 1955) Governor of Ilocos Norte
Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. (born September 13, 1957) Senator of the Philippines
Irene Marcos (born September 16, 1960)
Congressional career[edit]
House of Representatives[edit]
When the Philippines was granted independence on July 4, 1946 by the American government, the
Philippine Congress was established. Marcos ran and was three times elected as representative of the
2nd district of Ilocos Norte, 19491959. He was named chairman of the House Committee on Commerce
and Industry and member of the Defense Committee headed by Ramon Magsaysay. He was chairman,
House Neophytes Bloc in which (President) Diosdado Macapagal, (Vice President) Emmanuel Pelaez and
(Manila Mayor) Arsenio J. Lacson were members. He was also a member of the House Committee on
Industry; LP spokesman on economic matters; member, Special Committee on Import and Price Controls
and on Reparations; House Committees on Ways and Means, Banks Currency, War Veterans, Civil
Service, Corporations and Economic Planning; and the House Electoral Tribunal.
[9]

Senate[edit]
He was the topnotcher in the senatorial elections in 1959. He was Senate minority floor leader, 1960;
executive vice president, LP 19541961; president, Liberal Party, 19611964; Senate President, 1963
1965. During his term as Senate President, former Defense Secretary Eulogio B. Balao was also closely
working with Marcos. Marcos led a controversial political career both before and after his term as
Senate President. He became Senator after he served as member of the House of Representatives for
three terms, then later as Minority Floor Leader before gaining the Senate Presidency. He introduced a
number of significant bills, many of which found their way into the Republic statute books.
[9]

Presidency[edit]
Presidential styles of
Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr.
Reference style His Excellency
Spoken style Your Excellency
Alternative style Mr. President
First term (19651969)[edit]
Presidential campaign[edit]


Marcos at the White House in 1966.
Marcos was famous for his anti-Japanese guerrilla activity during World War IIsomething that set him
apart from his political opponents, many of whom had collaborated with the Japanese. Marcos won the
presidency in 1965.
[10]

Infrastructure programs[edit]


The leaders of the SEATO nations in front of the Congress Building in Manila, hosted by Philippine
President Ferdinand Marcos on October 24, 1966. (L-R:) Prime Minister Nguyen Cao Ky (South Vietnam),
Prime Minister Harold Holt (Australia), President Park Chung-hee (South Korea), President Ferdinand
Marcos (Philippines), Prime Minister Keith Holyoake (New Zealand), Lt. Gen. Nguyen Van Thieu (South
Vietnam), Prime Minister Thanom Kittikachorn (Thailand), President Lyndon B. Johnson (United States)


Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos with Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird on September 12, 1966.
In his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), Marcos revealed his plans for economic development
and government reform. Marcos wanted the immediate construction of roads, bridges and public works,
which included 16,000 kilometers of feeder roads, some 30,000 lineal meters of permanent bridges, a
generator with an electric power capacity of one million kilowatts (1,000,000 kW), and water services to
eight regions and 38 localities.
[citation needed]
He also urged the revitalization of the judiciary, the national
defense posture and the fight against smuggling, criminality, and graft and corruption in the
government.
[citation needed]

To accomplish his goals President Marcos mobilized the manpower and resources of the Armed Forces
of the Philippines (AFP) for action to complement civilian agencies in such activities as infrastructure
construction; economic planning and program execution; regional and industrial site planning and
development; community development and others.
[11][unreliable source?]
The employment of technocrats in
key positions and the mobilization of the AFP for civic actions resulted in the increasing functional
integration of civilian and military elites.
[12][unreliable source?]

Vietnam War[edit]
To the surprise of many, soon after becoming president, Marcos wanted the Philippines to become
involved in the Vietnam War. He asked Congress to approve sending a combat engineer unit to South
Vietnam. When the previous Philippine president, Macapagal, suggested in 19641965 to send troops it
had been Marcos who had led the opposition against this plan on both legal and moral grounds. Despite
opposition against the new plan, the Marcos government gained Congressional approval and Philippine
troops were sent from the middle of 1966 as the Philippines Civic Action Group (PHILCAG). PHILCAG
reached a strength of some 1,600 troops in 1968 and between 1966 and 1970 over 10,000 Filipino
soldiers served in South Vietnam, mainly being involved in civilian infrastructure projects.
Second term (19691981)[edit]
1969 presidential election[edit]
In 1969, Marcos was reelected for a second termthe first Filipino president to win a second term.
[14]

The election was marked by massive violence, vote-buying, and fraud on Marcos' part,
[15][16]
and Marcos
used $56 million from the Philippines' treasury to fund his campaign.
[17]
His running mate, incumbent
Vice President Fernando Lopez was also elected to a third full term as Vice President of the Philippines.
Student uprising[edit]
Main article: First Quarter Storm
In 1970, students in Manila mobilized enormous numbers of people to attend protests against U.S.
imperialism and the "rise of fascism" under Marcos. The protests later became known as the First
Quarter Storm.
[18]

Martial Law and the New Society[edit]
Main article: Martial law in the Philippines


Ferdinand Marcos with Secretary of State George Shultz, 1982.
It is easier perhaps and more comfortable to look back to the solace of a familiar and mediocre
past. But the times are too grave and the stakes too high for us to permit the customary
concessions to traditional democratic processes.
Ferdinand Marcos, January 1973
[19]

In a privilege speech before Senate, Benigno Aquino, Jr. warned the public of the possible establishment
of a garrison state by President Marcos. Days later, Marcos declared martial law on September 22,
1972, by virtue of Proclamation 1081 which he signed on September 21, 1972, extending his rule
beyond the constitutional two-term limit. He justified this by exaggerating threats of Communist and
Muslim insurgencies.
[20]
He would later tell historians that he signed Proclamation No. 1081 as early as
September 17.
[21]
Ruling by decree, he curtailed press freedom and other civil liberties, closed down
Congress and media establishments, and ordered the arrest of opposition leaders and militant activists,
including his staunchest critics, senators Benigno Aquino, Jr., Jovito Salonga and Jose Diokno.
[22][23]

Marcos claimed that martial law was the prelude to creating his Bagong Lipunan, a "New Society" based
on new social and political values.
[24][citation needed]

A constitutional convention, which had been called for in 1970 to replace the Commonwealth era 1935
Constitution, continued the work of framing a new constitution after the declaration of martial law. The
new constitution went into effect in early 1973, changing the form of government from presidential to
parliamentary and allowing Marcos to stay in power beyond 1973.
[citation needed]

After putting in force amendments to the constitution, legislative action, and 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.
[25]

Marcos had a vision of a Bagong Lipunan (New Society) similar to Indonesian president Suharto's "New
Order administration". He used the years of martial law 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.
[citation needed]

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 as "crony
capitalism," Marcos' friends using them for personal benefit. With genuinely nationalistic motives, crony
capitalism was intended to redistribute monopolies traditionally owned by Chinese and Mestizo
oligarchs to Filipino businessmen though in practice, it led to graft and corruption via bribery,
racketeering, and embezzlement. 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 waging an
ideological war against the oligarchy, Marcos gained the support of the masses though he was to create
a new one in its place. Marcos, now free from day-to-day governance which was left mostly to Juan
Ponce Enrile using his power to settle scores against old rivals, such as the Lopezes, who were always
opposed to the Marcos administration. Leading opponents such as Senators Benigno Aquino, Jr., 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.
[citation needed][26]

Between 1972 and 1976, Marcos increased the size of the Philippine military from 65,000 to 270,000
personnel.
[24]
Military officers were placed on the boards of a variety of media corporations, public
utilities, development projects, and other private corporations. At the same time, Marcos made efforts
to foster the growth of a domestic weapons manufacturing industry and heavily increased military
spending.
[27]

The GNP of the country stood at $11.5 billion by 1980, which represented a 6.6% average annual growth
rate. The 1980 GNP was four times greater than the GNP in 1972. Rice production increased from 5.1
million metric tons in 1972 to 7.25 million metric tons in 1980 due to Masagana 99.
[28]

From the declaration of martial law in 1972, until 1983, the U.S. 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.
[29]

In a 1979 U.S. Senate report, it was stated that U.S. officials were aware, as early as 1973, that Philippine
government agents were in the United States to harass Filipino dissidents. In June 1981, two anti-
Marcos labor activists were assassinated outside of a union hall in Seattle. On at least one occasion, CIA
agents blocked FBI investigations of Philippine agents.
[30]

The Marcos regime instituted a mandatory youth organization, known as the Kabataang Barangay,
which was led by Marcos' eldest daughter Imee. Presidential Decree 684, enacted in April 1975, required
that all youths aged 15 to 18 be sent to remote rural camps, where they underwent a ritualistic program
designed to instill loyalty to the First Couple.
[31][32]

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 advisers 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.
[citation needed]

Cabinet[edit]
OFFICE NAME TERM
President Ferdinand Marcos December 30, 1965 1978
Vice-President Fernando Lopez
December 30, 1965
September 23, 1972
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural
Resources
Fernando Lopez 19651971

Arturo Tanco, Jr. 19711978
Secretary of Education, Culture and
Sports
Carlos P. Romulo
December 30, 1965 December
16, 1967

Onofre Corpuz
December 17, 1967 April 20,
1971

Juan Manuel April 21, 1971
Secretary of Foreign Affairs Narciso Ramos 19651968

Carlos P. Romulo 19681978
Secretary of Finance Juan Ponce Enrile 19661968

Eduardo Romualdez 19681970

Cesar Virata 19701978
Secretary of Justice Jose Yulo 19651967

Claudio Teehankee 19671968

Juan Ponce Enrile 19681970

Felix Makasiar 1970

Vicente Abad Santos 19701978
Secretary of National Defense
Ferdinand Marcos
(in concurrent capacity as
President)
19651967

Ernesto Mata 19671970

Juan Ponce Enrile 19701971

Ferdinand Marcos
(in concurrent capacity as
President)
19711972

Juan Ponce Enrile 19721978
Secretary of Commerce and Industry Marcelo Balatbat 19661968


Leonides Sarao Virata 19691970

Ernesto Maceda 19701971

Troadio Quiazon 19711974
Secretary of Industry Vicente Paterno 19741978
Secretary of Public Works,
Transportation and Communications
Antonio Raquiza 19661968

Rene Espina 19681969

Antonio Syquio 19691970

David Consunji 19701975

Alfredo Juinio 19751978
Secretary of Public Highways Baltazar Aquino 19741978
Director-General of the
National Economic and Development
Authority
Gerardo Sicat 19731978
Prime Minister[edit]
In 1978, the position returned when Ferdinand Marcos became Prime Minister. Based on Article 9 of the
1973 constitution, it had broad executive powers, that would be typical of modern prime ministers in
other countries. The position was the official head of government, and the commander-in-chief of the
armed forces. All of the previous powers of the President from the 1935 Constitution were transferred
to the newly restored office of Prime Minister. The Prime Minister also acted as head of the National
Economic Development Authority. Upon his reelection to President, Marcos was succeeded as Prime
Minister by Cesar Virata in 1981.
[citation needed]

Cabinet under Martial Law[edit]
OFFICE NAME TERM
President Ferdinand Marcos 19781986
Prime Minister Ferdinand Marcos 19781981

Cesar Virata 19811986
Minister of Agriculture Arturo Tanco, Jr. 19781984

Salvador Escudero III 19841986
Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos P. Romulo 19781984

Manuel Collantes 1984

Arturo Tolentino 19841985

Pacifico Castro 19851986
Minister of Finance Cesar Virata 19781986
Minister of Justice Vicente Abad Santos 19781979

Catalino Macaraig, Jr. 1979

Ricardo Puno 19791984

Estelito Mendoza 19841986
Minister of National Defense Juan Ponce Enrile 19781986
Minister of Industry
[33]
Vicente Paterno 19781979

Roberto Ongpin 19791981
Minister of Trade Luis Villafuerte, Sr. 19791981
Minister of Trade and Industry Roberto Ongpin 19811986
Minister of Public Works,
Transportation and Communications
[34]

Alfredo Juinio 19781981
Minister of Public Highways Baltazar Aquino 19781979


Vicente Paterno 19791980

Jesus Hipolito 19801981
Minister of Public Works and Highways Jesus Hipolito 19811986
Director-General of the
National Economic and Development Authority
Gerardo Sicat 19781981

Cesar Virata 19811986
Minister of Energy Geronimo Velasco 19781986
Minister of Human Settlements Imelda Marcos 19781986
Minister of Labor Blas Ople 19781986
Third term (19811986)[edit]
We love your adherence to democratic principles and to the democratic process, and we will not
leave you in isolation.
U.S. Vice-President George H. W. Bush during Ferdinand Marcos inauguration, June 1981
[35]

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 ran and won a massive victory over the other
candidates. The major opposition parties, the United Nationalists Democratic Organizations (UNIDO), a
coalition of opposition parties and LABAN, boycotted the elections.
Impeachment attempt[edit]


President Ferdinand Marcos in Washington in 1983.
On August 13, 1985, fifty-six Assemblymen signed a resolution calling for the impeachment of President
Marcos for alleged diversion of U.S. aid for personal use,
[36]
citing a July 1985 San Jose Mercury News
expos of the Marcoses multi-million dollar investment and property holdings in the United
States.
[citation needed]

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.
[citation needed]

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.
[citation needed]

Downfall[edit]
See also: People Power Revolution
During these years, Marcos's regime was marred by rampant corruption and political mismanagement
by his relatives and cronies, which culminated with the assassination of Benigno Aquino. Critics
considered Marcos the quintessential kleptocrat,
[37]
having looted billions of dollars from the Filipino
treasury. The large personality cult in the Philippines surrounding Marcos also led to disdain.
[citation needed]

During his third term, Marcos' health deteriorated rapidly due to kidney ailments, often described as
lupus erythematosus. He was absent for weeks at a time for treatment, with no one to assume
command. Marcos' regime was sensitive to publicity of his condition; a palace physician who alleged
that during one of these periods Marcos had undergone a kidney transplant was shortly afterward found
murdered. Many people questioned whether he still had capacity to govern, due to his grave illness and
the ballooning political unrest.
[38]

With Marcos ailing, his equally powerful wife, Imelda, emerged as the government's main public figure.
Marcos dismissed speculations of his ailing health as 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 Ver as well as other high-ranking
military officers for the crime were widely seen as a miscarriage of justice.
[citation needed]

By 1984, 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's rule over the years.
[39]
During the Carter administration the relation with the U.S. soured
somewhat when President Jimmy Carter targeted the Philippines in his human rights campaign.
[citation
needed]

In the face of escalating public discontent and under pressure from foreign allies, Marcos called a "Snap
election" in 1986, with more than a year left in his term. He selected Arturo Tolentino as his running
mate.
[citation needed]
The opposition to Marcos united behind Aquino's widow, Corazon, and her running
mate, Salvador Laurel.
[40][41]

The "People Power movement" drove Marcos into exile and installed Corazon Aquino as the new
president.
[42]
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.
[citation needed]

The Philippine government today is still paying interest in public debts incurred during Marcos'
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 and in addition, certificates for gold bullion
valued in the billions of dollars were allegedly among the personal properties he, his family, his cronies
and business partners surreptitiously took with them when the U.S. provided them safe passage to
Hawaii. When the presidential mansion was seized, it was discovered that Imelda Marcos had over 2700
pairs of shoes in her closet.
[43]

Aquino's assassination[edit]
Main article: Assassination of Benigno Aquino, Jr.
In 1983, opposition leader Benigno Aquino, Jr. was assassinated by his Philippine military escort at the
Manila International Airport upon his return to the Philippines after three years in the United States.
Popular speculations pointed to three suspects; 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 was that crony Danding Cojuangco
planned the assassination because of his political ambitions. Ninoy's brutal death while under the
custody of military security combined with Marcos' dictatorial governance and plundering of public
coffers ultimately led to an irreversible spiral that saw widespread protests and his eventual ignominious
eviction from Malacanang.
[44]

Economy[edit]


Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos on a walk with U.S President Ronald Reagan.
To help finance a number of economic development projects, the Marcos government borrowed large
amounts of money from international lenders.
[45][46]
The Philippines' external debt rose from $360
million (US) in 1962 to $28.3 billion in 1986, making the Philippines one of the most indebted countries
in Asia.
[45]
A sizable amount of this money went to Marcos family and friends in the form of behest
loans. These loans were assumed by the government and are still being serviced by taxpayers, to this
day. These loans were ostensibly funded to construct the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant but after Marcos'
ouster, the plant was not utilized. Today, more than half of the country's revenues go toward the
payment of interest on these loans, with the principal amounts remaining largely untouched. During the
time of the late Pres. Corazon Aquino, these debts were repudiated and finance secretary Jaime Ongpin,
threatened to resign unless they were. He had a personal reason: Aurita Villoso, DBP internal auditor,
said loans were granted to Ongpin's Delta Ventures Resources Inc (DVRI) amounting to P660 million. The
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (the central bank of the Republic of the Philippines) tried to resist the
repudiation bill's passage in the Congress, but due to international pressure Aquino did allow the denial
of these debts.
[47]

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. It aimed to
promote the economic development of the barangays by encouraging its 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 or seven percent from 1970 to 1980.
[48]

The Philippine economy suffered a great decline after the Aquino assassination in August 1983. The
political troubles hindered the entry of foreign investments, and foreign banks stopped granting loans to
the Philippine government.
[citation needed]
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.
[citation needed]

However, the economy experienced negative economic growth from the beginning of 1984 and
continued to decline despite the government's recovery efforts. The failure of the recovery program was
caused by civil unrest, rampant graft and corruption within the government, and 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 27.65% in 1985.
[49][citation needed]

Between 1972 and 1980, the average monthly income of wage workers had fallen by 20%. By 1981, the
wealthiest 10% of the population was receiving twice as much income as the bottom 60%.
[50]

With help from the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations, Marcos brought the "Green Revolution"
(industrialized, chemical agriculture) to the Philippines. These reforms resulted in high profits for
transnational corporations, but were generally harmful to small, peasant farmers who were often
pushed into poverty.
[51]
After declaring martial law in 1972, Marcos promised to implement agrarian
reforms. However, the land reforms "served largely to undermine Marcos' landholder opponents, not to
lessen inequality in the countryside",
[52]
and "encouraged conversion to cash tenancy and greater
reliance on farm workers".
[53]
From 1972 to 1980, agricultural production fell by 30%.
[50]

Under Marcos, exports of timber products were among the nation's top exports. Little attention was
paid to environmental impacts of deforestation. By the early 1980s, the industry collapsed because most
of the Philippines' accessible forests had been depleted.
[54]

Corruption charges[edit]
Since as early as March 1968, Ferdinand Marcos was reported to have deposited large amounts in Swiss
banks including Credit Suisse, under the pseudonym "William Saunders" (an alias he had used during his
World War II days), while Imelda used the pseudonym "Jane Ryan".
[55]
In 1988, he was indicted by the
federal grand jury in Manhattan, USA, in a racketeering case that included charges that he embezzled
more than $100 million from the Philippine Government and used the money to buy three buildings in
New York City.
[56]

Post-presidency[edit]
At 5:00 a.m., February 25, 1986, Marcos talked to United States Senator Paul Laxalt, asking for advice
from the White House. Laxalt advised him to "cut and cut cleanly", to which Marcos expressed his
disappointment after a short pause.
[57]
In the afternoon, Marcos talked to Enrile, asking for safe passage
for him and his family including his close allies like General Ver. Finally, at 9:00 p.m., the Marcos family
was transported by four Sikorsky HH-3E helicopters
[58]
to Clark Air Base in Angeles City, Pampanga,
about 83 kilometers north of Manila, before boarding US Air Force C-130 planes bound for Andersen Air
Force Base in Guam, and finally to Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii where Marcos arrived on February
26. Marcos died in Honolulu on September 28, 1989, of kidney, heart and lung ailments.
Marcos 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. His 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 large bust of Ferdinand Marcos (resembling Mount
Rushmore) was commissioned by the tourism minister, Jose Aspiras, and carved into a hillside in
Benguet. It was subsequently destroyed; suspects included left-wing activists, members of a local tribe
who had been displaced by construction of the monument, and looters hunting for the Marcos'
legendary hidden treasure.
[59]
Imelda Marcos was acquitted of embezzlement by a U.S. court in 1990 but
was still facing a several hundred additional corruption 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.
[60][61]

Corazon Aquino repealed many of the repressive laws that had been enacted during Marcos'
dictatorship. She restored the right of access to habeas corpus, repealed anti-labor laws, and freed
hundreds of political prisoners.
[62]

From 1989 to 1996, a series of suits were brought before U.S. courts against Marcos and his daughter
Imee, charging them with executions, torture, and disappearances committed under their command. A
jury in the Ninth Circuit Court awarded $2 billion to the plaintiffs and to a class composed of human
rights victims and their families.
[63]
On June 12, 2008, the US Supreme Court (in a 72 ruling penned by
Justice Anthony Kennedy in Republic of the Philippines v. Mariano Pimentel) held that: The judgment
of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is reversed, and the case is remanded with instructions to
order the District Court to dismiss the interpleader action. The court dismissed the interpleader lawsuit
filed to determine the rights of 9,500 Filipino human rights victims (19721986) to recover $35 million,
part of a $2 billion judgment in U.S. courts against the Marcos estate, because the Philippines is an
indispensable party, protected by sovereign immunity. It claimed ownership of the funds transferred by
Marcos in 1972 to Arelma S.A., which invested the money with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
Inc., in New York.
[64][65][66]

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). Military historian Alfred McCoy in his book "Closer than Brothers: Manhood at the Philippine
Military Academy" and in his speech "Dark Legacy" cites 3,257 extrajudicial killings, 35,000 torture
victims, and 70,000 incarcerated during the Marcos years.
[67][68]
The newspaper Bulatlat (lit. "to open
carelessly") places the number of victims of arbitrary arrest and detention at 120,000.
[69]

Legacy[edit]
Marcos' family and cronies looted so much wealth from the country that to this day investigators have
difficulty determining precisely how many billions of dollars were stolen. However, it is estimated that
Marcos alone stole at least $5 billion from the Filipino treasury.
[70][71]
The Swiss government, initially
reluctant to respond to allegations that stolen funds were held in Swiss accounts,
[72]
has returned
US$684 million of Marcos wealth.
[73][74][75]

According to Jovito Salonga, monopolies in several vital industries have been created and placed under
the control of Marcos cronies, such as the coconut industries (under Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr. and Juan
Ponce Enrile), the tobacco (under Lucio Tan), the banana (under Antonio Floirendo), the sugar industry
(under Roberto Benedicto) and manufacturing (under Herminio Disini and Ricardo Silverio). The Marcos
and Romualdez families became owners, directly or indirectly, of the nation's largest corporations, such
as the Philippine Long Distance Company (PLDC), of which the present name is Philippine Long Distance
Telephone (PLDT), the Philippine Airlines (PAL), Meralco (an electric company), Fortune Tobacco, the
San Miguel Corporation (Asia's largest beer and bottling company), numerous newspapers, radio and TV
broadcasting companies (such as ABS-CBN), several banks( most notably the Philippine Commercial and
Industrial Bank; PCIBank of the Lopezes now BDO after merging with Equitable Bank and after BDO
acquired the merged Equitable PCI), and real estate properties in New York, California and Hawaii.
[76]

The Aquino government also accused them of skimming off foreign aid and international
assistance.
[citation needed]

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.
[77]
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.
[78]

In the 2004 Global Transparency Report, Marcos appeared in the list of the World's Most Corrupt
Leaders. He was listed second behind the late President of Indonesia, Suharto and he was said to have
amassed between $5 billion to $10 billion in his 21 years as president of the Philippines.
[79][80]

During the ICIJ's (International Consortium of Investigative Journalists) expose of Offshore leaks in April
2013, the name of his eldest daughter, Imee Marcos appeared on the list of wealthy people involved in
offshore financial secrecy. It was revealed that she is hiding parts her father's ill-gotten wealth in tax
havens in the British Virgin Islands.
[81][82]

Writings[edit]
Today's Revolution: Democracy (1971)