Marcos Regime

Cherry Lou Gutierrez
GP-IS
IS204
The governance system under the martial law regime of Mr. Marcos-who are the main actors; what are the policies on NGO's, human rights; economy and foreign policy?
Government after EDSA who are the major actors in governance? What is the policy on NGOs, human rights; economy and foreign policy?
For more than 20 years Ferdinand Marcos ruled the Philippines. In his first term (1965-1969), he tried to stabilize the financial position of the government. He borrowed heavily from international financing institutions to support large scale infrastructure work projects were built. He improved agricultural production to make the country self-sufficient in food especially in rice. Marcos also strengthens the foreign relations of the Philippines. In his second term (1969-1972), The 1971 Constitutional Congress of the Philippines called for Constitutional Convention to review and rewrite the 1935 Constitution. The Convention's image was marked by scandals which included the bribing of some delegates to make them vote against the proposal to prohibit Marcos from continuing in power under a new constitution. The first Papal Visit to the Philippines, Pope Paul VI visited the only Catholic nation in Asia.
The Rise of Student Activism Students protest on the prevailing conditions of the country burden the second term of Marcos in office. Large throngs went out in the street of manila and other places o denounce the rampant graft and corruption, human right violation, militarization and abuses of military and the inferior of the Marcos administration to support US interest and policies.
The Establishment of New People's Army The NPA gradually increased its ranked and spread to other parts of the country. They took advantage of the growing discontent with Marcos. They infiltrated several student organizations, farmers, labourers and professionals.
The Rise in Acts of Violence Many acts of violence happened, they said that these were inspired by the communists. Marcos believed that the bloodiest Plaza Miranda Bombing was because of the communist. He suspended the writ of habeas corpus to maintain peace and order.
Marcos declared the Martial law on September 21, 1972. This marked the beginning of the Marcos dictatorship. His main reason for declaring Martial Law as "to save the Republic" and "to reform the society". He explained that the growing violence in the nation caused by leftists and the rightists' elements had come to certain magnitude that required martial law. Under the martial law Marcos disregarded the constitution. Upon his orders, the military picked up and detained thousand Filipinos suspected of rebellion. Many were held in military detention camps without trial. People became law abiding, but these good gains did not last long. After a year of martial law, crime rates started to soar. NPAs already numbered and waged against government forces. They engaged in terrorist activities such as assassination of local officials that known to be engaged in corrupt activities. To fight with growing NPA threat, Marcos increased the armed forces. The rampant violation of human rights of the people suspected of being NPA sympathizers, the injustices by some government officials and continuing poverty of the people were used as propaganda of the NPA in attracting idealistic young people. Even priests and nuns.

Foreign Relations Policy Marcos
Marcos announced his policy of establishing relations with communist countries such as the People's Republic of China and Soviet Union. Relations with the US were modified and were no longer based on the sentimental ties but on mutual respect for each others' national interest. Marcos established closer ties with the Asian countries. The Philippines became a leading member of the Third World- a collective name for developing countries at that time.
The Lifting of Martial Law
After implementing the program of development, Marcos issued proclamation No.2045 lifting martial law. He lifted it to show to the Filipinos and the world that the situation of the Philippines was already back to normal. The government had already functioning smoothly. Despite the lifting, Marcos remained powerful and practiced authoritarian rule. Marcos called for a presidential election. It was a runway victory for him. It was believed that he won because he was in full control of the situation. Then, the assassination of Ninoy Aquino came and awakened the Filipinos. Millions of people sympathized with Aquino bereaved family, joined the funeral march to mourn for the death of an intelligent leader to express their feelings against Marcos. The Aquino assassination gave Marcos the bad image abroad, Public opinion in the US went against Marcos.
As the investigation and trial of Aquino was going, the Philippine economy was having hard times. There was a slow down economic activities caused by high price of oil. The Philippine traditional exports were experiencing a price decline in the world market. The government forced to borrow money from the International Monetary Fund to help the economy going. The tourism industry suffered a great decline. The political troubles hindered the entry of foreign investments. Foreign banks also stopped granting loans to the Philippines. Marcos tried to launch a national economic recovery program. He negotiated with foreign creditors for restructuring of the country's foreign debts.
As the economy continued to decline, the IMF, World Bank and US and the country's foreign creditors pressured Marcos to institute reforms as a condition for grant of additional economic and financial help. Marcos announced that there will be a snap presidential election. Corazon Aquino campaigned on the issue of ending the Marcos dictatorship and the restoration of freedom, justice and democracy. She denounced the gross violations of human rights of the Marcos regime.
The Philippines after EDSA Revolution
Aquino administration takes over an economy that has gone through socio-political disasters during the People Power revolution, where there was financial and commodity collapse caused by an overall consumer doubt, a result of the propaganda against cronies, social economic unrest resulting from numerous global shortages, massive protests, lack of government transparency, the opposition's speculations and alleged corruption in the government. At that point in time, the country had debt that began crippling the country which slowly made the Philippines the "Latin-American in East Asia" as it started to experience the worst recession since the post-war era.
Most of the immediate efforts of the Aquino administration were directed in reforming the image of the country and paying off all debts, including those that some governments were ready to write-off, as possible. This resulted in budget cuts and further aggravated the dilemma of the lower class because the jobs offered to them by the government was now gone. Infrastructure projects, including repairs, were halted in secluded provinces turning concrete roads into asphalt. Privatization of many government corporations, most catering utilities, was the priority of the Aquino administration which led to massive lay-offs and inflation. The Aquino administration however, was persistent in its belief that the problems were caused by the previous administration.
Growth gradually began in the next few years of the administration. Somehow, there was still a short-lived and erratic recovery from 1987 to 1991 as the political situation stabilized a bit. With this, the peso became more competitive, confidence of investors was gradually regained, positive movements in terms of trade were realized, and regional growth gradually strengthened.
There were other key events in the administration that affected the economy. Perhaps the first most important, aside from the ratification of the 1987 Constitution, would be the administration's pushing for a more open political framework where the administration somehow gave in to the interests of new economic actors. This approach, which also proved important in regaining the confidence of investors, whether domestic or foreign, was definitely unthinkable during the Marcos era. The administration was also characterized by the rescheduling and management of international debts, an exhibition perhaps of the fact that other external entities also sympathized with what happened to the Philippines and also allowed the Philippines to get back on track before anything else.
Development in this administration, however, was slightly bothered by some unforeseen circumstances such as organized coups by the Reformed Armed Forces Movement in 1991. Negotiations with Mindanao also stalled development along with the coup attempts. The Philippines was also hit by the oil price hike effects of the Gulf War. Pressure on government spending and safety nets was intensified as natural calamities like earthquakes and the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo plagued the country, just as if the daily brownouts were not bad enough.
One of the most important policies of the administration is the launching of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program in June 1988, which involved the acquisition and redistribution of all agricultural lands within a time frame of 10 years. Also important in the administration were the trade reforms. The trade reforms pushed by the administration were those that improved export growth and foreign trade through the abolishing of export taxes, the gradual liberalization of imports, and the imposition of an anti-export bias ideal. The reforms also involved the reduction in trade barriers, more specifically by removing restrictions on imports and reforming the import-licensing system. Tariff rates were also eventually reduced to encourage more foreign trade.[2] The administration was also a big part in the realization of the ASEAN Free Trade Area which also served as encouragement for foreign trade.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PostEDSA_macroeconomic_history_of_the_Philippines#References
http://www.countriesquest.com/asia/philippines/history/republic_of_the_philippines/the_marcos_regime.htm
http://www.philippinecountry.com/philippine_history/marcos_time.html
http://tagaloglang.com/the-era-of-ferdinand-marcos/