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Historical investigation- Ferdinand E.

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Brent Mayol

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History extension- H.I

Ferdinand E Marcos

By Brent Mayol

The nature of the rule of

Ferdinand E. Marcos

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” - Lord Acton 1887 .

A quote which essentially summarises the rise and fall of the 10th President of the

Philippines, Ferdinand E. Marcos. He lived from 1917-1989 and held his presidency

from 1965-1986 . He was known for a great number of qualities, initially a talented

lawyer known for his intelligence and a decorated soldier of a guerrilla army known as

the Ang Mahárlika (translates to "The Freeman”) , which fought alongside the Ameri

cans in WWII for freedom from the Japanese. Both experiences allowed the acquisition

of skills and characteristics which would later prove to be vital in his political career. As

president his skilful ability in public speaking and his charismatic appeal became prom-

inent on the domestic, as well as, world stage. With all these qualities one would won-

der how such a man could leave a legacy of corruption and a sense of tyranny in a

country he claimed to act in the best interest of. Therefore, the aim of this historical in-

vestigation is to uncover the true nature of the rule of Ferdinand Marcos. In order to

achieve this, it is essential to explore his context, as well as it’s eﬀects upon on his 20

year rule. How Marcos took and maintained power in his 20 years as president. Further,

to create a deeper and more complete understanding of the Marcos’ Regime and the

historical perspectives that have developed, it will be essential to explore the economic,

political and social impacts of Marcos. Through the use of primary and secondary

sources the arguments presented aim to be justiﬁed with sound historical veracity

Lord Acton on “Power Corrupts” by David Henderson, 2013 - EconLog https://www.econlib.org/archives/2013/02/lord_acton_on_p.html accessed:

15/6/19

Ferdinand Marcos- britannica.com accessed: 15/6/19

Military career of Ferdinand Marcos- Wikipedia accessed: 15/6/19 note: his history in the involvement in WWII has been found to be grossly exag

gerated.

History extension- H.I

Ferdinand E Marcos

By Brent Mayol

which present, as close a possible, the complete nature of the now infamous authorita-

tive rule of Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos. "

The representation of Marcos varies; with polarising arguments for and against, origi-

nating from both, historians and people of the era. Therefore, to uncover the true nature

of the rule of Marcos it is essential to paint an accurate picture of the context in which

he ruled, particularly, with a focus on exterior factors such as the growth of communism

and the Cold war, as well as, interior inﬂuences such as the concerns of the general

populace, of which, played an inﬂuence on the rule of Marcos. In his initial move to of-

ﬁce, the Philippines had only recently gained independence in 1946 from the US, it was

therefore, essential for Marcos to consolidate his status as President of the Philippines

and not a US political puppet. The concern that Marcos would become a US puppet

was exhibited shortly after he controversially won a second term in January of 1970, in

a rally consisting of mostly protesting students chanting “Marcos, Puppet” . These

events of 1970 also exhibit the growing communist movement within the nation espe-

cially amongst the academic youth known as the National Union of Students of the

Philippines (NUSP) and Kabataang Makabayan (Tagalog for nationalistic youth) .

5 6

However, when Marcos came to power in 1965, he also took on responsibility of presi-

dency 20 years after WWII and in the midst of the Cold War. In Asia, communism was

making an impact in places such as Vietnam and Korea, culminating in US military in-

tervention in both countries. The theory of the ‘Domino’ aﬀect held great signiﬁcance in

The First Quarter Storm Library “The January 26 Confrontation” published 2010https://fqslibrary.wordpress.com/2010/01/25/the-january-26-con

frontation-by-jose-f-lacaba/ , accessed 28/6/19

The National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) is a nation-wide alliance of student councils/governments/unions committed to the ad

vancement of the students' democratic rights and welfare. Extract from National Union of Students of the Philippines, http://nusp.blogspot.com, ac-

cessed 16/7/19

The Kabataang Makabayan is, since being outlawed in 1972 due to martial law, a now underground revolutionary organisation which supports com

munism in the Philippines. More detail on this group can be found on National Democratic Front of the Philippines ‘Historic role and contributions of

Kabataang Makabayan’ published 2014, https://www.ndfp.org/historic-role-and-contributions-of-kabataang-makabayan/, accessed 16/7/19

History extension- H.I

Ferdinand E Marcos

By Brent Mayol

the minds of those in the western world and across Asia . Therefore, Marcos and the

Philippines, due to its central location in SE Asia, was seen to hold a responsibility to

assist in preventing the spread of communism globally. The weight of this obligation

can be seen to be complied, and supported by Marcos in the following year of his ac-

quisition of power. Despite holding a ﬁrm opposition to the deployment of troops to

Vietnam prior to his presidency. In 1966 Filipino troops also known as the “ﬁlgag” were

sent to South Vietnam in order to assist in civilian infrastructure projects . However,

Marcos in the 1977 episode of the Firing line program, eﬀectively conveyed that he

trusted that China was not a threat to the Philippines, as he had no “reason to distrust

their word” due to his 1975 visit to China, and disregarded suspicion of China’s in-

volvement in, however acknowledged evidence of, the smuggling of weapons to com-

munist organisations in the Philippines . From this, a contradiction appears, that the

main antagonist of the communist threat in Asia, which assisted the communist revolu-

tion in Vietnam , was not a threat to the Philippines. Marcos justiﬁed his belief of Chi

na’s neutrality as due to the then current leadership being “pragmatic” and that the

Philippines was “not worth the eﬀort” in reference to China’s ambition for global com-

munism . Therefore, this brings into question the validity of the nationwide implemen

tation of martial law from 1972, in which “the communist threat” was a major citation

under Proclamation No. 1081 . This questionability was particularly relevant to the Fil

ipino people of the time and is presented by primary sources such as the perspective of

history.com “Domino Theory” published 2009, https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/domino-theory accessed 20/6/19

HistoryNet.com “The Philippines: Allies During the Vietnam War” published 2006, https://www.historynet.com/the-philippines-allies-during-the-viet

nam-war.htm accessed: 20/6/19

the Firing Line Program ‘Ferdinand Marcos, President of the Philippines: a discussion… transcript of the Firing line program’ accessed 18/7/19

(quote is located on the bottom of page 5)

The Washington Post ‘China Admits Combat In Vietnam War’ published: unknown

the Firing Line Program ‘Ferdinand Marcos, President of the Philippines: a discussion… transcript of the Firing line program’ accessed 18/7/19

(quote is located on the bottom of page 5)

Page 17 of ‘Filemon C. Rodriguez. (1985). The Marcos Regime: Rape of the Nation. Diliman, Quezon City: Vintage Press.

History extension- H.I

Ferdinand E Marcos

By Brent Mayol

my own Filipino born mother, Rowena Mayol , who described the sole purpose of mar

tial law as “A means for Marcos to maintain power”. "

This notion of Marcos’ need to maintain power originates from the widespread dissent

of the population evident in the various 1970 protests, rallies and riots which has come

to be known as ‘The First Quarter Storm’ , which notably occurred shortly after Mar

cos’ unprecedented re-election of 1969. This concept of dissent by the general popu-

lace is further supported by Filemon C. Rodriquez’ ‘The Marcos Regime’. As in his book

Rodriquez exhibits that the Marcos administration knew of its growing unpopularity

which therefore resulted in extra measures being undertaken to “inﬂuence voters” .

Such measures are apparent in the lead up to, and during the 1967 and 1969 elections,

as part of their campaign for re-election the Marcos administration held, as well as en-

forced, a mentality of “win-at-all-costs” . This objective set by the Marcos administra

tion would incur further debt on the nation’s economy, through substantial spending on

boosting the potential reach of the administration’s campaign via the rigorous satura-

tion of the media and the use of “goons, guns and gold” according to Rodriquez to

help guarantee the re-election of Marcos. These activities according to Rodriquez are

by “conservative estimates” to have incurred the cost of approximately “ﬁve hundred

million pesos”. The eﬀects of what can be termed as electoral fraud are shown to have

contributed to the diminishing economic conditions within the Philippines, as exhibited

by Rodriquez through economic statistics recorded by the National Economic Council.

Rowena Mayol, born 1970 in Cebu, by the time Marcos had lost power in 1986 she was 16 and can accurately recall certain events. Rowena is

passionately anti-Marcos and pro-Duterte (current Filipino president). She was raised in the Philippines and studied as a scholar for nursing at the

Cebu Normal University. She grew up in an upper class family as her father was a wealthy business owner.

The First Quarter Storm Library ‘The January 26#Confrontation’ by Jose F. Lacaba, First published February 7, 1970 then again on the 25th of Jan

uary 2010, accessed 21/7/19

page 35 of Filemon C. Rodriguez. (1985). The Marcos Regime: Rape of the Nation. Diliman, Quezon City: Vintage Press.

History extension- H.I

Ferdinand E Marcos

By Brent Mayol

Where internal debt by the end of his ﬁrst term of Presidency rose to P(Filipino Peso)

5838.4 million or “86 percent of what it was at the start” . Thus the role of Marcos in

the Cold War was thereby, arguably, an exterior illusion created by the paranoia origi-

nating from the Western populist concept of Communism destroying its capitalistic

ideals globally. Internally, communism to Marcos during the Cold War was but a minor

threat when compared to the state of the nation, in terms of its crime rates and eco-

nomic weaknesses. The illusion of the communist threat was exhibited to have been

used by Marcos to hide the true concerns of the nation from the West and, to thereby,

create a ‘need’ for an authoritative government within the newly independent Constitu-

tion of the Philippines. "

Marcos has become infamous for the way in which he maintained overall control of the

social, economic and political environment of the Philippines. Although, in the end Mar-

cos was seen to rule with a “iron ﬁst” as described by primary source, pro-Marcos Fil-

ipino Ricardo Sibucao , it was not how he reached such heights of power and, at least

initially, swayed the masses to his favour. It was his exceptional ability to speak in pub-

lic and his seemingly infallible intelligence which won the hearts of both, the Filipino,

and Foreign, public. In the social environment, Marcos won the Filipino people through

his 1965 campaign, in his patriotic promise “to make the country great again” . A no

table parallel to today’s US president Donald J. Trump. However similar such contro-

versial ﬁgures are, the diﬀerence lays in their ability to evoke economic and political

change, where Trump undeniably continues to strive and Marcos arguably struggled.

However, where Trump blatantly struggles to create a national identity which America

Page 38 of Filemon C. Rodriguez. (1985). The Marcos Regime: Rape of the Nation. Diliman, Quezon City: Vintage Press.

Ricardo Sibucao is a Filipino in born 1946, he is the Grandfather of Joshua Deidier (classmate at St Edwards). Ricardo was 19 when Marcos came

to power in 1965 and therefore would have been old enough to experience the eﬀects of the Marcos administration as an adult.

Page 23 of Filemon C. Rodriguez. (1985). The Marcos Regime: Rape of the Nation. Diliman, Quezon City: Vintage Press.

History extension- H.I

Ferdinand E Marcos

By Brent Mayol

can, once more, universally identify with and, moreover, accept . Marcos skilfully and

advantageously strived, as he achieved a symbolic nationalist aura of which the Filipino

people could delineate upon their own sense of patriotism, a value of which Marcos

supporters used as an excuse for his excessive acts of violence . Providing the Philip

pines with a national identity is something which has become somewhat of a hallmark

of his Presidential career, as his policies and methods, despite its authoritative nature,

dealt with the problems within the Philippines in a way which some Filipinos saw as a

necessity of the period, through hardline punishment. Therefore, Marcos, despite his

ﬂaws as president, set a blueprint in reference to being a truly nationalistic leader. Such

a concept is strongly emphasised by my father, Alet Mayol , who is pro-Marcos, how

ever, acknowledges Marcos’ brutal authoritative nature, as he believes Marcos “put

Philippines on the map” and “was the ﬁrst President to toy with the US”. Such an idea

is further praised in James Hamilton-Peterson’s ‘America’s Boy’, “Marcos had given the

country a measure of pride and independence” A view which Ricardo agreed with but

interestingly cited as being “what did it for him” referring to Marcos' downfall."

Politically, Marcos post-initial election continued with the promise of bringing change,

as he, according to Rodriqeuz “emphasised eﬃciency and honesty in government” .

Marcos controlled and implemented economic change through the formation of custom

councils, such as the “high-level economic-developmental council” whereby he was

The Washington Post ‘The forgotten riot that explains Trump’s appeal to the white working class’ by Leonard Steinhorn published: June 24 2019

Primary sources Ricardo Sibucao and Alet Mayol both pro-Marcos exhibit tendencies to justify Marcos’ authoritative methods as a means to “disci

pline” and therefore, contribute to making the Philippines a safer and better place.

Alet Mayol born in 1968, Filipino born and raised. He grew up in the lower class family in what was a rural area (now urbanised) of Cebu. He went on

to study at the Cebu Normal University on a scholarship studying law then nursing and graduate as valedictorian.

Ricardo Sibucao is a Filipino in born 1946, he is the Grandfather of Joshua Deidier (classmate at St Edwards). Ricardo was 19 when Marcos came

to power in 1965 and therefore would have been old enough to experience the eﬀects of the Marcos administration as an adult.

Page 23-24 of Filemon C. Rodriguez. (1985). The Marcos Regime: Rape of the Nation. Diliman, Quezon City: Vintage Press.

Page 24 of Filemon C. Rodriguez. (1985). The Marcos Regime: Rape of the Nation. Diliman, Quezon City: Vintage Press.

History extension- H.I

Ferdinand E Marcos

By Brent Mayol

chairman. Essentially, from this reform, it is exhibited that even early on, Marcos had a

desire to centralise power to orbit himself. As president he had access to the given

powers associated, such as the right to executive orders and martial law, both of which,

he used to controversial lengths at some point in his reign. As seen in, most notably,

the controversial proclamation of martial law in 1972 and various formations of commit-

tees such as the Financial and Fiscal Policy Committee established by Executive Order

No. 242, signed 1970 . In the time of martial law, Marcos ran a centralised authoritative

regime, and thus, the Philippines was under the control of Marcos and his military.

Which entailed policies such as the closure of all independent media, curfews, loss of

the freedom of speech and general limitations/loss of liberty . "

Economically, in the majority of western media you can ﬁnd all sorts of articles explor-

ing the detrimental impact which Marcos had on the Philippines. Essentially the sole

picture of what is remembered of Marcos in the West, is that of, the corrupt dictator or

as the Economist puts it “thief” , of whom, stole from, and left the Philippine economy

in a detrimental state . However, there is also a perception that Marcos brought in

economic prosperity. In his ﬁrst term as president, Marcos essentially delved into vari-

ous major changes and projects which aimed to improve the Philippines, as well as,

exhibit “competence” . In particular, the infrastructure projects did indeed become no

table and eﬀective in swaying a positive view of Marcos, as emphasised by my family

friend, Lorena Torre “Without Marcos there would not be the Juanico Bridge and the

Oﬃcial Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines ‘Executive Orders’ https://www.oﬃcialgazette.gov.ph/section/executive-orders/page/370/

Page 97 of Filemon C. Rodriguez. (1985). The Marcos Regime: Rape of the Nation. Diliman, Quezon City: Vintage Press.

The Economist ‘Hail to the thief’ published: November 12th, 2016 https://www.economist.com/asia/2016/11/12/hail-to-the-thief

ABC News ‘Imelda Marcos shoe museum: The excess of a regime that still haunts the Philippines’ By Shirley Escalante in Manila, Updated 2 Oct

2016

Page 25 of Filemon C. Rodriguez. (1985). The Marcos Regime: Rape of the Nation. Diliman, Quezon City: Vintage Press.

Lorena Torre Filipino born 1972, would have been 14 at the time of Marcos’ overthrow in 1986

History extension- H.I

Ferdinand E Marcos

By Brent Mayol

Heart Centre in the Philippines, zigzag road in Atimonan quezon”. However, such major

projects made, as noted, “little progress” and incurred further debts to the already

weak economy of the Philippines. As a result of the costs of such projects, at the end of

his ﬁrst-term, operating deﬁcits had more than quadrupled to P933.6 Million from

P152.9 Million . This, in turn, created a poor economic outlook for the population as

inﬂation became a result of the substantial use of borrowing and, thereby, increased

costs of living with interest rates peaking at 21 percent . Economic conditions would

continue to diminish throughout his presidency, and the people’s dissatisfaction to

therefore increase.%

Marcos from the earliest stages of his presidency introduced signiﬁcant social reforms

which aimed to promote prosperity within Philippine society. In 1966, most notably,

Marcos introduced family planning in a time when the growth of the population was

“exploding” . Such a reform was controversial, as the Philippines was, and continues

to be, a largely conservative Catholic society. Therefore, the reaction of the church ac-

cording to, previously mentioned primary source, Ricardo Sibucao was “did not agree

with that” and thus resulted in Marcos “always having some disagreement with the

church”, of which, created signiﬁcant opposition to the Marcos’ administration. Such

opposition from the Catholic Church was, notably publicly, exhibited in the opening

session of Congress in 1970. Where a desolate invocation delivered by an unnamed

member of the “Filipino religious hierarchy” essentially exposed and explored, as Ro-

driquez puts it, the “grim outlook” of 1970, as well as, the then current situation of the

Page 25 of Filemon C. Rodriguez. (1985). The Marcos Regime: Rape of the Nation. Diliman, Quezon City: Vintage Press.

Page 37 of Filemon C. Rodriguez. (1985). The Marcos Regime: Rape of the Nation. Diliman, Quezon City: Vintage Press.

Page 58 of Filemon C. Rodriguez. (1985). The Marcos Regime: Rape of the Nation. Diliman, Quezon City: Vintage Press.

Page 23 of Filemon C. Rodriguez. (1985). The Marcos Regime: Rape of the Nation. Diliman, Quezon City: Vintage Press.

History extension- H.I

Ferdinand E Marcos

By Brent Mayol

Philippines at the end of Marcos’ ﬁrst term. The member essentially pleaded for unity

under God, exposed poor economic conditions as the people “stare at dwindling goods

and rising prices” and asked for the people to “stand for their rights whether at the

polls…..against all goons” . From this we can see that the signiﬁcance of the Catholic

church allowed such an individual to speak out and even indirectly criticise Marcos, in

reference to his use of, as previously discussed, corrupt methods through intimidation

tactics to make voters vote for him, and his incompetencies as President which result-

ed in the deterioration of all sectors of the Philippines. Such criticisms despite being a

public outcry which implicated Marcos as iniquitous was allowed to be shared where

others would have, and had been, brutally silenced. Another example of social reform

was the land reforms of 1972, which aimed to give Filipino farmer’s greater use and

amounts of land . However, the land reforms were ineﬀective due to maladministra

tion, “land grabs” and “loop holes” within the system according to personal testimony

by my aunt Ayen Mayol Logronio , of which, made the social reform eﬀectively “use

less”. This perception of ineﬀectiveness is a view which aligns with Rodriquez’ as he

states in reference to such reforms that “Growth was realised in agriculture” but “it was

realised that the little progress was achieved at a great cost” . In the early 1970s until

martial law, crime was prevalent throughout the Philippines. At its worst, according to

Rodriquez “It was estimated that there was one murder every nine minutes, one rob-

bery every twenty minutes, one sexual oﬀence very 100 minutes, one physical injury

every ten minutes, and one swindle every hour.” When martial law was imposed in

Page 42 of Filemon C. Rodriguez. (1985). The Marcos Regime: Rape of the Nation. Diliman, Quezon City: Vintage Press.

Department of Agrarian Reform ‘Agrarian Reform History’ http://www.dar.gov.ph/about-us/agrarian-reform-history/

Filipino born in 1978, younger sister of Alet Mayol

Page 25 of Filemon C. Rodriguez. (1985). The Marcos Regime: Rape of the Nation. Diliman, Quezon City: Vintage Press."

History extension- H.I

Ferdinand E Marcos

By Brent Mayol

1972, crimes rates dropped accordingly, but living and economic conditions deteriorat-

ed, as freedom and, in turn, trade, was substantially limited. "

Despite his implementation of sweeping changes across the economic, social and po-

litical structure of the Philippines, and, his ability to use his words to manipulate audi-

ences domestically and globally. The conditions within the Philippines were a reality

which, eventually, no amount of words or false promises could hide from the Filipino

people. In deﬁance of the use of Marcos’ authoritative measures which allowed a still

unprecedented 20 year reign as president, the people of the Philippines came to a uni-

versal realisation of their own demise and therefore, though gradually, demanded their

freedom for a true democracy. In the end it was the people led by inﬂuential political

ﬁgures Juan Ponce Enrile and Fidel V. Ramos, who brought the end to the reign of Mar-

cos through what could’ve possibly been the most horrendous civilian slaughter in the

history of the Philippines at the hands of their own government. However, in reality, the

overthrow of the Marcos’ administration was miraculously and astonishingly peaceful,

through what would become to be known as the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA)

People Power Revolution of February 1986 . Marcos, in the majority of Western media,

is perceived to have left a legacy of tyrannic authoritative rule. However, his legacy

within the Philippines persists in generating polarised opinion, appealing amongst those

who desire a strong leader and causing repudiation in individuals who remember his

corruption. The Inﬂuence of his tenacious leadership can be seen contemporarily in the

current Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte, who although despises Marcos, seems to

Oﬃcial Gazette ‘The Fall of he Dictatorship’ https://www.oﬃcialgazette.gov.ph/featured/the-fall-of-the-dictatorship/ accessed 20/7/19

History extension- H.I

Ferdinand E Marcos

By Brent Mayol

admire his “iron-ﬁst” approach, as is prevalent in his own war against drugs and his

crusade against corruption .

Quote from Ricardo Sibucao

ABS CBN News ‘Duterte vows to continue drug war, battle corruption’ Posted Posted at Jul 17 2019, https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/17/19/

duterte-vows-to-continue-drug-war-battle-corruption