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I protest against this vandalism of a hard research done by a contributor. The vandal obviously was not able to finish his work, as the Marcos biography resumes its earnest objective presentation after several paragraphs. I suggest that the original author of this biography (who, I am sure, did not use the title "The authentic biography of Ferdinand Marcos") bring back to this page his original contribution,up to the part where the vandal stopped his dastardly work of facetious, fascistic sabotage of other people's honest scholarly work.

SAME COMMENT AS IN PART I


I protest against this vandalism of a hard research done by a contributor. The vandal obviously was not able to finish his work, as the Marcos biography resumes its earnest objective presentation after several paragraphs. I suggest that the original author of this biography (who, I am sure, did not use the title "The authentic biography of Ferdinand Marcos") bring back to this page his original contribution,up to the part where the vandal stopped his dastardly work of facetious, fascistic sabotage of other people's honest scholarly work.


Our task as Wikipedians, netizens, and Filipino citizens in particular is to contribute well-thought out, well-researched, and well-written contributions to the sum total of human knowledge, and the global storage of information. The full historical culpability of Marcos, like Hitler's, Mugabe's, and Pinochet's, must be clearly explained to all forthcoming generations, not to be toyed with for the sake of mindless fun, using a very important knowledge resource (the internet) unprecedented in human history. I hope this vandal somehow gets his proper comeuppance.

Contents

[edit] Martial Law and the Marcos Dictatorship

His vision of a "Bagong Lipunan (New Society)"—similar to the "New Order" that was imposed in Indonesia under dictator Suharto—was pursued during the martial law years. According to Marcos' book "Notes on the New Society", it was a movement urging the poor and the privileged to work as one for the common goals of society, and to achieve the liberation of the Filipino people through self-realization. Marcos confiscated businesses owned by oligarch families and distributed them to small-time crony businessmen. More often than not, those Marcos cronies took over the said businesses and used them as fronts to launder proceeds from institutionalized graft and corruption in the different national governmental agencies. In the end, some of Marcos' cronies used them as 'cash cows'. "Crony capitalism" was the term used to describe this phenomenon. Marcos also curtailed press freedom, making the state press the only legal one. He also seized privately-owned lands and distributed them to farmers. In this way, Marcos abolished the old oligarchy - but in turn, created a new one. The old oligarchy, such as the Lopezes who owned the largest TV network then (ABS-CBN) which Marcos seized, would become a thorn in the side of Marcos' regime.

The declaration of martial law was initially very well received, given the social turmoil the Philippines was experiencing. Crime rates plunged dramatically after dusk curfews were implemented. The country would enjoy economic prosperity throughout the 1970's in the midst of growing dissent to his strong-willed rule towards the end of martial law. Political oppositionists were given the opportunity to go into exile. But as martial law dragged on for the next nine years, excesses as well as graft and corruption by the military emerged, as made manifest by the Rolex 12.

Over the years, President Marcos's hand was strengthened by the support of the armed forces, whose size he tripled, to 200,000 troops, after declaring martial law in 1972. The forces included some first-rate units as well as thousands of unruly and ill-equipped personnel of the civilian home defense forces and other paramilitary organizations.

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

On April 7, 1978, the first formal election (instead of referenda) in the Philippines since martial law was called by Marcos for the Interim Batasang Pambansa (National Assembly). The Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (New Society Movement), headed by First Lady Imelda Marcos, would take 151 of the 161 seats available. None of the members of Ninoy Aquino's LABAN party was elected. Only two regional opposition political parties gained elective seats in the 1978 election: the Pusyon Bisaya of Francisco Tatad which gained 13 elective seats and the Mindanao Alliance of Homobono Adaza, Ruben Canoy and Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. which gained only one seat. As a result, LABAN denounced the administration, alleging massive cheating. LABAN boycotted the 1980 local elections. LABAN, along with other political parties, would also boycott the 1981 National Elections. Marcos himself served two concurrent posts from this period until the lifting of martial law in 1981 which was both President and interim Prime Minister.

On January 17, 1981, martial law was formally lifted by virtue of Proclamation No. 2045, as a precondition for the visit of Pope John Paul II. Although this paved the way for a more open democracy, Marcos retained most of his dictatorial control over the government with the monolithic Kilusang Bagong Lipunan dominating the Batasang Pambansa. Marcos stepped down as Prime Minister and ran for re-election for president with virtually no opposition. Most of the opposition parties boycotted the elections after the 1978 elections, including Ninoy Aquino's LABAN, the largest opposition party during that time. Only the Nacionalista party fielded a candidate against Marcos, and it was out of constant pressure from the incumbent. Retired Gen. Alejo Santos ran against Marcos. Marcos handily won 91.4% of the vote while Santos only got 8.6%. Marcos won by an artifactual margin of over 16 million votes, thus constitutionally allowing him another six-year term, running through 1987. Cesar Virata was elected as Prime Minister by the Batasang Pambansa.

[edit] Economic changes under the Marcos Administration

To hasten economic development, President Marcos implemented a number of economic programs. These programs helped the country to enjoy the period of economic growth from the mid-1970s until the early 1980s. The farmers were given technical and financial aid and other incentives such as "price support". With the incentives given to the farmers, the country's agricultural sector grew. As a result, the Philippines became self-sufficient in rice in 1976 and even became a rice exporter.

To help finance a number of economic development projects, such as infrastructure, the 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. The rate was only less than 5 percent in the previous decade.

The Gross National Product rose from P55 billion in 1972 to P193 billion in 1980. Tourism rose, contributing to the economy's growth. The number of tourists visiting the Philippine rose to one million by 1980 from less than 200,000 in previous years. The country earned 26 billion pesos. A big portion of the tourist group was composed of Filipino balikbayans (returnees) under the Ministry of Tourism's Balikbayan Program which was launched in 1973.

Another major source of economic growth of the country was the remittances of overseas Filipino workers. Thousands of Filipino workers 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. A big portion of the annual earning of the country was allocated to the payment of annual interest on loans.

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

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

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

[edit] Downfall of Marcos

During these years, his regime was marred by widespread corruption and political mismanagement by his cronies, which culminated with the assassination of Benigno Aquino Jr.. Marcos can be considered the quintessential kleptocrat, having supposedly looted billions of dollars from the Filipino treasury. Much of the lost sum has yet to be accounted for, but $684 million has been recovered and returned to the government. He was also a notorious nepotist, appointing family members and close friends to high positions in his government. This practice led to unchecked, widespread political mismanagement especially during the 1980's, 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 but provided huge kickbacks ($5M from Westinghouse Corp) to Marcos and crony Herminio Disini. The reactor, which turned out to be based on old, costly design and built on an earthquake fault, still has to produce a watt of electricity but the national government has continued to pay interest for its staggering cost. A Mount Rushmore-esque bust of himself, commissioned by Tourism Minister Jose Aspiras as an act of friendship, was carved into a hillside, and was subsequently destroyed by communist rebels. During his third term, Marcos's health became increasingly worse due to kidney ailments. He was absent for weeks at a time to undergo treatment, with no one to assume command. Many people questioned if he still had capacity to govern, due to his grave illness and the balooning political unrest. With Marcos ailing, his long powerful wife Imelda emerged as the government's main public figure. Marcos dismissed speculations of his ailing health, being 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 the overthrow of Marcos. Many Filipinos came to believe that Mr. Marcos, a shrewd political tactician, had no hand in the killing of Mr. Aquino but that he was involved in cover-up measures. The opposition blamed Marcos, who was convalescing in the Kidney Center of the Philippines, 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 assassination were widely seen as a miscarriage of justice. By 1984, his close personal friend, President Reagan, started distancing himself from the Marcos regime that he and previous American presidents, save for President Carter, supported all the way. The leftist movement peaked to about 20,000 armed fighters by 1985, and had numerous assertive and anti-American allies in the Batasang Pambansa.

In the face of escalating public discontent and under pressure from foreign allies, Marcos resigned the presidency conditionally to run for office during 1986 snap elections. He declared Arturo Tolentino as his running mate. The opposition united behind Aquino's widow, Corazon Aquino and her running mate, Salvador Laurel. Both Marcos and Aquino declared themselves winners, the administration and opposition accusing each other of rigging the elections. Popular sentiment sided with Aquino, leading to a massive, multisectoral congregation of protesters, and the gradual defection of the military to Aquino (led by then-Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile whose arrest for graft and corruption charges was about to be served and Fidel Ramos, then-military vice-chief). This "People Power movement" (see EDSA Revolution) drove Marcos into exile, and installed Corazon Aquino as president. However, he maintained that he was duly elected and proclaimed President for a fourth term.

Marcos and his wife, Imelda Marcos, went into exile in Hawaii and were later indicted for embezzlement in the United States. Marcos died in Honolulu, Hawaii in 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 daughter, Imee, have since become the local governor and representative, respectively. Imelda Marcos was acquitted of embezzlement by a U.S. court in 1990, and was likewise acquitted of a few of the hundreds of graft charges in a Philippine court in 1998.

[edit] Legacy

Three things make Ferdinand Marcos different from any Philippine president before him: first, he created and led, along with Gen. Fabian Ver and Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile, a military-backed regime that arrested, tortured and murdered thousands of Filipinos [1] and [2]; second, the 14 years of his dictatorship warped and all but ruined the country's major institutions -- chiefly the legislative, judiciary and the military [3] and [4]; third, he along with his family and cronies looted so much wealth from the country that up to now investigators have a difficult time determining precisely how many billions of dollars have been salted away. The Swiss government has also returned US$685 million in ill-gotten Marcos wealth [5]and [6]. Prior to Marcos, Philippine presidents had followed the "traditional politics" path of using the position to help along their 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 exclusively favored the Marcoses and their allies. Apologists claim Marcos was a good president somehow gone bad. There is no doubt that Marcos was a man of rare gifts, being a brilliant lawyer, politician and keen legal analyst with a ruthless streak and a flair for leadership in him. Marcos also had a 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 to build 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. The evidence suggests that he used the communist threat as a pretext for seizing power. On the other hand, the communist insurgency was at its peak during the late 60's to early 70's when it was found out that the People's Republic of China was shipping arms to support the communist cause in the Philippines after the interception of a vessel containing loads of firearms. After he was overthrown, former Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile revealed that certain incidents had been contrived to justify the imposition of Martial Law [7] and [8], such as Enrile's ambush. Ironically, the Martial Law dictatorship not only failed to quell the communist insurgency, but helped boost its strength and numbers. Most of Marcos' accomplishments were overlooked after the EDSA Revolution, but the Marcos era inevitably changed Philippine society for better or for worse. 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. [9]. According to a recent survey, many Filipinos prefer Marcos' rule due to the shape of the country today. [10] Many admire his autocratic, willful style of government, 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 and deadlocks in the Senate and actors as well as traditional politicians being elected into public office. On the other hand, many absolutely despise his regime, his shoving the free press into his pocket, his curtailing of civil liberties such as free speech and the right to peaceably assemble, as well his dictatorial control over the government. It is quite evident that Marcos left behind a society that was polarized after the EDSA Revolution.

[edit] Orders and Decorations

  • Grand Star, The Decoration of Honor for Merit of Austria (Das Ehrenzeichen fur Verdienste um die Republik Osterreich)
  • Grand Cross, The Cross of Merit of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
  • Knight Grand Cordon, Special Class , Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant (Thailand), March 2, 1966 (authorized by CR No. 37, March 25, 1969)
  • Grand Cross, National Order of Vietnam (South Vietnam), August 10, 1966 (authorized by CR No. 37 March 25, 1969)
  • Grand Cordon , Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum (Japan), September 28, 1966 (authorized by CR No. 37, March 25, 1969)
  • Grand Cordon, Order of Leopold II (Orde de Leopold II, Belgium), April 16, 1967 (authorized by CR No. 37 March 25, 1969)
  • Collar (No. 24), Order of Isabela Catolica (Spain), December 22, 1969
  • Grand Cross, with White Distinction (Gran Cruz Con Distintivo Blanco), Order of Military Merit (Orden del Merito Militar, Spain), February 18, 1974
  • First Class (Grand Cross), Order of Timasek (Singapore), 1974
  • Chief Commander, Philippine Legion of Honor
  • Rank of Rajah, Order of Sikatuna
  • Distinguished Conduct Star
  • Gold Cross

[edit] Quotes

  • "There are many things we do not want about the world. Let us not just mourn them. Let us change them."
  • "Leadership is the other side of the coin of loneliness, and he who is a leader must always act alone. And in acting alone, accept everything alone."

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:


Preceded by
Diosdado Macapagal		 President of the Philippines
1965–1986		 Succeeded by
Corazón Aquino
Preceded by
Restored		 Prime Minister of the Philippines
1978–1981		 Succeeded by
Cesar Virata
v • d • e
Presidents of the Philippines
Aguinaldo • Quezon • Osmeña • Laurel • Roxas • Quirino • Magsaysay • Garcia • Macapagal • Marcos • Aquino • Ramos • Estrada
Currently: Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

Marcos, Ferdinand Marcos, Ferdinand Marcos, Ferdinand Marcos, Ferdinand Marcos, Ferdinand Category:Bataan Death March prisoners

ar:فيرديناند ماركوس de:Ferdinand Marcos es:Ferdinand Marcos fr:Ferdinand Marcos nl:Ferdinand Marcos ja:フェルディナンド・マルコス fi:Ferdinand Marcos tl:Ferdinand Marcos zh:馬可仕 pam:Ferdinand Marcos

[edit] Ferdinand marcos

Please do not vandalize.There are consequences . You have been warned.--Jondel 10:22, 8 December 2005 (UTC)