Corazon

Corazon Aquino, First Female Philippines President (thoughtco.com)

By 
Kallie Szczepanski
Updated July 03, 2019

Corazon Aquino (January 25, 1933–August 1, 2009) was the first female president of the
Philippines, serving from 1986–1992. She was the wife of Filipino opposition leader Benigno
"Ninoy" Aquino and began her political career in 1983 after dictator Ferdinand Marcos had her
husband assassinated.

Fast Facts: Corazon Aquino

 Known For: Leader of People Power movement and the 11th president of the Philippines
 Also Known As: Maria Corazon "Cory" Cojuangco Aquin
 Born: January 25, 1933 in Paniqui, Tarlac, Philippines
 Parents: Jose Chichioco Cojuangco and Demetria "Metring" Sumulong
 Died: August 1, 2009 in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines
 Education: Ravenhill Academy and Notre Dame Convent School in New York, College of
Mount St. Vincent in New York City, law school at the Far Eastern University in Manila
 Awards and Honors: J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding, chosen
by Time  Magazine as one of the 20 Most Influential Asians of the 20th century and one of
65 great Asian Heroes
 Spouse: Ninoy Aquino
 Children: Maria Elena, Aurora Corazon, Benigno III "Noynoy", Victoria Elisa, and Kristina
Bernadette
 Notable Quote: "I would rather die a meaningful death than to live a meaningless life."

Early Life 

Maria Corazon Sumulong Conjuangco was born on January 25, 1933, in Paniqui, Tarlac, located in
central Luzon, Philippines, north of Manila. Her parents were Jose Chichioco Cojuangco and
Demetria "Metring" Sumulong, and the family was of mixed Chinese, Filipino, and Spanish descent.
The family surname is a Spanish version of the Chinese name "Koo Kuan Goo."

The Cojuangcos owned a sugar plantation covering 15,000 acres and were among the wealthiest
families in the province. Cory was the couple's sixth child of eight.

Education in the U.S. and the Philippines

As a young girl, Corazon Aquino was studious and shy. She also showed a devout commitment to
the Catholic Church from an early age. Corazon went to expensive private schools in Manila
through age 13, when her parents sent her to the United States for high school.

Corazon went first to Philadelphia's Ravenhill Academy and then the Notre Dame Convent School
in New York, graduating in 1949. As an undergraduate at the College of Mount St. Vincent in New
York City, Corazon Aquino majored in French. She also was fluent in Tagalog, Kapampangan, and
English.

After her 1953 graduation from college, Corazon moved back to Manila to attend law school at the
Far Eastern University. There, she met a young man from one of the Philippines' other wealthy
families, a fellow student named Benigno Aquino, Jr.

Marriage and Life as a Housewife

Corazon Aquino left law school after just one year to marry Ninoy Aquino, a journalist with
political aspirations. Ninoy soon became the youngest governor ever elected in the Philippines,
and then was elected as the youngest ever member of the Senate in 1967. Corazon concentrated
on raising their five children: Maria Elena (b. 1955), Aurora Corazon (1957), Benigno III "Noynoy"
(1960), Victoria Elisa (1961), and Kristina Bernadette (1971).

As Ninoy's career progressed, Corazon served as a gracious hostess and supported him. However,
she was too shy to join him on stage during his campaign speeches, preferring to stand at the back
of the crowd and watch. In the early 1970s, money was tight and Corazon moved the family to a
smaller home and even sold part of the land she had inherited in order to fund his campaign.

Ninoy had become an outspoken critic of Ferdinand Marcos's regime and was expected to win the
1973 presidential elections since Marcos was term-limited and could not run according to the
Constitution. However, Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972, and abolished the
Constitution, refusing to relinquish power. Ninoy was arrested and sentenced to death, leaving
Corazon to raise the children alone for the next seven years.

Exile for the Aquinos

In 1978, Ferdinand Marcos decided to hold parliamentary elections, the first since his imposition of
martial law, in order to add a veneer of democracy to his rule. He fully expected to win, but the
public overwhelmingly supported the opposition, led in absentia by the jailed Ninoy Aquino.

Corazon did not approve of Ninoy's decision to campaign for parliament from prison, but she
dutifully delivered campaign speeches for him. This was a key turning point in her life, moving the
shy housewife into the political spotlight for the first time. Marcos rigged the election results,
however, claiming more than 70 percent of the parliamentary seats in a clearly fraudulent result.

Meanwhile, Ninoy's health was suffering from his long imprisonment. U.S. President Jimmy
Carter personally intervened, asking Marcos to allow the Aquino family to go into medical exile in
the States. In 1980, the regime allowed the family to move to Boston.

Corazon spent some of the best years of her life there, reunited with Ninoy, surrounded by her
family, and out of the scrum of politics. Ninoy, on the other hand, felt obligated to renew his
challenge to the Marcos dictatorship once he had recovered his health. He began to plan a return
to the Philippines.

Corazon and the children stayed in America while Ninoy took a circuitous route back to Manila.
Marcos knew he was coming, though, and had Ninoy assassinated as he got off the plane on
August 21, 1983. Corazon Aquino was a widow at the age of 50.

Corazon Aquino in Politics

Millions of Filipinos poured into the streets of Manila for Ninoy's funeral. Corazon led the
procession with quiet grief and dignity and went on to lead protests and political demonstrations
as well. Her calm strength under horrific conditions made her the center of anti-Marcos politics in
the Philippines—a movement known as "People Power."

Concerned by the massive street demonstrations against his regime that continued for years, and
perhaps deluded into believing that he had more public support than he actually did, Ferdinand
Marcos called new presidential elections in February of 1986. His opponent was Corazon Aquino.

Aging and ill, Marcos did not take the challenge from Corazon Aquino very seriously. He noted
that she was "just a woman," and said that her proper place was in the bedroom.
Despite massive turnout by Corazon's "People Power" supporters, the Marcos-allied parliament
declared him the winner. Protestors poured into the Manila streets once more and top military
leaders defected to Corazon's camp. Finally, after four chaotic days, Ferdinand Marcos and his wife
Imelda were forced to flee into exile in the United States.

President Corazon Aquino

On February 25, 1986, as a result of the "People Power Revolution," Corazon Aquino became the
first female president of the Philippines. She restored democracy to the country, promulgated a
new constitution, and served until 1992.

President Aquino's tenure was not entirely smooth, however. She pledged agrarian reform and
land redistribution, but her background as a member of the landed classes made this a difficult
promise to keep. Corazon Aquino also convinced the U.S. to withdraw its military from remaining
bases in the Philippines—with help from Mt. Pinatubo, which erupted in June 1991 and buried
several military installations.

Marcos supporters in the Philippines staged a half dozen coup attempts against Corazon Aquino
during her term in office, but she survived them all in her low-key yet stubborn political style.
Although her own allies urged her to run for a second term in 1992, she adamantly refused. The
new 1987 Constitution forbade second terms, but her supporters argued that she was
elected before the constitution came into effect and did not apply to her.

Retirement Years and Death

Corazon Aquino supported her Defense Secretary Fidel Ramos in his candidacy to replace her as
president. Ramos won the 1992 presidential election in a crowded field, although he was far short
of a majority of the vote.

In retirement, former President Aquino frequently spoke out on political and social issues. She was
particularly vocal in opposing later presidents' attempts to amend the constitution to allow
themselves extra terms in office. She also worked to reduce violence and homelessness in the
Philippines.

In 2007, Corazon Aquino publicly campaigned for her son Noynoy when he ran for the Senate. In
March 2008, Aquino announced she had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Despite
aggressive treatment, she passed away on August 1, 2009, at the age of 76. She did not get to see
her son Noynoy elected president; he took power on June 30, 2010.

Legacy

Corazon Aquino had a tremendous impact on her nation and on the world's perception of women
in power. She has been described as both the "mother of Philippine democracy" and as the
"housewife who led a revolution." Aquino has been honored, both during and after her lifetime,
with major international awards including the United Nations Silver Medal, the Eleanor
Roosevelt Human Rights Award, and the Women's International Center International Leadership
Living Legacy Award.

Sources

 “Corazon C. Aquino.” Presidential Museum and Library.

 Editors of the Encyclopædia Britannica. "Corazon Aquino." Encyclopædia Britannica.
  "Maria Corazon Cojuangco Aquino." National Historical Commission of the Philippines.
Cory Aquino: President of the Philippines who brought democracy to the islands | The Independent
| The Independent
David McKittrick@IndyVoices
Sunday 23 October 2011 06:19

When Cory Aquino stepped down after six years as the first woman president of the Philippines,
she was widely viewed as having made little impact on her country's deep-rooted social and
economic problems.

The moment of her departure from the presidency was a low point in her brief yet quite
remarkable political career, leaving as she did in an atmosphere of disenchantment and unrealised
hopes. Yet overall, she left a mark on the history of her troubled country, so deep and so lasting
that her death will bring a surge of emotion as the heady days of the short but memorable Aquino
era are reassessed.

As president of the Republic of the Philippines between 1986 and 1992, she led her country's
eventful transition from dictatorship to democracy. In a few turbulent years, she gained a
presidency which she had not wanted, and which came to her at the cost of the death of her
husband. She was thrust into power by his assassination and by the passion of the millions who
took to the streets to sweep away the regime of Ferdinand Marcos.

But in office, she could not bring the Philippines' military fully under control: a number of coups
were launched against her, and indeed she was succeeded by a general. But the Philippines never
returned to the type of dictatorship she displaced, and she won worldwide acclaim for her
commitment to democracy.

Maria Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, popularly called Cory, was born in 1933 into a wealthy family
which had for generations been immersed in politics. Most of her education took place in the US,
where she took a degree in French and mathematics in New York.

Returning to the Philippines, she married Benigno Aquino, known as Ninoy, who also came from a
wealthy political family. At that point, she abandoned her legal studies in order to become, in her
words, "just a housewife". She raised five children while her husband spent his career opposing the
regime of Marcos, an ex-soldier whose brutality and cunning kept him in power for two decades.

It was during his time ruling this poverty-stricken country that Marcos's wife, Imelda, famously, or
infamously, amassed more than 2,000 pairs of shoes in what was seen as a monument to vanity
and excess.

When Marcos introduced martial law in 1972, Ninoy and others were thrown in prison on
trumped-up charges. In the seven years her husband spent in jail, Aquino came to the forefront,
campaigning against his imprisonment.

She acted as his link to the outside world as he kept up his agitation from his prison cell, running
for election and at one stage going on hunger strike.

She said of her role: "I am not a hero. As a housewife, I stood by my husband and never
questioned his decision to stand alone against an arrogant dictatorship. I never missed a chance to
be with my husband when his jailers permitted it. I never chided him for the troubles he brought
on my family and their businesses."
When Ninoy was diagnosed with a heart complaint, Marcos allowed the family to travel to the US
so that Ninoy could have triple-bypass surgery. After successful surgery, they remained in America,
Ninoy taking an academic post at Harvard.

After three years, however, he was persuaded by supporters to return to the Philippines to help
lead the opposition. Everyone knew his life was in danger, but few realised that assassins would
strike so quickly. Just minutes after his plane landed at the heavily guarded Manila International
Airport in August 1983, he was shot dead on the tarmac. Marcos protested his innocence of
involvement in the incident, but few believed him.

Uproar followed. Marcos, in ordering such a flagrant killing, showed he had lost much of the guile
which had kept him in power. The huge attendance at Ninoy's funeral, and the waves of protests
that followed, indicated that his days were numbered.

The shooting removed an opponent of the Marcos regime but created another, even more potent
symbol, when Aquino returned to the Philippines and was drawn into political activity. "I know my
limitations and I don't like politics," she said. "I was only involved because of my husband."

Marcos, seeing his power slipping away, called a presidential election in 1985 in the hope of
shoring up his authority. Anti-Marcos factions were fragmented, but most eventually accepted that
Aquino stood the best chance of providing unity. She hesitated, spending 10 hours in meditation
at a convent near Manila before deciding to run.

She was to explain later: "We had to present somebody who was the complete opposite of Marcos,
someone who has been a victim. Looking around, I may not have been the worst victim, but I was
the best-known."

During the campaign, she conveyed the simple but potent message that the time had come for
democracy. She was, in her trademark plain-yellow dresses, an ostensibly insignificant figure, but
she was a powerful human reminder of Marcos's use of violence.

In the election, Marcos, resorting to vote-rigging, declared himself the victor before all votes were
counted. The move was so brazen that it provoked an uprising in which millions took to the
streets. At this point, many of the major power elements concluded that Marcos's time was over.
Aquino had support from sources such as the Catholic church, while some important army officers
abandoned Marcos and aligned themselves with her.

Washington, too, dropped Marcos. Ronald Reagan had followed previous administrations in
regarding Marcos as a "Pacific strongman" who provided a useful bulwark against communism. In
doing so, the US had tended to ignore his regime's corruption and breaches of human rights.

But the Ninoy assassination and the election-fixing lost him the sponsorship of Washington,
though the US did supply helicopters to whisk Marcos and Imelda into exile (most of her shoes
were left behind).

"We are finally free," Aquino declared at the time. "The long agony is over." She was fêted around
the world, Time magazine saying of her: "She managed to lead a revolt and rule a republic without
ever relinquishing her calm or her gift for making politics and humanity companionable. In a
nation dominated for decades by a militant brand of macho politics, she conquered with
tranquillity and grace."

But in the years of her presidency, little went right for her as moral strength failed to translate into
the sufficient political acumen to tackle the huge problems of the Philippines. Her husband had, in
fact, predicted that whoever succeeded Marcos was doomed to fail. He would not for a moment,
however, have thought that the successor would be his wife, whose administration was
overwhelmed by massive economic difficulties. These included grinding poverty and the legacy of
two decades of totalitarian rule. An earthquake and an erupting volcano added to her woes.

She had herself referred to her country as "the basket case of South-East Asia". But while Marcos
had been firm – to the point of brutality – her government was thought of as hesitant and
indecisive.

One area in which she did display firmness, however, was in her relations with the army: she had
little choice, since various elements launched no fewer than seven coup attempts against her in
three years. With the help of generals who remained loyal to her, she faced down all of these: the
irony was that a woman who came to power on a platform of peace should have to devote so
much effort to fending off recurring violent challenges.

But she was cool under fire, and she indignantly sued when a journalist claimed she had taken
refuge under a bed during one attack.

Her personal chief of security, Colonel Voltaire Gazmin, recently testified that she was steady under
pressure. "I vividly remember the coup attempt of August 1987," he wrote. "I was out supervising
the placement of armour around the palace when bursts of gunfire rang out. I rushed to the
official residence and found the president and her family upstairs. I asked them to go downstairs
and turn off all the lights, and instructed my guards to stand mattresses against the windows.

"I then made a head count and found one missing. I went back upstairs and noticed light coming
through the open bathroom door. It was the president combing her hair."

The colonel said that when he begged her to leave, she replied that she needed to look
"presidentially presentable". She was, he said, "the calmest soul around".

Although none of the coup attempts was successful, they eroded confidence in her administration.
After so many unhappy economic and military experiences, she decided not to seek re-election
and backed a loyal general, Fidel Ramos, who succeeded her as president. She was disappointed by
her government's performance, but took consolation in the fact that the administration which
succeeded hers was installed by a democratic vote.

She will thus be remembered both for the manner of her assuming office and for the manner of
her vacating it.

Cory Aquino, former president of the Republic of the Philippines: born Paniqui, Philippines 25
January 1933; married 1954 Benigno Aquino (died 1983; one son, four daughters); died Makati
City, Philippines 1 August 2009

Corazon Aquino, revolutionary president of the Philippines | Amazing Women In History

Keri Engel
Keri Lynn Engel is an autodidact and women’s history buff who founded Amazing Women in
History in 2011.
kerilynnengel.com

Corazon Aquino, revolutionary president of the Philippines

Corazon Aquino (1933-2009) was the first female president of the Phillipines, and is known for
leading the People Power Revolution in 1986 which restored democracy to the country. She was
named TIME’s Woman of the Year in 1986.

Cory Aquino did not aspire to be a politician. In 1955, after graduating from Mount St. Vincent
College in New York City, she married Benigno Aquino (nicknamed “Ninoy”), a young politician.
She supported her husband’s career as he was elected senator, raising 5 children at home.

Ninoy Aquino became a popular, outspoken opponent of Ferdinand Marcos, the dictator who held
the presidency from 1965. In 1972, Ninoy was imprisoned for eight long years, and then exiled to
the United States. Ninoy was finally allowed to return to his homeland in 1983, only to be
assassinated the moment he arrived.

Ninoy’s imprisonment, exile, and assassination outraged the people and spurred Ferdinand’s
opposition. The economic problems of the country deteriorated even further, and the government
went further into debt.

After her husband’s assassination, Cory took his place as the leader of the opposition. In 1985,
Ferdinand suddenly announced an election to legitimize his hold on the country. Cory was
reluctant to run at first, but changed her mind after being presented with one million signatures
urging her to run for president.

During Cory’s run for president, Ferdinand Marcos derided her with sexist statements, saying she
was “just a woman” whose place was in the bedroom.

Cory just answered: “May the better woman win in this election.”

He also attacked her inexperience in politics. Cory responded by admitting she had “no experience
in cheating, lying to the public, stealing government money, and killing political opponents.”

After the elections were held in February 1986, Marcos was declared the winner. There were
numerous reports of election fraud, and the outcome was condemned by Catholic Bishops’
Conference of the Philippines and the United States Senate. Ronald Reagan called the the fraud
reports “disturbing” in an official statement.

Cory immediately called for peaceful civil disobedience protests, and for organized strikes and
mass boycotts of the media and businesses owned by Marcos. Filipinos were enthusiastic in their
support. These popular, peaceful demonstrations came to be known as the People Power
Revolution. Though Marcos ordered troops against the thousands of protesters (including whole
families and nuns and priests), not a shot was fired and the troops withdrew and many defected.
By the end of February, Ferdinand Marcos withdrew from power, fleeing to Hawaii, and Cory
Aquino became the President of the Philippines.

Cory’s ascension to the office of president signaled a new era for Filipinos. During the first few
months of her presidency, the Philippines experienced radical changes and reforms. Cory
immediately created a Constitutional Commission in charge of drafting a new constitution, and
created the Presidential Commission on Good Government which went after Marcos’s ill-gotten
wealth.

The new Corazon Aquino Administration gave strong emphasis and concern for civil liberties and
human rights, and peace talks with communist insurgents and Muslim secessionists. Cory also
focused on bringing back economic health and confidence. The Aquino administration succeeded
in paying off $4 billion of the country’s outstanding debts.

Cory was also a lifelong member of the Council of Women World Leaders, an international
organization of former and current female heads of state and government that helps to mobilize
women world leaders to take action on issues critical to the leadership, empowerment and
development of women.

In 1992, President Aquino strongly declined the requests for her to seek reelection. She wanted to
set an example to both citizens and politicians, in contrast to Ferdinand Marcos, that the
presidency is not a lifetime position. She still remained active in the public eye, however, often
voicing her views and opinions on the pressing political issues.

Cory Aquino passed away in 2009 of cancer. Her death elicited a worldwide reaction, and
thousands attended her wake and funeral. Filipino Catholics called on the Church to have Aquino
canonized and declared as a saint.

Hillary Clinton said that Aquino was “admired by the world for her extraordinary courage” in
leading the fight against dictatorship. Pope Benedict XVI applauded her “courageous commitment
to the freedom of the Filipino people, her firm rejection of violence and intolerance”

Cory was an amazing woman who had a huge impact on the freedom and welfare of millions of
people. She accomplished so much in her life and was beloved by many people.

Next, read about Queen Anna of Denmark, Theater Pioneer & Patron of the Arts, or Vigdis
Finnbogadóttir: The World’s First Female President.
Philippines - ECONOMY - The Aquino Government (countrystudies.us)

source: U.S. Library of Congress

The Aquino Government

Philippines Table of Contents

In 1986 Corazon Aquino focused her presidential campaign on the misdeeds of

Marcos and his cronies. The economic correctives that she proposed emphasized
a central role for private enterprise and the moral imperative of reaching out to
the poor and meeting their needs. Reducing unemployment, encouraging small-
scale enterprise, and developing the neglected rural areas were the themes.

Aquino entered the presidency with a mandate to undertake a new direction in

economic policy. Her initial cabinet contained individuals from across the
political spectrum. Over time, however, the cabinet became increasingly
homogeneous, particularly with respect to economic perspective, reflecting the
strong influence of the powerful business community and international
creditors. The businesspeople and technocrats who directed the Central Bank
and headed the departments of finance and trade and industry became the
decisive voices in economic decision making. Foreign policy also reflected this
power relationship, focusing on attracting more foreign loans, aid, trade,
investment, and tourists.

It soon became clear that the plight of the people had been subordinated
largely to the requirements of private enterprise and the world economy. As the
president noted in her state-of- the-nation address in June 1989, the poor had
not benefited from the economic recovery that had taken place since 1986. The
gap between the rich and poor had widened, and the proportion of
malnourished preschool children had grown.

The most pressing problem in the Philippine international political economy at

the time Aquino took office was the country's US$28 billion external debt. It was
also one of the most vexatious issues in her administration. Economists within
the economic planning agency, the National Economic and Development
Authority (NEDA), argued that economic recovery would be difficult, if not
impossible, to achieve in a relatively short period if the country did not reduce
the size of the resource outflows associated with its external debt. Large debt-
service payments and moderate growth (on the order of 6.5 percent per year)
were thought to be incompatible. A two-year moratorium on debt servicing and
selective repudiation of loans where fraud or corruption could be shown were
recommended. Business-oriented groups and their representatives in the
president's cabinet vehemently objected to taking unilateral action on the debt,
arguing that it was essential that the Philippines not break with its major
creditors in the international community. Ultimately, the president rejected
repudiation; the Philippines would honor all its debts.

Domestically, land reform was a highly contentious issue, involving economics

as well as equity. NEDA economists argued that broad-based spending increases
were necessary to get the economy going again; more purchasing power had to
be put in the hands of the masses. Achieving this objective required a
redistribution of wealth downward, primarily through land reform. Given
Aquino's campaign promises, there were high expectations that a meaningful
program would be implemented. Prior to the opening session of the first
Congress under the country's 1987 constitution, the president had the power
and the opportunity to proclaim a substantive land reform program. Waiting
until the last moment before making an announcement, she chose to provide
only a broad framework. Specifics were left to the new Congress, which she
knew was heavily represented by landowning interests. The result--a foregone
conclusion--was the enactment of a weak, loophole-ridden piece of legislation.

The most immediate task for Aquino's economic advisers was to get the
economy moving, and a turn around was achieved in 1986. Economic growth
was low (1.9 percent), but it was positive. For the next two years, growth was
more respectable--5.9 and 6.7 percent, respectively. In 1986 and 1987,
consumption led the growth process, but then investment began to increase. In
1985 industrial capacity utilization had been as low as 40 percent, but by mid-
1988 industries were working at near full capacity. Investment in durable goods
grew almost 30 percent in both 1988 and 1989, reflecting the buoyant
atmosphere. The international community was supportive. Like domestic
investment, foreign investment did not respond immediately after Aquino took
office, but in 1987 it began to pick up. The economy also was helped by foreign
aid. The 1989 and 1991 meetings of the aid plan called the Multilateral Aid
Initiative, also known as the Philippine Assistance Plan, a multinational initiative
to provide assistance to the Philippines, pledged a total of US$6.7 billion.

Economic successes, however, generated their own problems. The trade deficit
rose rapidly, as both consumers and investors attempted to regain what had
been lost in the depressed atmosphere of the 1983-85 period. Although debt-
service payments on external debt were declining as a proportion of the
country's exports, they remained above 25 percent. And the government budget
deficit ballooned, hitting 5.2 percent of GNP in 1990.

The 1988 GNP grew 6.7 percent, slightly more than the government plan target.
Growth fell off to 5.7 percent in 1989, then plummeted in 1990 to just over 3
percent. Many factors contributed to the 1990 decline. The country was
subjected to a prolonged drought, which resulted in the increased need to
import rice. In July a major earthquake hit Northern Luzon, causing extensive
destruction, and in November a typhoon did considerable damage in the
Visayas. There were other, more human, troubles also. The country was
attempting to regain a semblance of order in the aftermath of the December
1989 coup attempt. Brownouts became a daily occurrence, as the government
struggled to overcome the deficient power-generating capacity in the Luzon
grid, a deficiency that in the worst period was below peak demand by more than
300 megawatts and resulted in outages of four hours and more. Residents of
Manila suffered both from a lack of public transportation and clogged and
overcrowded roadways; garbage removal was woefully inadequate; and, in
general, the city's infrastructure was in decline. Industrial growth fell from 6.9
percent in 1989 to 1.9 percent in 1990; growth investment in 1990 in both fixed
capital and durable equipment declined by half when compared with the
previous year. Government construction, which grew at 10 percent in 1989,
declined by 1 percent in 1990.

The Aquino administration appeared to be unable to work with the Congress to

enact an economic package to overcome the country's economic difficulties. In
July, as the government deficit soared Secretary of Finance Jesus Estanislao
introduced a package of new tax measures. Then in October, stalemated with
Congress, Aquino agreed to seek a reduction in the budget gap without new
taxes. The agreement met with resistance from the Congress for being an
onorous imposition on an economy in crisis, growth would be stifled and the
poor would be impacted negatively. The willingness of the Congress to pass the
tax package called for in the IMF agreement was in doubt. In 1990 Congress
placed a 9 percent levy on all imports to provide revenues until an agreement
could be reached with the administration on a tax package. In February 1991,
however, it was learned that in its agreement with the IMF for new standby
credits, the government had promised that it would indeed implement new
taxes.

Accusations were widespread in Manila's press about the 1990-91 impasse. On

the one hand, it was claimed that Aquino and her advisers had no economic
plan; on the other hand, the Congress was said to be unwilling to work with the
president. Traditional political patterns appeared to be reasserting themselves,
and the technocrats had little ultimate influence. One study of the first Congress
elected under the 1987 constitution showed that only 31 out of 200 members of
the House of Representatives, were not previously elected officials or directly
related to the leader of a traditional political clan. Business interests directly
influenced the president to overrule already established policies, as in the 1990
program to simplify the tariff structure. Business and politics have always been
deeply interwoven in the Philippines; crony capitalism was not a deviant model,
but rather the logical extreme of a traditional pattern. As the Philippines entered
the 1990s, the crucial question for the economy was whether the elite would
limit its political activities to jockeying for economic advantage or would forge
its economic and political interests in a fashion that would create a dynamic
economy.
Philippines - ECONOMIC PLANNING AND POLICY (countrystudies.us)

source: U.S. Library of Congress

ECONOMIC PLANNING AND POLICY

Philippines Table of Contents

The Philippines has traditionally had a private enterprise economy both in policy
and in practice. The government intervened primarily through fiscal and
monetary policy and in the exercise of its regulatory authority. Although
expansion of public sector enterprises occurred during the Marcos presidency,
direct state participation in economic activity has generally been limited. The
Aquino government set a major policy initiative of consolidating and privatizing
government-owned and government-controlled firms. Economic planning was
limited largely to establishing targets for economic growth and other
macroeconomic goals, engaging in project planning and implementation, and
advising the government in the use of capital funds for development projects.

Development Planning

The responsibility for economic planning was vested in the National Economic
and Development Authority. Created in January 1973, the authority assumed the
mandate both for macroeconomic planning that had been undertaken by its
predecessor organization, the National Economic Council, and project planning
and implementation, previously undertaken by the Presidential Economic Staff.
National Economic and Development Authority plans calling for the expansion
of employment, maximization of growth, attainment of fiscal responsibility and
monetary stability, provision of social services, and equitable distribution of
income were produced by the Marcos administration for 1974-77, 1978-82, and
1983-88, and by the Aquino administration for 1987-92. Growth was
encouraged largely through the provision of infrastructure and incentives for
investment by private capital. Equity, a derivative goal, was to be achieved as
the result of a dynamic economic expansion within an appropriate policy
environment that emphasized labor-intensive production.

The National Economic and Development Authority Medium-Term Development

Plan, 1987-92 reflected Aquino's campaign themes: elimination of structures of
privilege and monopolization of the economy; decentralization of power and
decision making; and reduction of unemployment and mass poverty, particularly
in rural areas. The private sector was described as both the "initiator" and
"prime mover" of the country's development; hence, the government was "to
encourage and support private initiative," and state participation in the
economy was to be minimized and decentralized. Goals included alleviation of
poverty, generation of more productive employment, promotion of equity and
social justice, and attainment of sustainable economic growth. Goals were to be
achieved through agrarian reforms; strengthening the collective bargaining
process; undertaking rural, labor-intensive infrastructure projects; providing
social services; and expanding education and skill training. Nevertheless, as with
previous plans, the goals and objectives were to be realized, trickle-down
fashion, as the consequence of achieving a sustainable economic growth, albeit
a growth more focused on the agricultural sector.

The plan also involved implementing more appropriate, market-oriented fiscal

and monetary polices, achieving a more liberal trade policy based on
comparative advantage, and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the
civil service, as well as better enforcement of government laws and regulations.
Proper management of the country's external debt to allow an acceptable rate
of growth and the establishment of a "pragmatic," development-oriented
foreign policy were extremely important.

Economic performance fell far short of plan targets. For example, the real GNP
growth rate from 1987 to 1990 averaged 25 percent less than the targeted rate,
the growth rate of real exports was one-third less, and the growth rate of real
imports was well over double. The targets, however, did provide a basis for
discussion of consistency of official statements and whether the plan growth
rates were compatible with the maintenance of external debt-repayment
obligations. The plan also set priorities. Both Aquino's campaign
pronouncements and the policies embodied in the planning document
emphasized policies that would favorably affect the poor and the rural sector.
But, because of dissension within the cabinet, conflicts with Congress, and
presidential indecisiveness, policies such as land and tax reform either were not
implemented or were implemented in an impaired fashion. In addition, the
Philippines curtailed resources available for development projects and the
provision of government services in order to maintain good relations with
international creditors.

The Philippine government has undertaken to provide incentives to firms, both

domestic and foreign, to invest in priority areas of the economy since the early
1950s. In 1967 an Investment Incentives Act, administered by a Board of
Investments (BOI), was passed to encourage and direct investment more
systematically. Three years later, an Export Incentives Act was passed, furthering
the effort to move the economy beyond importsubstitution manufacturing. The
incentive structure in the late 1960s and 1970s was criticized for favoring
capital-intensive investment as against investments in agriculture and export
industries, as well as not being sufficiently large. Export incentives were
insufficient to overcome other biases against exports embodied in the structure
of tariff protection and the overvaluation of the peso.

The investment incentive system was revised in 1983, and again in 1987, with
the goal of rewarding performance, particularly exporting and labor-intensive
production. As a results of objections made by the United States and other
industrial nations to export-subsidy provisions contained in the 1983 Investment
Code, much of the specific assistance to exporters was removed in the 1987
version. The 1987 Investment Code delegates considerable discretionary power
over foreign investment to the government Board of Investments when foreign
participation in an enterprise exceeds 40 percent. Legislation under
consideration by the Philippine Congress in early 1991 would limit this authority.
Under the new proposal, foreign participation exceeding 40 percent would be
allowed in any area not covered by a specified "negative list."

Fiscal Policy

Historically, the government has taken a rather conservative stance on fiscal

activities. Until the 1970s, national government expenditures and taxation
generally were each less than 10 percent of GNP. (Total expenditures of
provincial, city, and municipal governments were small, between 5 and 10
percent of national government expenditures in the 1980s.) Under the Marcos
regime, national government activity increased to between 15 and 17 percent of
GNP, largely because of increased capital expenditures and, later, growing debt-
service payments. In 1987 and 1988, the ratio of government expenditure to
GNP rose above 20 percent. Tax revenue, however, remained relatively stable,
seldom rising above 12 percent of GNP. Chronic government budget deficits
were covered by international borrowing during the Marcos era and mainly by
domestic borrowing during the Aquino administration. Both approaches
contributed to the vicious circle of deficits generating the need for borrowing,
and the debt service on those loans creating greater deficits and the need to
borrow even more. At 5.2 percent of GNP, the 1990 government deficit was a
major consideration in the 1991 standby agreement between Manila and the
IMF.

Over time, the apportionment of government spending has changed

considerably. In 1989 the largest portion of the national government budget
(43.9 percent) went for debt servicing. Most of the rest covered economic
services and social services, including education. Only 9.1 percent of the budget
was allocated for defense. The Philippines devoted a smaller proportion of GNP
to defense than did any other country in Southeast Asia.

The Aquino government formulated a tax reform program in 1986 that

contained some thirty new measures. Most export taxes were eliminated;
income taxes were simplified and made more progressive; the investment
incentives system was revised; luxury taxes were imposed; and, beginning in
1988, a variety of sales taxes were replaced by a 10 percent value-added tax--
the central feature of the administration's tax reform effort. Some administrative
improvements also were made. The changes, however, did not effect an
appreciable rise in the tax revenue as a proportion of GNP.

Problems with the Philippine tax system appear to have more to do with
collections than with the rates. Estimates of individual income tax compliance in
the late 1980s ranged between 13 and 27 percent. Assessments of the
magnitude of tax evasion by corporate income tax payers in 1984 and 1985
varied from as low as P1.7 billion to as high as P13 billion. The latter figure was
based on the fact that only 38 percent of registered firms in the country actually
filed a tax return in 1985. Although collections in 1989 were P10.1 billion, a 70
percent increase over 1988, they remained P1.4 billion below expectations. Tax
evasion was compounded by mismanagement and corruption. A 1987
government study determined that 25 percent of the national budget was lost
to graft and corruption.

Low collection rates also reinforced the regressive structure of the tax system.
The World Bank calculated that effective tax rates (taxes paid as a proportion of
income) of low-income families were about 50 percent greater than those of
high-income families in the mid-1980s. Middle-income families paid the largest
percentage. This situation was caused in part by the government's heavy
reliance on indirect taxes. Individual income taxes accounted for only 8.9
percent of tax collections in 1989, and corporate income taxes were only 18.5
percent. Taxes on goods and services and duties on international transactions
made up 70 percent of tax revenue in 1989, about the same as in 1960.

The consolidated public sector deficit--the combined deficit of national

government, local government, and public-sector enterprise budgets--which
had been greatly reduced in the first two years of the Aquino administration,
rose to 5.2 of GNP by the end of 1990. In June 1990, the government proposed
a comprehensive new tax reform package in an attempt to control the public
sector deficit. About that time, the IMF, World Bank, and Japanese government
froze loan disbursements because the Philippines was not complying with
targets in the standby agreement with the IMF. As a result of the 1990-91
Persian Gulf crisis, petroleum prices increased and the Oil Price Stabilization
Fund put an additional strain on the budget. The sudden cessation of dollar
remittances from contract workers in Kuwait and Iraq and increased interest
rates on domestic debt of the government also contributed to the deficit.

Negotiations between the Aquino administration and Congress on the

administration's tax proposals fell through in October 1990, with the two sides
agreeing to focus on improved tax collections, faster privatization of
government-owned and government-controlled corporations, and the
imposition of a temporary import levy. A new standby agreement between the
government and the IMF in early 1991 committed the government to raise taxes
and energy prices. Although the provisions of the agreement were necessary in
order to secure fresh loans, the action increased the administration's already
fractious relations with Congress.

Monetary Policy

The Central Bank of the Philippines was established in June 1948 and began
operation the following January. It was charged with maintaining monetary
stability; preserving the value and covertibility of the peso; and fostering
monetary, credit, and exchange conditions conducive to the economic growth of
the country. In 1991 the policy-making body of the Central Bank was the
Monetary Board, composed of the governor of the Central Bank as chairman,
the secretary of finance, the director general of the National Economic and
Development Authority, the chairman of the Board of Investment, and three
members from the private sector. In carrying out its functions, the Central Bank
supervised the commercial banking system and managed the country's foreign
currency system.

From 1975 to 1982, domestic saving (including capital consumption allowance)

averaged 25 percent of GNP, about 5 percentage points less than annual gross
domestic capital formation. This resource gap was filled with foreign capital.
Between 1983 and 1989, domestic saving as a proportion of GNP declined on
the average by a third, initially because of the impact of the economic crisis on
personal savings and later more because of negative government saving.
Investment also declined, so that for three of these years, domestic savings
actually exceeded gross investment.

From the time it began operations until the early 1980s, the Central Bank
intervened extensively in the country's financial life. It set interest rates on both
bank deposits and loans, often at rates that were, when adjusted for inflation,
negative. Central Bank credit was extended to commercial banks through an
extensive system of rediscounting. In the 1970s, the banking system resorted,
with the Central Bank's assistance, to foreign credit on terms that generally
ignored foreign-exchange risk. The combination of these factors mitigated
against the development of financial intermediation in the economy, particularly
the growth of long-term saving. The dependence of the banking system on
funds from the Central Bank at low interest rates, in conjunction with the
discretionary authority of the bank, has been cited as a contributing factor to
the financial chaos that occurred in the 1980s. For example, the proportion of
Central Bank loans and advances to government-owned financial institutions
increased from about 25 percent of the total in 1970 to 45 percent in 1981-82.
Borrowings of the government-owned Development Bank of the Philippines
from the Central Bank increased almost 100-fold during this period. Access to
resources of this sort, in conjunction with subsidized interest rates, enabled
Marcos cronies to obtain loans and the later bailouts that contributed to the
financial chaos.

At the start of the 1980s, the government introduced a number of monetary

measures built on 1972 reforms to enhance the banking industry's ability to
provide adequate amounts of long-term finance. Efforts were made to broaden
the capital base of banks through encouraging mergers and consolidations. A
new class of banks, referred to as "expanded commercial banks" or "unibanks,"
was created to enhance competition and the efficiency of the banking industry
and to increase the flow of long-term saving. Qualifying banks--those with a
capital base in excess of P500 million--were allowed to expand their operations
into a range of new activities, combining commercial banking with activities of
investment houses. The functional division among other categories of banks was
reduced, and that between rural banks and thrift banks eliminated.

Interest rates were deregulated during the same period, so that by January 1983
all interest rate ceilings had been abolished. Rediscounting privileges were
reduced, and rediscount rates were set in relation to the cost of competing
funds. Although the short-term response seemed favorable, there was little
long-term change. The ratio of the country's money supply, broadly defined to
include savings and time deposits, to GNP, around 0.2 in the 1970s, rose to 0.3
in 1983, but then fell again to just above 0.2 in the late 1980s. This ratio was
among the lowest in Southeast Asia.

Monetary and fiscal policies that were set by the government in the early 1980s,
contributed to large intermediation margins, the difference between lending
and borrowing rates. In 1988, for example, loan rates averaged 16.8 percent,
whereas rates on savings deposits were only slightly more than 4 percent. The
Central Bank traditionally maintained relatively high reserve requirements (the
proportion of deposits that must remain in reserve), in excess of 20 percent. In
1990 the reserve requirement was revised upward twice, going from 21 percent
to 25 percent. In addition, the government levied both a 5 percent gross tax on
bank receipts and a 20 percent tax on deposit earnings, and borrowed
extensively to cover budget deficits and to absorb excess growth in the money
supply.

In addition to large intermediation margins, Philippine banks offered

significantly different rates for deposits of different amounts. For instance, in
1988 interest rates on six-month time deposits of large depositors averaged
almost 13 percent, whereas small savers earned only 4 percent on their savings.
Rates offered on six-month and twelve-month time deposits differed by only 1
percentage point, and the rate differential for foreign currency deposits of all
available maturities was within a single percentage point range. Because savings
deposits accounted for approximately 60 percent of total bank deposits and
alternatives for small savers were few, the probability of interest rate
discrimination by the commercial banking industry between small, less-informed
depositors and more affluent savers, was quite high. Interest rates of time
deposits also were bid up to reduce capital flight. This discrimination coupled
with the large intermediation margins, gave rise to charges by Philippine
economists and the World Bank that the Philippine commercial banking industry
was highly oligopolistic.

Money supply growth has been highly variable, expanding during economic and
political turmoil and then contracting when the Philippines tried to meet IMF
requirements. Before the 1969, 1984, and 1986 elections, the money supply
grew rapidly. The flooding of the economy with money prior to the 1986
elections was one reason why the newly installed Aquino administration chose
to scrap the existing standby arrangement with the IMF in early 1986 and
negotiate a new agreement. The Central Bank released funds to stabilize the
financial situation following a financial scandal in early 1981, after the onset of
an economic crisis in late 1983, and after a coup attempt in 1989. The money
was then repurchased by the Treasury and the Central Bank--the so-called Jobo
bills, named after then Central Bank Governor Jose Fernandez--at high interest
rates, rates that peaked in October 1984 at 43 percent and were approaching 35
percent in late 1990. The interest paid on this debt necessitated even greater
borrowing. By contrast, in 1984 and 1985, in order to regain access to external
capital, the growth rate of the money supply was very tight. IMF dictates were
met, very high inflation abated, and the current account was in surplus. Success,
however, was obtained at the expense of a steep fall in output and high
unemployment.

Privatization

When Aquino assumed the presidency in 1986, P31 billion, slightly more than 25
percent of the government's budget, was allocated to public sector enterprises--
government-owned or government-controlled corporations--in the form of
equity infusions, subsidies, and loans. Aquino also found it necessary to write off
P130 billion in bad loans granted by the government's two major financial
institutions, the Philippine National Bank and the Development Bank of the
Philippines, "to those who held positions of power and conflicting interest under
Marcos." The proliferation of inefficient and unprofitable public sector
enterprises and bad loans held by the Philippine National Bank, the
Development Bank of the Philippines, and other government entities, was a
heavy legacy of the Marcos years.

Burdened with 296 public sector enterprises, plus 399 other nonperforming
assets transferred to the government by the Philippine National Bank and the
Development Bank of the Philippines, the Aquino administration established the
Asset Privatization Trust in 1986 to dispose of government-owned and
government-controlled properties. By early 1991, the Asset Privatization Trust
had sold 230 assets with net proceeds of P14.3 billion. Another seventy-four
public sector enterprises that were created with direct government investment
were put up for sale; fifty-seven enterprises were sold wholly or in part for a
total of about P6 billion. The government designated that about 30 percent of
the original public sector enterprises be retained and expected to abolish
another 20 percent. There was widespread controversy over the fairness of the
divestment procedure and its potential to contribute to an even greater
concentration of economic power in the hands of a few wealthy families.
Philippines - Corazon Aquino (countrystudies.us)

source: U.S. Library of Congress

Corazon Aquino

Philippines Table of Contents

Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, universally and affectionately known as "Cory," was

a Philippine president quite unlike those who preceded her. Observers have
groped for the right word to characterize the Aquino presidency. She was first
called a "revolutionary," but later a mere "reformer." When the old landed
families recaptured the political system, she was called a "restorationist."

She was born in 1933 into one of the richest clans in the Philippines, the
powerful Cojuangcos of Tarlac Province. Her maiden name indicates Chinese
mestizo ancestry; her Chinese great-grandfather's name could have been
romanized to Ko Hwan-ko, but, following the normal practice of assimilationist
Catholic Chinese-Filipinos, all the Chinese names were collapsed into one, and a
Spanish first name was taken. Aquino neither sought power nor expected it
would come to her. Her life was that of a privileged, well-educated girl sent
abroad to the Ravenhill Academy in Philadelphia, the Notre Dame Convent
School in New York, and Mount St. Vincent College, also in New York. She
studied mathematics and graduated with a degree in French in 1953, then
returned to the Philippines to study law, but soon married the restless, rich scion
of another prominent Tarlac family, Benigno ("Ninoy") Aquino, Jr. Benigno
Aquino became a mayor, a governor, and a flamboyant senator, and he
probably would have been elected president of the Philippines in 1973 had
Marcos not suspended elections. On the same night in 1972 when Marcos
declared martial law, he sent troops to arrest Benigno Aquino. Senator Aquino
was incarcerated for some seven years, after which Marcos allowed him to go to
the United States. In August 1983, believing that Marcos was dying, Aquino
ventured back to Manila and was gunned down just seconds after being
escorted from the airplane. Aquino's murder galvanized the Filipino people and
was the beginning of the end for Marcos.

The Coalition Comes Undone (1986-87)

Ferdinand Marcos had perfected the art of ruling by dividing his enemies:
scaring some, chasing others out of the country, playing one clan against
another, and co-opting a few members of each prominent provincial family. The
"oppositionists," as the controlled Manila press called them, were never united
while Marcos was in Malacañang, and only through the intervention of Cardinal
Jaime Sin did they agree on a unified ticket to oppose Marcos in the "snap
election" that the ailing dictator suddenly called for February 1986. The widow
Aquino had public support but no political organization, whereas the old-line
politico Salvador H. "Doy" Laurel had an organization but little popular support.
After difficult negotiations, Laurel agreed to run for vice president on a ticket
with Aquino. Aquino won on February 7, 1986, but the margin of victory will
never be known, for the election was marred by gross fraud, intimidation, ballot
box stuffing, and falsified tabulation.

Aquino had to perform a delicate balancing act between left and right, within
society at large and later within her own cabinet. Aquino and Laurel triumphed
in good part because of the defection of Enrile, who was then minister of
defense, and Fidel V. Ramos, the acting Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of
staff. Both men had served Marcos loyally for many years but now found
themselves pushed aside by General Fabian Ver, Marcos's personal bodyguard
and commander of the Presidential Security Command. They risked their lives
defying Marcos and Ver at the crucial moment. Enrile and Ramos conceived of
the new government as a coalition in which they would have important roles to
play. Laurel saw it the same way.

In one sense, the Aquino government initially was a coalition--it drew support
from all parts of the political spectrum. The middle class was overwhelmingly
behind "Cory," the democratic alternative to Marcos. Most leftists saw her as
"subjectively" progressive even if she was "objectively" bourgeois. They hoped
she could reform Philippine politics. On the right, only those actually in league
with Marcos supported him. Aquino's support was very wide and diverse.

The coalition, however, began unraveling almost immediately. Enrile thought

that Aquino should declare her government "revolutionary," because that would
mean that the 1986 elections were illegitimate and that new presidential
elections would be held soon. When Aquino made it clear that she intended to
serve out her entire six-year term, Enrile and Laurel set out to undermine her.
Ramos took a cautiously ambivalent position but ultimately supported Aquino.
Without his loyalty, Aquino would not have survived the many coup attempts
she successfully put down.

Aquino's political honeymoon was brief. Arturo Tolentino, Marcos's running

mate in the February election, proclaimed himself acting president on July 6,
1986, but that attempt to unseat Aquino was short-lived. By October 1986,
Enrile was refusing to attend cabinet meetings on the grounds that they were "a
waste of the people's money." Aquino fired him the next month, after he was
implicated in a coup plan code-named "God Save the Queen" (presumably
because the conspirators hoped to keep Aquino on as a figurehead). The
plotters were suppressed, and on the morning of November 23, Aquino met
with her entire cabinet, except for Laurel, who was playing golf. She asked for
the resignations of all other members of her cabinet and then jettisoned those
leftists who most irritated the army and replaced Enrile with Rafael Ileto as the
new minister of national defense. Aquino started a pattern, repeated many times
since, of tactically shifting rightward to head off a rightist coup.

Enrile was out of the government, but Laurel remained in, despite his vocal,
public criticism of Aquino. She relieved him of his duties as minister of foreign
affairs on September 16, 1987, but could not remove him from the vice
presidency. A month later, Laurel publicly declared his willingness to lead the
country if a coup succeeded in ousting Aquino. The next year, he told the press
that the presidency "requires a higher level of competence" than that shown by
Aquino.

The disintegration of the original Aquino-Laurel-Enrile coalition was only part of

a bigger problem: The entire cabinet, government, and, some would say, even
the entire nation, were permeated with factionalism. Aquino also had difficulty
dealing with the military. The first serious dispute between Aquino and the
military concerned the wisdom of a cease-fire with the New People's Army.
Aquino held high hopes that the communists could be coaxed down from the
hills and reconciled to democratic participation if their legitimate grievances
were addressed. She believed that Marcos had driven many people to support
the New People's Army.

The Philippine military, which had been fighting the guerrillas for seventeen
years, was hostile to her policy initiative. When talks began in September 1986,
military plotters began work on the "God Save the Queen" uprising that was
aborted two months later. Aquino tried reconciliation with the Moro National
Liberation Front and sent her brother-in-law to Saudi Arabia, where he signed
the Jiddah Accord with the Moro National Liberation Front on January 4, 1987. A
coup attempt followed three weeks later. In the wake of these coup attempts,
Aquino reformed her cabinet but she also submitted to military demands that
she oust Executive Secretary Joker Arroyo, a political activist and her longtime
confidant. Her legal counsel, Teodoro Locsin, whom the military considered a
leftist, and her finance secretary, Jaime Ongpin, also had to go. (Ongpin was
later found dead; the coroner's verdict was suicide, although he was lefthanded
and the gun was in his right hand.)

Aquino had been swept into office on a wave of high expectations that she
would be able to right all of the wrongs done to the Philippines under Marcos.
When she could not do this and when the same problems recurred, Filipinos
grew disillusioned. Many of Aquino's idealistic followers were dismayed at the
"Mendiola Massacre" in 1987 in which troops fired into a crowd of protesting
farmers right outside Malacañang. The military was simply beyond her control.
The entire staff of the Commission on Human Rights resigned in protest even
though Aquino herself joined the protestors the next day. Those people who
hoped that Aquino would liberally use emergency power to implement needed
social changes were further dismayed by the fate of her promised land reform
program. Instead of taking immediate action, she waited until the new Congress
was seated, and turned the matter over to them. That Congress, like all previous
Philippine legislatures, was dominated by landowners, and there was very little
likelihood that these people would dispossess themselves.

Aquino's declining political fortunes were revealed in public opinion polls in

early 1991 that showed her popularity at an alltime low, as protesters marched
on Malacañang, accusing her of betraying her promises to ease poverty, stamp
out corruption, and widen democracy. Nevertheless, Aquino's greatest
achievement in the first five years of her term was to begin the healing process.

The President and the Coup Plotters

Philippine politics between 1986 and 1991 was punctuated by President

Aquino's desperate struggle to survive physically and politically a succession of
coup attempts, culminating in a large, bloody, and well-financed attempt in
December 1989. This attempt, led by renegade Colonel Gregorio Honasan,
involved upwards of 3,000 troops, including elite Scout Rangers and marines, in
a coordinated series of attacks on Camp Crame and Camp Aquinaldo, Fort
Bonifacio, Cavite Naval Base, Villamor Air Base, and on Malacañang itself, which
was dive-bombed by vintage T-28 aircraft. Although Aquino was not hurt in this
raid, the situation appeared desperate, for not only were military commanders
around the country waiting to see which side would triumph in Manila, but the
people of Manila, who had poured into the streets to protect Aquino in February
1986, stayed home this time. Furthermore, Aquino found it necessary to request
United States air support to put down this uprising.

Politically this coup was a disaster for Aquino. Her vice president openly allied
himself with the coup plotters and called for her to resign. Even Aquino's
staunchest supporters saw her need for United States air support as a
devastating sign of weakness. Most damaging of all, when the last rebels finally
surrendered, they did so in triumph and with a promise from the government
that they would be treated "humanely, justly, and fairly."

A fact-finding commission was appointed to draw lessons from this coup

attempt. The commission bluntly advised Aquino to exercise firmer leadership,
replace inefficient officials, and retire military officers of dubious loyalty. On
December 14, 1989, the Senate granted Aquino emergency powers for six
months.

One of the devastating results of this insurrection was that just when the
economy had finally seemed to turn around, investors were frightened off,
especially since much of the combat took place in the business haven of
Makati. Tourism, a major foreign-exchange earner, came to a halt. Business
leaders estimated that the mutiny cost the economy US$1.5 billion.
The Philippines under the Aquino Administration | Official Gazette of the Republic of the
Philippines

In the past three years, the Philippines has undergone a radical transformation: From a having a
government that institutionalized corrupt practices, to one that provides public service founded on
the principles of transparency, accountability, and integrity; from being home to a citizenry
clamoring for change, to nurturing a nation empowered and actively working together for greater
opportunities for inclusive growth.

The bedrock of this transformation likewise remains as the driving philosophy behind the Aquino
administration’s reform agenda: If we can rid the country of the culture of corruption, then we can
alleviate poverty and collectively move forward to secure an equitably progressive Philippines .

To sustain the country’s momentum, the Aquino administration has been continuously improving
upon the good governance reforms it has established, which includes strengthening the
mechanisms necessary for the swift and efficient delivery of services to Filipinos. The government
has reformed its procurement and budgeting processes to promote efficiency and reduce
opportunities for corruption, preventing the waste of billions of pesos in taxpayers’ money. This, in
turn, has allowed the national government to channel funds to the most immediate needs of the
public—into programs that include massive investments in social services, health, and education, in
order to enhance and empower our human capital, which then encourages expansive, equitable
growth.

The reforms are already bearing fruit. In 2012, the Philippines recorded one of its strongest years
for growth, surpassing all expectations; the first quarter GDP of 2013, recorded at 7.8%, further
raised the bar among the community of nations and exceeding even our growth trend. Lead credit
ratings agencies have placed the Philippines at the investment grade level, even as they predict
continued favorable economic prospects for our future. And these gains of good governance are
being translated into the improvement of the quality of the life of all Filipinos, particularly the poor
and the vulnerable. Social services continue to receive the highest share of the national budget,
with social intervention and protection programs at the core of our poverty reduction thrust.

All these changes we have established in the past three years, and all that we have achieved from
them, make up the mere foundation. The gains of good governance and sustained investment in
the welfare of our citizens will build on the Philippines’ momentum, to beyond the end of
President Aquino’s term come 2016.
Ramos

Fidel Ramos | president of Philippines | Britannica

WRITTEN BY
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge,
whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced
degre

Fidel Ramos, in full Fidel Valdez Ramos, byname Eddie Ramos, (born March 18, 1928, Lingayen,
Phil.), military leader and politician who was president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He
was generally regarded as one of the most effective presidents in that nation’s history.

Ramos was educated at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and at the University of
Illinois, U.S. He then entered the Philippine army, serving in Korea and Vietnam. In 1972
President Ferdinand Marcos (who was Ramos’ second cousin) appointed him chief of the
Philippine Constabulary, and when Marcos imposed martial law later that year Ramos was
responsible for enforcing it; the Constabulary arrested thousands of political dissidents. In 1981
Ramos became deputy chief of staff of the armed forces.

After the presidential elections of 1986, in which Marcos claimed victory despite allegations of
large-scale electoral fraud, Ramos and defense minister Juan Ponce Enrile supported Marcos’
opponent, Corazon Aquino. Their defection sparked the civilian “People Power” movement that
forced Marcos into exile. During Aquino’s presidency Ramos served as military chief of staff (1986–
88) and secretary of national defense (1988–91), and he suppressed several military coup attempts
against her government.

Ramos was elected to succeed Aquino in May 1992. As president he purged the
national police force of corrupt officers; encouraged family-planning practices to curb the growth
of the country’s population; and liberalized the Philippines’ heavily protected economy in order to
spur economic growth. Ramos’ governing coalition won a decisive victory in congressional
elections held in 1995, midway through his six-year term as president. His administration reached
peace agreements with two long-active guerrilla insurgencies, the communist New People’s
Army and the Muslim separatists of the Moro National Liberation Front. He meanwhile continued
his efforts to deregulate major industries that were dominated by a handful of large companies
and to improve the government’s inefficient tax-collection system. These reforms helped revitalize
the Philippines’ economy, which emerged from years of stagnation to grow at a rapid rate in 1994–
97. The country was thus able to weather a severe business downturn that crippled national
economies across Southeast Asia in 1998. Ramos was constitutionally restricted to one term as
president, which ended in June 1998.

This article was most recently revised and updated by  Amy Tikkanen, Corrections Manager
Fidel Valdéz Ramos former President of Philippines, club madrid member

Fidel Valdéz Ramos

President of the Republic of the Philippines (1992-1998)

Place and date of Birth:

Lingayen, Pangasinan (Philippines), March 18, 1928

Education:
Degree from the United States Military Academy West Point; Master of Science in Civil Engineering
from the University of Illinois; Master of National Security Administration from the National
Defense College of the Philippines; Master of Business Administration from the Ateneo de Manila
University, Philippines.

Professional Experience:
Served in the Philippines Armed Forces from 1951-91; Commander of the Philippine Constabulary,
1970-72; Deputy armed forces Chief of Staff, 1972-86; Army chief of staff, 1986-88; Secretary of
defense, 1988-92.

Political Career:
His government is remembered for steadfastly promoting the individual empowerment and global
competitiveness. In 1993 he ended the power crisis that had devastated the Filipino people and
crippled Filipino industry for two years. He created and implemented programs to fight poverty.

The Filipino economy recovered dramatically during the Ramos´ Administration. He implemented a
comprehensive Social Reform Agenda (SRA) that addressed the long-standing problems of
poverty, jobs and livelihood, health, education and skills training, housing, environmental
protection, children and the youth, the elderly and the handicapped, agrarian reform, and access
to equal opportunity. Gross National Product increased an average of 5 percent annually, and the
average income of the Filipino family grew more during his administration than in the preceding
two decades. He pushed for the deregulation of key industries and the liberalization of the
economy, and encouraged the privatization of public entities, to include the modernization of
public infrastructure through an expanded Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) law. He achieved a peace
agreement with military rebels and the secessionist Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) for
which he won the 1997 UNESCO Peace Award, the first awarded to an Asian national.

Currently,  Ramos belongs to over fourteen international organizations. On 12 April 2002, he was
elected Chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA)—an intellectual resource center backed by 26
countries to help integrate the diverse Asian continent into “One Asia.” He is founder and
Chairman of the Ramos Peace and Development Foundation.

Others:
He has received some 28 honorary doctorates, many of them from foreign educational
institutions.  He also received the 2000 Distinguished Graduate Award from the U.S. Military
Academy at West Point.  He is a veteran of the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
President Fidel Ramos Five Year Accomplishments (iatp.org)

On July 28, 1997, President Fidel Ramos of the Philippines delivered an overview of his
administration’s accomplishments during the previous five years.  The following is the text from
the first section of President’s Ramos’ speech on his administration’s work on the environment.

Environment and Natural Resources:

Pursued Economic Growth within the Framework of
Sustainable Development

When we assumed office in 1992, we were faced with the challenge of addressing the serious
degradation of our environment and the unbridled exploitation of our natural resources for
immediate economic gains. This situation was manifested in the pollution of our environment
beyond tolerable levels, increasing number of environmental disasters associated with, among
others, improper mine tailings disposal, rapid deforestation of our remaining forest cover and the
resultant loss of valuable top soil and massive soil erosion, and salt water intrusion. Many of our
wildlife were in the international list of threatened animals. These include 89 birds (including the
Philippine eagle), 44 mammals (including the Tamaraw) and 8 reptiles (including the Gray Monitor
Lizard).

Recognizing the long-term implications of this situation on our economy and national life as a
whole, we set out to ensure that our economic agenda are not pursued at the expense of our
environment and natural resources. To this end, we participated and committed to the principles
of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, which in essence, required the adoption of sustainable development
as the country’s development policy framework. This is to ensure that environment considerations
are placed in the mainstream of national development efforts. In pursuit of this, we formulated the
Philippine Agenda 21 which consists of strategies that would integrate sustainable development
parameters in our development efforts. To provide a mechanism that will ensure the integration of
these strategies in national policies, plans and programs, we created the Philippine Council for
Sustainable Development (Executive Order 15, 1 September 1992) headed by NEDA.

Using Agenda 21 as our guidepost, we vigorously pursued the implementation of our

environmental protection programs and projects. We adopted innovative approaches and
mechanisms to deepen public awareness on the causes and costs of environmental degradation.
We also streamlined our environmental protection mechanisms and systems towards making them
more responsive to present and future requirements.

We focused our efforts on protecting and conserving our natural resources and on rehabilitating
our degraded ecosystems. We pursued with greater vigor the implementation of programs aimed
at preserving the genetic diversity of our wildlife. To ensure the preservation of their natural
habitats and rationalize the exploration and development of our natural resources, we identified
and segregated critical areas and put in place institutional mechanisms to coordinate their
development and protection.

We also adopted and implemented policies and programs to conserve and protect our forest,
mineral and land resources. To augment government resources, we enlisted the support and
participation of our communities, local government units, the private sector and other countries
and international donor institutions in pursuit of our goals for the sector.

We extended our commitment to the protection and preservation of our natural resources and
environment in the international arena by taking an active advocacy role. As chair of the first APEC
Meeting on Sustainable Development, we successfully advocated for APEC’s commitment to
sustainable development and generated an Action Program towards ensuring the
operationalization of the concept in APEC member-countries. As chair of the ASEAN Officials for
the Environment (ASOEN), we led in finalizing the Regional Center for Biodiversity Conservation
Project which secured from the European Community a $10 million grant for its operation. As an
active participant in the Montreal Protocol, we secured a $16 million funding assistance under its
ozone-depleting substances phase-out program for industrial firms.

All these contributed significantly to the attainment of our economic goals within the framework
of sustainable development, and thus, ensured the continued sustainability of national efforts
towards economic growth. Our success in these endeavors have earned for us the recognition as
the World Bank’s First Green Tiger and Asia’s Emerging Green Tiger by Newsweek Magazine,
sterling tributes to our commitment to, and pursuit of, sustainable development. We also received
the John Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation Prize in recognition of our outstanding contribution to
the conservation of marine turtles as well as our assistance in the establishment of the Turtle Island
Heritage Protected Area. We also received the Monsanto Pledge Award for "turning a denuded
grassland into a sustainable forest plantation model for the developed world".

1. Protected Our Environment

We promoted and ecologically sound environment and reduced land, sea and air pollution
through the implementation of various programs, adoption of innovative schemes and the
streamlining of environmental protection systems. We focused our resources on the
implementation of programs and projects that directly addresses the causes of pollution, in
collaboration with the local government units and the private sectors.

1.1 Implemented Waste Disposal Projects. We launched the Ecological Waste Management

Program under which LGUs, communities and the private sector are provided technical assistance
to promote and speed up the transfer of information and technology on the proper management
and disposal of solid wastes, as well as guidance on the preparation of the requirements of the
Environmental Impact Assessment System. To date, we have entered into Memorandum of
Agreement with 134 LGUs, identified 736 potential landfill sites and implemented 32 pilot waste
disposal projects on composting and recycling nationwide.

Further, as part of our technical assistance to LGUs and other concerned groups, we formulated
and published the following waste management manuals, plans and other relevant documents to
serve as guide to users:

a. Handbook on Solid Waste Management for Local Government

b. Guidelines for the Preparation of Solid Waste Management Master Plan

c. Criteria for the Selection of a Potential Sanitary Landfill Site

d. Manual on Sanitary Landfill

e. Sanitary Landfill Design and Construction Manual

f. Leachate Stabilization Ponds Design and Construction.

g. Internal Criteria for the Initial Evaluation of Solid Waste Management Projects Proposed Under
the Built-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Scheme

h. Scoping Guidelines for the Conduct of EIA for Thermal Conversion/Waste-to-Energy

(Incineration) Facility
To complement the effort of the LGUs, we set up waste disposal projects nationwide to ensure that
appropriate technologies and procedures in the collection, storage, processing, transport and
disposal of solid waste are widely disseminated and properly observed. We operationalized the San
Mateo and Carmona Landfills and the Las Pinas Transfer station to address the waste disposal
problem in Metro Manila.

1.2 Intensified Clean Air Campaign. We pursued our drive against smoke belchers and tapped the
LGUs to implement the Comprehensive Anti-Smoke Belching Program. In support of the Program,
we completed the revision of the IRRs on the Anti-smoke Belching Law (PD 1081) for the law’s
more effective implementation.

We complemented the Anti-Smoke Belching Program with the promotion of the use of lead-free
gasoline which significantly contributed to the reduction of noxious gases in the air. A total of 953
gasoline stations nationwide are now selling unleaded gasoline.

We also continuously monitored air quality and upgraded our monitoring stations to get a more
accurate and up-to-date information. We acquired two (2) units of mobile air laboratory van to
augment the existing stations.

1.3 Rehabilitated and Protected Major Bodies of Water. We intensified the protection and
rehabilitation of heavily polluted major bodies of water.

a. Pasig River. We created the Presidential Task Force on Pasig River Rehabilitation under
Administrative Order No. 74 dated 29 July 1993 to speed up the rehabilitation of the Pasig River
and to upgrade it water quality by the year 2005. Toward this, we enlisted the support of our local
communities, NGOs and private sector in the implementation of the Waste Minimization Program
and resettled 3,583 families living on stilts along the Pasig River. The Biological Oxygen Demand
(BOD) load was reduced from 330 metric tons per day (MTPD) in 1990 to 283 MTPD in 1996. These
resulted in significant improvement in the ability of the river to sustain marine life.

b. Laguna Lake and Tributaries. We also pursued the implementation of the Sagip Ilog/River
Rehabilitation Program, a multi-sectoral approach to clean and rehabilitate the biologically dead
and polluted rivers in the nine (9) priority river systems in the Laguna Lake basin.

c. Boac River.  We rehabilitated the Boac River which was damaged by Marcopper’s mine tailings, in
partnership with the private sector as well as the concerned LGUs and communities. Expenses for
the rehabilitation activities was drawn from the Environmental Guarantee Fund established by
Marcopper Company.

d. Pasak River. We removed and blasted illegal fishpond dikes and structures causing the siltation
of the Pasak River and the flooding of San Fernando, Pampanga area and surrounding barangays.
As a result, we reduced flooding in said areas.

e. Pansipit River. We dismantled abut 2,951 (out of 3,440) illegal fishcages, fishpens, fishtraps and
other aquaculture in Pansipit River to prevent the lake from further pollution due to excessive
feeding of cultured fishes, and to save its endemic species such as Maliputo and Tawilis.

1.4 Implemented Clean and Green Program. We implemented the Clean and Green Program to
instill in the minds of our local communities and LGUs the need for a clean and green environment.
As part of the Program, we distributed a total of 75.5 million seedlings and saplings to the LGUs
for planting in their localities. We also established 457 mini-parks nationwide. We conducted our
annual search (starting 1993) for the cleanest and greenest (and dirtiest) LGUs and bodies of water.
We recognized and elevated to the Hall of Fame, the Cities of Baguio and Puerto Princesa, for
winning the cleanest and greenest local government unit award for three (3) consecutive years.
1.5 Strengthened Environmental Impact Statement System. We revised the implementing rules and
regulations on the Environmental Impact Statement System to make it a more responsive
instrument in addressing the increasing pressures on the environment. We simplified its
requirements and mandated the conduct of the EIA simultaneous to that of the pre-feasibility
study for environmentally-critical projects. This resulted in the reduction of processing time in the
issuance of Environmental Compliance Certificates (ICC) to only 90 days. As insurance against
possible harm to the environment and communities arising from the implementation of high-risk
projects, we required firms to put up an Environment Guarantee Fund prior to the start of the
project, and an Environment Monitoring fund to ensure that projects are monitored, in terms of
their impact on the environment, from start to completion. In the same vein, we required social
acceptability as one of the major criterion for the release of the ECC.

1.6 Closed Down Establishments Violating Pollution Control Laws.  We waged an all-out war against
industrial polluters identified to be sources of pollution through the issuance of 286 Cease and
Desist Orders (CDO) to industrial establishments operating without the required waste treatment
facilities and discharging toxic chemicals and wastes into the air, water, as well as those operating
open dumpsites.

1.7 Developed the Smokey Mountain. We closed the 20-hectare Smokey Mountain open dumpsite
and disposed about 5 million cubic meters of garbage to develop it into a port-related, commercial
and industrial area with housing units for its resident. We constructed at least 33 temporary
housing building in the Smokey Mountain which is now occupied by 2,700 Smokey Mountain
households. We drew up a development plan for the area, a component of which is the
development of a 79 hectare reclaimed for the purpose. This is to induce economic growth and
provide employment opportunities to the residents of Smokey Mountain. We also provided basic
services and alternative Mountain. We also provided basic services and alternative livelihood to the
scavenger families displaced by the closure of the dumpsite.

1.8 Adopted New Concepts and Measures to Protect the Environment. We adopted innovative
programs and market-based instruments aimed at influencing industrial firms and local
government units to take deliberate efforts to protect the environment and to pursue more
environmental friendly ways in their operations.

a. Imposed Emission and Effluent Charges. We started charging pollution fees to industrial firms
releasing polluting substances into the environment, based on the "Polluters Pay Principle" to put
pressure on them to put in place waste minimization or waste treatment facilities. The concept is
currently being piloted in the Laguna Lake region.

b. Adopted Color-coding for Industrial Firms. Under the project, industrial firms are color-coded
based on their environmental responsiveness, for disclosure to the public. "Gold" denotes excellent
performance; "blue", sufficient compliance; "red", insufficient compliance; and "black", non-
compliance. The system is slated to be piloted in NCR and Laguna Lake region and will initially
focus on the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) concentration of a firm’s effluent.

c. Comprehensive Ecological Labeling Project. Under the Project, LGUs were rated and ranked
according to their performance in enforcing development and environmental functions such as
compliance to environmental standards like water supply, sewerage treatment facilities, and solid
waste management.

d. Banned the Entry of Toxic Wastes. A signatory to the Basel Convention, we banned the
importation, storage or transport of toxic or nuclear wastes into or through our country. To further
regulate the movement of hazardous waste, we also prohibit the importation of recyclable
materials containing hazardous substances (DENR Administrative Order No. 28, S, 199--).
Why Fidel Ramos was the best | Inquirer Opinion

Why Fidel Ramos was the best

By: Richard Heydarian - @inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:07 AM December 11, 2018

Many Filipinos often lament how we have lacked exceptional leaders, unlike some of our
neighbors. Others, sadly, fall for revisionist, if not delusional, accounts of the past, imagining a
golden era out of what was more accurately a dark age for Philippine economy and democracy.
After all, it was precisely during the 1970s and 1980s when Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand
managed to leapfrog ahead of the Philippines, which was the regional economic stalwart in the
early 1960s. Go figure which administration was mostly in charge of the Philippines during those
“lost decades.”
According to popular opinion, it was thanks to the strong-willed leadership of Lee Kuan Yew and
Mahathir Mohamad that Singapore and Malaysia, respectively, became among the most
prosperous nations outside the industrialized West. Some would even go so far as praising
authoritarian populists such as Thailand’s Thaksin Shinawatra, who was responsible for a deadly
yet ineffectual drug war; oversaw widespread corruption and nepotism; and ended up plunging his
country into a decadelong political civil war.
Few people, however, appreciate the importance of impersonal institutions, particularly a
competent and autonomous bureaucracy that implements optimal trade and industrial policies, to
the success of these countries.
And many Filipinos tend to fall for simplistic explanations such as “political will” and the idea that
all we need in this country is an “iron-fist” leadership.
There is one Filipino leader in contemporary history, however, who not only understood the
importance of institutions, but also adopted a visionary style of governance based on technocratic
merit (rather than nepotism), empirical evidence (rather than outlandish claims), and a good
measure of personal discipline and competence (rather than populist know-nothingness).
Throughout his years in politics, Fidel Ramos was far from perfect. Critics will easily point out, inter
alia, his instrumental role in enabling the emergence of the martial law regime; his decision to
allow the return of the Marcoses to the Philippines after temporary exile; and the surge in
kidnappings and crime during the latter years of his presidency.
Yet, four things made his administration relatively better than all others in contemporary memory.
Again, this is in relative terms, since his leadership was far from perfect.
First of all, people tend to forget that he is arguably among the best-educated Filipino leaders
ever, with advanced civilian and military degrees from the top institutions in the Philippines and
the United States.
He is also among the most globally renowned regional leaders, with a stellar record of hyperactive
diplomacy (minus junkets) and prolific writing. In fact, during his time, the Philippines was a key
driver within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Second, Ramos oversaw a period of steady economic growth, democratic consolidation, successful
peace negotiations, and an end to the political instability and coup attempts that had wracked the
country throughout the 1980s. And he accomplished this fateful task of steadying the ship in
pursuit of his “Philippines 2000” vision of an emerging tiger economy.
Third, as Ramos’ former economic secretary Cielito Habito always points out, his administration
was largely built on merit, not on political calculations or nepotism. His Cabinet featured many of
the “best and brightest” of the country, including those that didn’t necessarily support his
presidential campaign or even know him personally at all.
Ramos correctly saw leadership as teamwork, not a cult of personality. And, similar to Nelson
Mandela, he didn’t create his own political dynasty.
Fourth, and most importantly, Ramos believed in a “strong state,” rather than strongmen. He
invested in state institutions, rather than his personal office.
This is why, during his term, we achieved, among many other things, our highest rate of tax
collection, a key measure of a strong bureaucracy, which was only matched in recent years.
His term also saw the most vigorous assault yet on monopolistic practices in the Philippine
telecommunications sector, a feat that hasn’t been matched by any of his successors so far.
The ultimate tragedy was not only the Asian financial crisis that punctuated his final year in office,
but also the institutionally destructive and utterly corrupt populism that followed his term. If only
his successors built on his legacy.
Fidel Valdez Ramos | Encyclopedia.com
Fidel Valdez Ramos

Fidel Valdez Ramos (born 1928) was inaugurated president of the Philippines in June 1992. He had
the mandate to continue the democratic reforms gained by the country during Corazon Aquino's
peaceful people-power revolution of 1986.

The eighth president of the postwar Philippine Republic, Fidel Valdez Ramos was known as a hero
of the 1986 people-power revolution, the bloodless coup that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
Corazon Aquino, the widow of Marcos' assassinated archenemy, was installed in the presidency at
that time.

People power was Ramos' idea of how to fight the weapons of the Marcos regime when the
dictator, losing confidence in Constabulary Chief Fidel Ramos and his defense minister, Juan Ponce
Enrile, set out to destroy them. Ramos asked Jaime Cardinal Sin to send people to protect their
fortress, the Constabulary Camp at EDSA (Epifanio de los Santos Avenue). Cardinal Sin appealed to
the people by radio, and millions of people surrounded the camp to protect Ramos, Enrile, and the
soldiers who joined them. The people at EDSA thwarted tanks and armored vehicles, and in four
days in 1986 caused the flight to Hawaii of Marcos and his family. Corazon C. Aquino, who may
have won a controversial election against Marcos weeks before, became president, and democracy
was restored after 20 years of autocratic rule.

After the EDSA victory, "Eddie" Ramos, who had been a soldier all his adult life, served President
Aquino as chief of staff of the armed forces of the Philippines and later as secretary of national
defense. During the six years of Aquino's administration Ramos defeated seven coup attempts, two
of them serious. His successful maneuvers against the coups earned for him the trust and
confidence of President Aquino, who, towards the end of her term, openly supported him to be
her successor to the presidency.

Ramos won in the May 1992 elections over six other candidates, garnering only 24 percent of the
votes but winning 800,000 votes more than his closest rival. Within his first year in office he was
able to win over to his side a majority of the people, who developed confidence in his government.
He gained their support through a strategy of reconciliation and a strong hands-on leadership. The
restoration of democracy was a long, difficult task, while at the same time Ramos had to attend to
major economic and social problems that had grown during the Marcos years.

Under Ramos' presidential leadership, the Phillipines became known as the "Asian Tiger." He was
widely credited for reviving the country's economy, and it grew at a brisk pace of seven percent
annually through the mid-1990s. Admirers of his businesslike approach called him "Steady Eddie,"
and many foreign investors poured money into the country. He also ended crippling regulation of
the telecommunications, banking, insurance, shipping and oil industries. Meanwhile, Ramos
quieted long-standing troubles with Communist guerrillas, right-wing military offices and Muslim
separatists, making life in the Phillippines more stable than it had been in decades.

Ramos grew up with a sense of government. His father served the Philippine Republic in the 1960s
as secretary of national defense. He also came to the job of president educationally prepared, with
a degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point and an engineering degree from
the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. In a country where law is the typical training for the
presidency, Ramos came with atypical qualifications. He had only a short stint as a member of
a political party, the ruling LDP (Lakas ng Demokratikong Pilipino or Fight of Democratic Filipinos),
which then spurned him as their nominee for the presidency. However, Ramos ascended to the
highest post in the land via a new party, the Lakas ng EDSA (Strength of EDSA) or NUCD (National
Union of Christian Democrats). Lastly, in a country that was 85 percent Catholic, Ramos was the
first Protestant president. He was married and the father of five daughters.
The unusual people-power revolution at EDSA enabled an unusual person like Ramos to lead the
Philippines. In December 1996, Ramos had surgery to remove a life-threatening blockage in the
artery to his brain, but he recovered. Near the end of his term, supporters advocated changing the
country's young Constitution to allow him to run for a second six-year term in 1998. They wanted
to continue his steady leadership and the Phillippine economic rennaissance, arguing that no other
candidate could fill his shoes as president. However, many others, including former president
Aquino and the nation's 100 Roman Catholic bishops, strongly objected. They urged respect for
the Constitution, warning any such change could plunge the country back to a Marcos-like
dictatorship. Ramos, ever low-key, did not reveal his plans, but told reporters "I would not want
the policies, the momentum, the tremendous progress we have achieved wasted."

Further Reading

For a biography of Ramos before his election see Jose Apolinario L. Lozada, Who's Afraid of Eddie
Ramos? (Manila, 1991). The president's own writing may be found in Fidel V. Ramos, To Win the
Future: People Empowerment for National Development (Manila, 1993). See also The First 365
Days (Manila, Office of the Press Secretary, 1993). Accounts of Ramos' years as president can be
found in The  New York  Times (Dec. 26, 1996 and April 4, 1997); The Economist (April 12,
1997); Business Week (Oct. 28, 1996); and Newsweek (Dec. 2, 1996). □

Encyclopedia of World Biography

Estrada
Joseph Estrada | Biography, Presidency, & Facts | Britannica
WRITTEN BY
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge,
whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced
degree

Joseph Estrada, original name Joseph Ejercito, (born April 19, 1937, Manila, Philippines),
Filipino actor and politician who served as president of the Philippines (1998–2001) and
later mayor of Manila (2013–19).

The son of a government engineer, Estrada entered the Mapua Institute of Technology with the
intention of following in his father’s footsteps, but he eventually dropped out to become a film actor.
Forbidden by his parents to use the family name, he adopted the screen name Erap Estrada. He
played the lead in more than 100 movies, usually portraying a swashbuckling tough guy who defends
the poor against the corrupt establishment. He also produced some 75 films.

In 1968 Estrada entered politics, successfully running for the mayorship of the Manila suburb of San
Juan, a post he retained until 1986. In 1969 he was elected to the Senate. In 1992 he ran for vice
president on the National People’s Coalition ticket. Although the party’s presidential candidate,
Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr., lost the election to Fidel Ramos, Estrada won the vice presidential contest.

In 1998 Estrada ran for president, though his candidacy faced significant opposition. Ramos, who was
constitutionally barred from running for a second term, endorsed House Speaker José de Venecia,
and many of the country’s powerful businessmen opposed Estrada’s populist proposals. The Roman
Catholic Church denied Estrada its support because he had admitted to having fathered four children
by women other than his wife. However, he did have the support of Imelda Marcos, the widow of
former president Ferdinand Marcos and then a member of Congress, and he enjoyed a devoted
following among the country’s poor. Estrada managed to capture nearly 40 percent of the vote,
handily defeating his nearest rival, de Venecia, who garnered only 15.9 percent. The margin of victory
was the largest in a free election in the history of the Philippines, and Estrada was officially declared
president by Congress on May 29, 1998.

Estrada’s tenure as president was short-lived, however, as a corruption scandal erupted in October

2000 when a fellow politician claimed that Estrada had accepted millions of dollars worth of bribes.
In November the Philippine Senate began an impeachment trial, but it was abandoned after some
senators blocked the admission of evidence. On January 20, 2001, Estrada was ousted amid mass
protests, and his vice president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, ascended to the presidency. Later that year
Estrada was brought to trial on charges of plunder (large-scale corruption) and accused of having
procured more than $80 million through bribes and corrupt dealings. Estrada denied the accusations,
calling them politically motivated, and he remained relatively popular in the Philippines despite the
charges. In September 2007 he was convicted of plundering and sentenced to a maximum of 40 years
in prison. The following month, however, Estrada was pardoned by Arroyo. In October 2009 he
announced his candidacy for president, but he was defeated in the May 2010 elections by Benigno S.
Aquino III (son of Benigno Aquino, Jr., and Corazon Aquino).

In 2013 Estrada ran for mayor of Manila and defeated the incumbent, Alfredo Lim. After taking office
later that year, he faced a number of issues, notably the city’s debt and inability to pay for basic
services. In order to raise revenue, he sharply raised property taxes. Estrada faced a serious challenge
from Lim in the 2016 race but narrowly won reelection. He ran for a third term in 2019 but was
defeated.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by  Amy
Tikkanen, Corrections Manager.
Joseph Ejercito Estrada (1998-2001) | Philippine Presidents (wordpress.com)

During the 1998 presidential election campaign, like most presidential campaign, the competition did not do
anything between political platforms and programs. Estrada’s strategists were aware that there is a large
percent of the population who are poor and uneducated or “masa” who were looking for a candidate whom
they could relate to. Using the slogan “Erap para sa mahirap”, Estrada succeeded in inspiring the lower class
people with a hope that if he wins, he will the president of the masses. Estrada was inaugurated on June 30,
1998 in the historical town of Malolos in Bulacan province in paying tribute to the cradle of the First Philippine
Republic.
During Estrada’s administration, the economic teamwas strong but during the latter part, the admin failed to
capitalize on the gains of the previous administration. When Estrada was accused of influencing an
investigation in the stock market manipulation, foreign investments declined. The Asian Financial Crisis and
climatic disturbance hindered economic performance of the country. Towards the end of his term, the fiscal
deficit doubled to more than Php100 billion. However, GNP increased to 3.6% from 0.1% and GDP incurred a
4% growth rate. Debt reached Php2.1 Trillion in 1999. Inflation rate went down from 11% to just a little over
3%. The Estrada administration upheld the foreign policy thrusts of the Ramos administration, focusing on
national security, economic diplomacy, assistance to nationals, and image-building. The Philippines continued
to be at the forefront of the regional and multilateral arena.
PRIMARY PROBLEMS
Graft and Corruption
Graft and corruption was pretty eminent not just during Estrada’s administration. Obviously, we all know
Estrada was sanctioned to have been getting or robbing money from the governments’ fund to use for his own
personal interest. That is why he was impeached due to his plunder and perjury case.
Asian Financial Crisis
The Central bank raised interest rates by 1.75%. The BSP was forced to intervene heavily to defend the peso
raising the overnight rate from 15% to 24%. The pesa fell from 26 per dollar to 28 pesos to 40 pesos by the
end of the crisis.
El Nino
The El Nino led to too many problems in the country. One of which is the serious drought of lands in the rural
areas that cause the unemployment of the farmers and the rise of the prices of rice.
Poverty
Of the 14.37 million families, 5.75 million belonged to the lowest 40% income group while 8.62 million in the
highest 60% income bracket. In terms of percentage to total families, families in the highest 60% income strata
got the biggest percentage in almost all indicators. But in terms of the percentage to the total families within
each income strata, families in the lowest 40% income strata are not far off from families in the highest 60%.

PROMISES DURING THE ELECTIONS AND INAUGURATION

Estrada’s first priority was to focus on the improvement of the economy. Creating the environment of peace
and order in which business does well so as to uplift the economy of the country. Estrada wanted to focus on
the masses and put up programs for them first. He promised the masses that they will not suffer anymore and
let the rich people take a share on the sacrifices. As he states
“As far as resources permit, to the best of our ability and the limit of our energy, we will put a roof over their
heads, food on their tables, and clothes on their backs. We will educate their children and foster their health.
We will bring peace and security, jobs and dignity to their lives. We will put more infrastructure at their
service, to multiply their productivity and raise their incomes.”
He stated several points regarding how the government can help out in improving the country. Stamping out
crimes, providing basic services without the extra cost of pork barrel, roads for work, infrastructure, schools,
clinics, national defense are some of the factors Estrada promised to implement or establish. Erap swore to
give at once a government that works. Estrada also promised to bring peace and harmony to the society. He
wanted every Filipino, rich or poor to feel that they are safe.
LAWS AND PROGRAMS
Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999 (Republic Act No. 8749)
Designed to protect and preserve the environment and ensure the sustainable development of its natural
resources.
Incentives for Regional Headquarters of Foreign Multinationals (Republic Act No. 8756)
The measure grants a host of incentives to multinational firms establishing their regional hubs in the country.
It also provides a tax- and duty-free operating environment for them, and multiple entry visas to expatriates
and their families, as well as a flat income tax rate of 15%.
Retail Trade Liberalization Act (Republic Act No. 8762)
The bill dismantles 40 years of state protectionism over the country’s retail trade industry and opens the
sector to big foreign players. With the retail trade liberalization, well-known foreign players like France’s
Carrefour and Casino Group as well as the U.S.’ Wal-Mart and JC Penney are already in the process of
negotiating with local partners.
New General Banking Act (Republic Act No. 8791)
The measure opens up the local banking industry to foreign players after almost 50 years of having it
exclusively reserved and protected for Filipino nationals. With the industry’s liberalization, at least 10 foreign
banks have already established their presence in the Philippines.
Electronic Commerce Act of 2000 (Republic Act No. 8792)
Outlaws computer hacking and provides opportunities for new businesses emerging from the Internet-driven
New Economy.
New Securities Act (Republic Act No. 8799)
This law liberalizes the securities market by shifting policy from merit regulation to full disclosure. With its
strengthened provisions against fraud, the measure is expected to pave the way for the full development of
the Philippine equities and securities market.
Agrarian Reform
The Estrada administration widened the coverage of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) to
the landless peasants in the country side. The latter’s administration distributed more than 266,000 hectares
of land to 175,000 landless farmers, including land owned by the traditional rural elite. On September 1999,
he issued Executive Order (EO) 151, also known as Farmer’s Trust Fund, which allows the voluntary
consolidation of small farm operation into medium and large scale integrated enterprise that can access long-
term capital. President Estrada launched the Magkabalikat Para sa Kaunlarang Agraryo or MAGKASAKA. The
DAR forged into joint ventures with private investors into agrarian sector to make FBs competitive. In 1999 a
huge fund was allocated to agricultural programs. One of which is the “Agrikulturang Maka Masa”, through
which it achieved an output growth of 6 percent, a record high at the time, thereby lowering the inflation rate
from 11 percent in January 1999 to just a little over 3 percent by November of the same year.
Anti-Crime Task Forces
In 1998, by virtue of Executive Order No.8, President Estrada created the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime
Task Force (PAOCTF) with the objective of minimizing, if not totally eradicating, car theft and worsening
kidnapping cases in the country. With the help of this task force, the Philippine National Police for the first
time in history achieved a record-high trust rating of +53 percent. Panfilo Lacson was its first head. He also
created the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC) in 1999, with the objective of formulating and
implementing a concerted of action of all law enforcement, intelligence and other government agencies for
the prevention and control of transnational crime.
Death Penalty
The death penalty law in the Philippines was re-enforced during the incumbency of Estrada’s predecessor,
Fidel Ramos. This law provided the use of the electric chair until the gas chamber (method chosen by
government to replace electrocution) could be installed. The Estrada administration peddled the death
penalty as the antidote to crime. The reasoning was that if the criminals will be afraid to commit crimes if they
see that the government is determined to execute them.
Charter Change
Under President Joseph Estrada, there was a similar attempt to change the 1987 constitution. The process is
termed as CONCORD or Constitutional Correction for Development. Unlike Charter change under Ramos and
Arroyo the CONCORD proposal, according to its proponents, would only amend the ‘restrictive’ economic
provisions of the constitution that is considered as impeding the entry of more foreign investments in the
Philippines.
RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement
On 1999 a Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States, which was ratified in the Senate.The first Visiting
Forces Agreement was actually signed under President Ramos in 1998, and the second was subsequently
signed under President Estrada. The two agreements came to effect a year later. The primary effect of the
Agreement is to require the U.S. government (1) to notify RP authorities when it becomes aware of the
apprehension, arrest or detention of any RP personnel visiting the U.S. and (2) when so requested by the RP
government, to ask the appropriate authorities to waive jurisdiction in favor of RP, except cases of special
interest to the U.S. departments of State or Defense

BENEFICIARIES OF THE LAWS AND PROGRAMS

Estrada’s agrarian reform was for the benefit of those farmers living in the rural areas. CARP was for the
benefit of those farmers who do not own their own land. He distributed hectares of land to those who are
landless. Farmers’ Trust Fund was intended for those farmers who have small and medium capital to extend
their business into a large scale accessing long term loans from the fund.
Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force was launched in order to reduce crimes such as car/kidnapping.
He also created the Philippines Center on Transnational Crime. Its objective is to implement law enforcement
for the prevention of crimes. Estrada also implemented the death penalty where its objective is also, to reduce
serious crimes.
The Charter change turned out to be a big issue in the government. This charter change was intended to
recreate the constitution. Apparently, it was not really for the benefit of the economy or the country. It was
for Estrada’s own benefit to gain more power and use more government money.
Estrada also formulated the RP-US Visiting Forces agreement. This is requiring US government to notify RP
authorities when it becomes aware of the apprehension, arrest or detention of any RP personnel visiting the
U.S. and when so requested by the RP government, to ask the appropriate authorities to waive jurisdiction in
favor of RP, except cases of special interest to the U.S. departments of State or Defense. This was for the
economy of the country.

HOLES AND SHORTCOMINGS OF THE LAWS

Estrada’s Clean Air Act only focused only on the air quality management. I think it would have been more
appealing and more effective if the law were not only about air management. I think if Erap implemented a
law that focused on the environment as a whole and not just the air management, most citizens would have
struck it thus making Estrada as a president who is really concerned about the status of our natural resources.
President Joseph Estrada urged Congress to speed up the passage of a new Securities Act aimed at promoting
a more transparent and stronger stock exchange in the Philippines. He called on lawmakers to adopt models in
Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia, where the public has the majority ownership of the stock market, in
restructuring the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE). He adopted systems from other countries that are really
improving however; it is pretty hard for the country to use it because it is way too different. The Philippines is
a third world country therefore will have a hard time carrying out the adopted system.

ISSUES AND CONTROVERSIES

War between MILF
During the Ramos administration a cessation of hostilities agreement was signed between the Philippine
Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in July 1997. This was continued by a series of
peace talks and negotiations in Estrada administration. However the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a
Islamic group formed in 1977, seeks to be an independent Islamic State from the Philippines, despite the
agreements, a sequence of terrorist attacks with the Philippine military and the civilians still continued.[2]
Such of those attack are 277 violations committed, kidnapping a foreign priest, namely Father Luciano
Benedetti, the occupying and setting on fire of the municipal hall of Talayan, Maguindanao; the takeover of
the Kauswagan Municipal Hall; the bombing of the Lady of Mediatrix boat at Ozamiz City; and the takeover of
the Narciso Ramos Highway. By doing so, they inflicted severe damage on the country’s image abroad, and
scared much-needed investments away.
Plunder
The plunder case consisted of four separate charges: acceptance of 545 million pesos from proceeds of
Jueteng, an illegal gambling game; misappropriation of 130 million pesos in excise taxes from tobacco;
receiving a 189.7-million-peso commission from the sale of the shares of Belle Corporation, a real-estate firm;
and owning some 3.2 billion pesos in a bank account under the name Jose Velarde.
Perjury
The minor charge of perjury is for Estrada underreporting his assets in his 1999 statement of assets and
liabilities and for the illegal use of an alias, namely for the Jose Velarde bank account.
BW Resources
BW Resources, a small gaming company listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange and linked to people close to
Estrada, experienced “a meteoric rise” in its stock price due to suspected stock price manipulation. The head
of the compliance and surveillance group of PSE resigned which led to the confusion of the investigation. The
events created a negative impression. “The BW controversy undermined foreign investor confidence in the
stock market” and “also contributed to a major loss of confidence in the Philippines among foreign and local
investors on concerns that cronyism may have played a part.”
Impeachment Trial
This was the first time Filipinos would witness, through radio and television, an elected president stand in trial
and face possible impeachment with full media coverage. During the trial, the prosecution presented
witnesses and alleged evidences to the impeachment court regarding Estrada’s alleged involvement in
jueteng. The existence of secret bank accounts that he allegedly used for receiving payoffs was also brought
affront. Singson stood as witness against the president during the trial and said that he and the President were
alleged partners in-charge of the countrywide jueteng operations. Singson’s testimony was one of the vital
pieces of evidence that led to Estrada’s subsequent conviction.
WHAT THE PRESIDENT DID
With Erap’s plunder and perjury case, he did not do anything about it to prove that he is not doing some illegal
acts. He just made a way to erase the thought in people’s minds. Because his market is the masa and the masa
does not care about how their president act as long as he is doing something to uplift their sufferings, they do
not keep in mind what Erap is doing may it be against the law or not. He just let the government take away his
position by the impeachment trial. Erap’s perjury case was different. The Jose Velardo account was obviously
one case which Estrada together with his supporters .
SUMMARY OF GOVERNANCE
Joseph Estrada was elected as president gaining most of the votes from the people. Erap won the hearts of the
poor by promising them with a life where suffering does not exist. He also made it to a point to prioritize the
development of the economy. Under the Asian financial crisis, Estrada did not do well in making the economy
survive. Unemployment rate went up, budget deficit grew and the currency fell. Eventually, the economy
recovered but at a much slower pace than other asian countries. Estrada waged an all out war against the
MILF which affected a huge number of people. Crime rate also went up because of the occurring kidnapping
and killings. Estrasa was charged of receiving a big amount from illegal gambling payoffs. He was impeached.
The masses protested and demanded for Erap’s resignation bringin about EDSA 2 revolution.

GRADE (DLSU SYSTEM)

I think he deserves a 1.0. Although he was charged of plunder, was labeled at Jueteng Payola and labeled as a
womanizer, he still made some acts to which it had a good effect on the country. Ever since Estrada was
accused of laundering and pocketing a humungous amount of money, I have concluded that he is very much
capable of doing such things against the country. He is a kind of person who gets what he wants. He deluged
himself of wine and satisfied himself with wanton pleasure for women. These two are the most dangerous
sickness a man could be inflicted with.
However, even though Erap didn’t have the educational competence, economists can prove to us that 1998-
2001’s economy were in better condition. During Ramos’ administration, you can even see a slump in our
economy some of which even reached the negative mark. Meaning, if he was really that good he should be
able to sustain any growth he’d been saying. In fact, in 1996, our economy dipped down to a below zero mark
and this can be attested by some political economic analyst. The revenue collections were very good because
we had less foreign borrowings and in turn less budget deficits, unlike what’s happening to us right now. He
had very good appointees that were able to alleviate budget difficulties.
Philippines Overview of economy, Information about Overview of economy in Philippines
(nationsencyclopedia.com)

Philippines - Overview of economy

The Philippine economy has experienced repeated boom-and-bust cycles in the 5 decades since the
nation achieved independence from the United States in 1946. In the 1950s and early 1960s its
economy ranked as the second most progressive in Asia, next to that of Japan. After 1965, when
Ferdinand E. Marcos became president, the nation experienced economic problems and social
unrest, especially from the 1970s, when corruption and cronyism (the practice of appointing friends to
well-paid posts regardless of their qualifications) took hold. In 1972, Marcos declared a state of
emergency and placed the country under martial law to stifle unrest and control economic
development. By his third term in
1981, democratic institutions in the country had severely eroded, foreign debt ballooned, and the
country's economy plummeted. In less than 20 years, the Philippines had gone from relative
prosperity to becoming the "sick man of Asia." In 1983, the leader of the political opposition, former
senator Benigno Aquino, was assassinated upon his returned from exile in the United States.
Marcos was removed from office in 1986 through a peaceful "People Power" revolution in which
millions of people demonstrated in the streets. Aquino's widow, Corazon, became president, and a
new constitution was approved in 1987. Meanwhile, the GDP growth rate increased steadily from 3.5
percent in 1986 to 4.3 percent in 1987, peaking in 1988 at 6.7 percent. The Aquino administration
endured many troubles, including 6 coup d'etat attempts, many natural disasters (e.g. earthquakes,
the Mt. Pinatubo eruption), and a power shortage problem that caused economic activities to stop.
During this period, the Aquino administration passed various critical laws such as a liberal Foreign
Investment Act, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, and the privatization of government
corporations that brought the economy back to its feet.
Aquino's successor, Fidel Ramos, embarked on an ambitious development plan dubbed "Philippines
2000." Under the plan, several industries critical to economic development were privatized, such as
electricity, telecommunications, banking, domestic shipping, and oil. The taxation system was
reformed, and external debt was brought to more manageable levels by debt restructuring and
sensible fiscal management. By 1996, GNP was growing at a rate of 7.2 percent and GDP at 5.2
percent. The annual inflation rate had dropped to 5.9 percent from its high of 9.1 percent in 1995. By
the late 1990s, the Philippines' economic growth gained favorable comparisons with other Asian
countries such as Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, and Malaysia.
The Philippine economy took a sharp downturn during the Asian financial crisis of 1997. Its fiscal
deficit in 1998 reached P49.981 billion from a surplus of P1.564 billion in 1997. The peso depreciated
(fell in value) to P40.89 per U.S. dollar from its previous rate of P29.47 to a dollar. The annual growth
rate of the GNP fell to 0.1 percent in 1998 from 5.3 percent in 1997. Despite these setbacks, the
Philippine economy fared better than that of some of its Asian neighbors, and other nations praised
the Ramos administration for its "good housekeeping."
In 1998, Joseph Estrada was elected president. Even with its strong economic team, the Estrada
administration failed to capitalize on the gains of the previous administration. His administration was
severely criticized for cronyism, incompetence, and corruption, causing it to lose the confidence of
foreign investors. Foreign investors' confidence was further damaged when, in his second year,
Estrada was accused of exerting influence in an investigation of a friend's involvement in stock
market manipulation. Social unrest brought about by numerous bombing threats, actual bombings,
kidnappings, and other criminal activities contributed to the economy's troubles. Economic
performance was also hurt by climatic disturbance that caused extremes of dry and wet weather.
Toward the end of Estrada's administration, the fiscal deficit had doubled to more than P100 billion
from a low of P49 billion in 1998. Despite such setbacks, the rate of GNP in 1999 increased to 3.6
percent from 0.1 percent in 1998, and the GDP posted a 3.2 percent growth rate, up from a low of-0.5
percent in 1998. Debt reached P2.1 trillion in 1999. Domestic debt amounted to P986.7 billion while
foreign debt stood at US$52.2 billion. In January 2001 Estrada was removed from office by a second
peaceful "People Power" revolution engineered primarily by youth, non-governmental organizations,
and the business sector. President Estrada was the first Philippine president to be impeached by
Congress, and his vice-president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, became the fourteenth President of the
Republic.
The economy of the Philippines is hampered by huge foreign debt, a low savings rate, inefficient tax
collection, inadequate infrastructure , especially outside major cities, and poor agricultural
performance. The Philippine economy is vulnerable to oil-price increases, interest-rate shifts by the
U.S. Federal Reserve, and the performance of international stock exchanges. Social factors that have
a negative impact on the economy include a high crime rate, especially kidnappings and rape,
pockets of Communist rebels in rural areas, threats from Muslim separatist movements, high rates of
poverty and unemployment, and the government's inability to begin its land-distribution program.
Environmental factors also damage economic development, including frequent typhoons and drought.
Worker productivity is adversely affected by illnesses brought on by air and water pollution. In
metropolitan Manila alone, the effect of pollution on health and labor productivity has been estimated
to be equal to a loss of about 1 percent of gross national product annually.
Foreign aid, or official development assistance (ODA) funds, have contributed immensely to the
development of the nation's economy. Through grants and loans extended by development agencies
and international creditors, the government is able to finance infrastructure development (bridges,
roads, highways, railways, transportation systems) and social programs (livelihood projects, training
seminars, immunization programs, and environmental projects). Since the late 1990s, ODA funds
have helped improve living conditions in the most depressed rural areas, especially in Mindanao,
Southern Philippines, mostly via agricultural programs. In 1999 most funds were allocated to
agricultural programs. About 95 percent of ODA assistance is distributed in loans, with the remainder
in grants.
Macapagal
Gloria Macapagal-arroyo | Encyclopedia.com

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (born 1947) assumed presidency of the Philippines in 2001, after a

corruption scandal forced her predecessor, Joseph Estrada, from the post. Her move into
Malacanang Palace, the presidential residence, served as a homecoming. Macapagal-Arroyo's
father, Diosdado Macapagal, served as president of the Philippines in the 1960s, and
Macapagal-Arroyo told reporters she looked forward to sleeping in her old bedroom. The
Macapagal-Arroyo presidency has not been without its share of problems. The island nation is
plagued by economic depression, the government has been involved in battles with militant
rebels, and Macapagal-Arroyo's administration has faced its own charges of impropriety.

Macapagal-Arroyo was born on April 5, 1947, in San Juan in the Philippine province of Rizal. She is
the daughter of former Philippine president Diosdado Macapagal and his second wife, Evangelina
(Macaraeg) Macapagal, the daughter of prominent parents who worked as a doctor until the outbreak
of war in 1941. Diosdado was born a peasant and became an actor and then a lawyer and professor
of economics. He worked for the Foreign Service and served in the Philippine Congress before being
elected vice-president of the country in 1957. He served as the nation's president from 1961-1965.
"He was a highly dedicated public servant," Macapagal-Arroyo recalled, as quoted in The Power and
the Glory: Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Her Presidency by Isabelo T. Crisostomo. "God is first in his
priority list, followed by the country and lastly his own family. And because the country comes first
before family, he made a special arrangement with my mother. In public service, he was supreme and
she would not meddle. But at home my mother was supreme and he was not allowed to meddle."

Raised In Two Towns

Macapagal-Arroyo was raised in both San Juan and her mother's hometown of Iligan, on the island of
Mindanao, where she lived from the age of four to eleven with her maternal grandmother, Irinea de la
Cruz Macaraeg. Reportedly, Macapagal-Arroyo moved in with her grandmother because she was
jealous of her younger brother, Diosdado Jr., although Crisostomo theorized in The Power and the
Glory that Irinea Macaraeg prevailed on Macapagal-Arroyo's parents to let their daughter live with her
so she could dote on her granddaugter. After the age of 11, Macapagal-Arroyo commuted between
her grandmother's home and her parents'. In 1994, at Diosdado Macapagal's urging, the Philippine
government turned the house in Iligan into a tourist destination featuring memorabilia related to the
Macaraeg and Macapagal families.

Macapagal-Arroyo attended primary and secondary school at Assumption College in the Philippine

capital of Manila. When she was 15, her father became president and she moved into the
Malacanang Palace with her family. She graduated from high school in 1964 and was named
valedictorian of her class. From 1964 to 1966, Macapagal-Arroyo attended Georgetown University in
Washington, D.C., where she was classmates with future United States President Bill Clinton.
Macapagal-Arroyo returned to Manila after two years at Georgetown to be with her future husband,
Jose Miguel "Mike" Tuason Arroyo, a law student from a political family who went on to become one
of Macapagal-Arroyo staunchest supporters. The couple, who began dating when Macapagal-Arroyo
was a teenager, were married on August 2, 1968. They have three children: Juan Miguel, born on
April 26, 1969; Evangelina Lourdes, born on June 5, 1971; and Diosdado Ignacio, born on September
4, 1974.

Macapagal-Arroyo completed her undergraduate education in Manila, graduating magna cum laude
from Assumption College with a degree in commerce in 1968. Initially, she stayed home to raise her
children, but soon returned to academia. "Early in our marriage, I asked her to stay home, look after
the kids, while I worked," Mike Arroyo recalled in The Power and the Glory. "I saw how bored she
was, wasting away that intelligence. So I told her she could go back to school, do what she wanted
and I'd support her. I've supported her ever since." Macapagal-Arroyo earned a master's degree in
economics from Ateneo de Manila University in 1978 and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of
the Philippines in 1985. She worked as an assistant professor at both schools as well, from 1977 to
1987. From 1984 to 1987 she also chaired the Economics Department at Assumption College. In
1989, she became assistant secretary in the Department of Trade and Industry under president
Corazon Aquino. She was later named Trade Undersecretary and Governor of the Board of
Investments.

Launched Political Career

Macapagal-Arroyo launched her political career in 1992 at the age of 35, when she successfully ran
for the Philippine Senate. Arroyo served as her "handler" during the campaign. While Macapagal-
Arroyo placed only 13th in the election, she soon established herself as a major force in the Senate,
sponsoring several important pieces of economics-related legislation. Arroyo ran for reelection in
1995, with Arroyo serving as her campaign manager. This time, she placed first with a record 16
million votes and a 3.2 million-vote lead over the second-place candidate. As Macapagal-Arroyo's
popularity soared, she initiated a bid for the presidency in the 1998 election, running under the banner
of the newly formed Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (KAMPI) party. For a time, Macapagal-Arroyo led
in the polls, pulling ahead of Joseph Estrada, the vice-president and leading contender. Macapagal-
Arroyo withdrew from the race, however, after her running mate, Tito Sotto, became the target of a
Senate investigation for his ties to a suspected drug lord. Macapagal-Arroyo instead ran for vice-
president on the Lakas-NUCD-KAMPI combined party ticket and was elected to that post, receiving
even more votes than Estrada, who was elected president. Soon after the election she also accepted
the position of Secretary of Social Welfare and Development in Estrada's cabinet.

While Macapagal-Arroyo planned to leverage her position into a successful presidential campaign,
just as Estrada had done, her ascension to the nation's top post came sooner than expected. By
2000, charges of corruption had begun to surface against Estrada and on October 12 of that year,
Macapagal-Arroyo resigned from her cabinet and became leader of the United Opposition movement,
which sought to remove Estrada from office and put Macapagal-Arroyo in his place. The popular
opposition movement came to be known as People Power 2, referring to an earlier uprising in 1986,
which ousted President Ferdinand Marcos. When approached by the media, Macapagal-Arroyo took
a diplomatic approach regarding her new role. "We call it delicadeza," she told Newsweek
International in October 2000. "It's not proper for me to comment on the options of resignation,
impeachment or even a leave of absence, because I would be the beneficiary. The role that I see for
myself is getting the opposition together, and working on the alternative national agenda that will
serve as our road map for where we want to go." Macapagal-Arroyo portrayed herself as a reluctant
oppositionist, driven by a moral code. "I'm not a happy warrior, so it's never pleasant to be opposing
someone as far as I'm concerned. But I have to do what is right," she continued in Newsweek
International.

Assumed Presidency

Following public demonstrations on January 19, 2001, People Power 2 ultimately prevailed. Estrada
was forced from office, and Macapagal-Arroyo was named 14th president of the Philipines on
January 20, 2001, becoming the first child of a former president to hold the post. As she anticipated
this event, she told Time International in a November 2000 interview that she planned to look to two
predecessors as examples: "I will follow my father's footsteps in doing what is right, and God will take
care of the rest. My father is my role model. My living role model is Cory Aquino. I am prepared."

Although her recent predecessors had lived outside Malacanang Palace, Macapagal-Arroyo opted to
return to her girlhood home. The new president faced numerous challenges, including an unstable
economy and violent protests launched by Estrada's supporters. She was also accused of providing
special treatment to the jailed former president. On May 27, 2001, Islamic militants abducted 20
hostages at a resort in the province of Palawan, and Macapagal-Arroyo was thrust into the ongoing
battle between the Philippine government and the rebel forces, known as Abu Sayyaf. Several other
kidnappings by various criminal gangs followed. Macapagal-Arroyo officially adopted a hardline "no
ransom" response to the rebels and launched military operations against them. Her administration
was embarassed, however, when it was revealed that several of the hostages families paid ransom to
the kidnappers directly, with some claiming that Philippine military officers received a portion of the
funds. The Macapagal-Arroyo administration received another black mark when Mike Arroyo was
accused of receiving bribes from a telecommunications company seeking government-approved
contracts.

On the economic front, Macapagal-Arroyo developed a blueprint to lift the Philippines out of its
financial crisis. In 2002, looking back on her first year as president, she cited the country's economic
survival as her greatest achievement, although she remained well aware that much work lay ahead,
according to The Power and the Glory. "We have been able to survive, to have a higher growth rate
than our neighbors," she said. "I dwell on what must be done. I am a very focused person. I don't
focus on laurels, on feeling secure, feeling comfortable. Even on the day I was sworn in as president,
I didn't say, 'Wow, I am now president,' I said, 'What should I do now?' "

Elected To Full Term

Despite the obstacles and various charges of impropriety directed at those close to her, Macapagal-
Arroyo was elected to a full six-year presidential term in May 2004. She edged out her closest
competitor, Filipino actor Fernando Poe Jr., by only one million votes. In her inaugural address,
Macapagal-Arroyo vowed to create up to 10 million jobs in the next six years, balance the budget,
improve tax collection, provide inexpensive medicine for the poor, and unite the country. "Our nation
must embrace a vision of economic opportunity, social cohesion and always an everdemocratic faith,"
she stated, as quoted in the July 1, 2004, edition of the International Herald Tribune.

Macapagal-Arroyo made international headlines in July after a Filipino driver was kidnapped by
militant rebels in war-torn Iraq. In defiance of the United States government's requests, Macapagal-
Arroyo honored the rebels' demands to pull all Filipino troops out of the country. Later that month, she
called for an end to political in-fighting in her own nation in order to turn the focus to economic
recovery. After former president Estrada declared the Philippines a "nation in distress," as reported
on CNN.com on July 23, 2004, Macapagal-Arroyo stated in a State of the Nation address, "Let us set
aside political bickering and politicking for at least one year." She also used the address to reiterate
her pledge to relieve poverty and promote economic growth.

Books

Newsmakers, Issue 4, Gale Group, 2001.

Crisostomo, Isabelo T. The Power and the Glory: Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Her Presidency, J.
Kriz Publishing Enterprises, 2002.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | Biography, Achievements, & Facts | Britannica
WRITTEN BY
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge,
whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced
degree.

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, (born April 5, 1947, San Juan, Philippines), Filipino politician who
was president of the Philippines (2001–10).
Arroyo’s father, Diosdado P. Macapagal, was president of the Philippines from 1961 to 1965. Arroyo
studied economics at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where she began a lasting
friendship with classmate and future U.S. president Bill Clinton. After returning to the Philippines
and graduating magna cum laude from Assumption College in Manila in 1968, Arroyo earned
a master’s degree in economics (1978) from Ateneo de Manila University and a doctorate in
economics (1986) from the University of the Philippines in Quezon City.

Arroyo was a university professor when Pres. Corazon Aquino appointed her undersecretary of trade
and industry in 1986. She won a seat in the Senate in 1992 and was reelected in 1995 by a record 16
million votes. She was elected vice president in 1998, garnering more votes than the winner of the
presidency, Joseph Estrada, who named Arroyo secretary of social welfare and development. In 2000,
however, a corruption scandal enveloped Estrada, and on October 12 Arroyo resigned from the
cabinet post to rally opposition against him. Angry protesters drove Estrada from the presidential
residence on January 20, 2001, and Arroyo assumed power.

Arroyo brought an unprecedented academic and administrative background to the Philippines

presidency, but her tenure was plagued by political unrest. Just months after she took office, some
20,000 supporters of Estrada stormed the gates of the presidential palace. Several people were killed,
and Arroyo declared a “state of rebellion” that lasted five days. In 2003 disaffected soldiers seized a
Manila apartment building and demanded Arroyo’s resignation; the attempted coup was suppressed
peacefully. Promising to reduce corruption and improve the economy, Arroyo was reelected president
in 2004. However, accusations that she rigged the election emerged the following year and resulted in
a failed attempt at impeachment. In 2006 Arroyo declared a countrywide state of emergency after a
military coup was blocked; the state of emergency was lifted after about one week. Terrorism was also
a concern for Arroyo’s administration. Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist group that sought a separate Islamic
state in the southern Philippines, was responsible for a number of attacks, including the 2004
bombing of a ferry that killed more than 100 people.
In late 2009, after members of a politically powerful clan in Mindanao were implicated in the
massacre of a political opponent and his entourage there, Arroyo briefly declared martial law in the
region. She also renounced ties with the clan, which until then had been a political ally.
Constitutionally barred from seeking another six-year presidential term, she ran for and won a seat in
the House of Representatives in the May 2010 presidential and parliamentary elections.

Arroyo subsequently was investigated for various alleged crimes, and in 2011 the government barred
her from leaving the country to seek medical treatment. In November she was arrested on charges of
having committed electoral fraud during the 2007 Senate election. She pleaded not guilty in February
2012. The following month, however, new allegations were brought which stated that she and her
husband had accepted bribes from a Chinese telecommunications company in 2007. She was released
from custody on bail in July 2012. Later that year Arroyo was arrested for allegedlyhaving misused
state lottery funds while president. At the time she was in a Manila hospital, and she remained there
until the country’s Supreme Court dismissed the charges in July 2016. Arroyo, who had been reelected
to Congress in May, resumed her political career. An important ally of Pres. Rodrigo Duterte, she was
elected speaker of the House of Representatives in 2018.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by  Amy
Tikkanen, Corrections Manager.
The economic legacy of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo | Daily Tribune
Published
 2 years ago 
on
 April 2, 2019 12:20 AM
By jess varela

The makings of a good public servant, especially an elected one, do not rely on academic
achievements alone. Dedication to public service, initiative, keen eye for policy and political will are
vital attributes to be in the running for an elected position. Having all of these traits rolled into one,
coupled with a stellar academic and policymaking record, might be a dream for the parallel universe.

Policymaking in government is no easy feat, especially if one dares to legislate laws pertaining to the
economy. The Philippine economy is confusingly touted either as the “Sick Man of Asia” or the
“Rising Tiger of Asia,” and why not so? While the Philippines is now enjoying a fairly comfortable
economy, growing at an average of 6.5 percent annually, it seems that we are not getting the gains
that we should due to lack of vital soft and hard infrastructure, high cost of energy and worsening
traffic conditions. But thanks to significant policy reforms done in the past, we are well-equipped to
stay on the course and to do the necessary fixes here and there that will create a more impactful
economy that is inclusive.

Thankfully, we had a president whose economic foresight and prowess led to the development of our
economic climate, giving us a better position to weather the many changes and challenges we faced.

Former President and now House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, a staunch economist and
academic, has created a one-for-the-books economy that has led to where we are today, an economy
with sound financial regime that withstood even recent economic catastrophes such as the 2008
financial crisis.

Improving the Philippine economy was the heart of her nine-year presidency.

Mrs. Arroyo instituted many policies that contributed to the economic stability that we now currently
rely on. Small and medium enterprises, professionals and ordinary folks have surely felt these policy
initiatives that the erstwhile university professor turned public servant had crafted.

During the presidency of Mrs. Arroyo, the Philippine economy grew steadily averaging at around 4.5
percent annually, however our budget deficit needed some fixing. Hence, the economic policies Mrs.
Arroyo instituted. Like many policies, some were welcomed with open arms, others were like bitter
pills to swallow, but were needed nonetheless.

For starters, the Filipinos enjoyed the “holiday economics” or in legalese, Republic Act 9492 or An Act
Rationalizing the Celebration of National Holidays. For Mrs. Arroyo, adjusting a holiday to form longer
weekends will stimulate local tourism and help create work-school-life balance for families. When
there are longer holidays, people tend to spend it at their favorite local destinations, boosting tourism
and, in effect, supporting more economic activities. While this did not sit well with some businesses, it
did help the promotion of tourism in the country.

The language of business and economics may be gruesome for others, but not for Mrs. Arroyo, who
was 10 steps ahead especially when the economy is on the line. During her presidency she
established a blueprint called the Capital Market Development Plan. The capital market, where
financial securities are traded, such as bonds and everyone’s favorite — stocks — did help in raising
funds for long-term investments.

Mrs. Arroyo, mindful that financial stability is synonymous to growth and development, pushed for the
creation of this blueprint. She also supported other related and equally important legislations such as
the PERA or the Personal Equity and Retirement Account.

The PERA is a voluntary retirement contribution program enacted into law in 2008.
Probably the most controversial, and yet, significant economic reform Mrs. Arroyo supported was the
E-VAT, which she signed into law in 2005. The Philippines’ budget deficit was staggering, more so
our rising debt, given the predicaments in the early years of previous administrations. Something
must be done immediately to keep the economy afloat and to lessen its exacerbation. Hence the
Extended Value-Added Tax Law or the E-VAT.

Taxes were increased for products such as alcohol and cigarettes and previously tax-exempt
commodities were taxed. A hard pill to swallow for many and adversely received by the population,
this piece of legislation shielded the economy from the global financial crisis in 2008.

Total outstanding debt of the Philippines has decreased resulting to the improved credit ratings and
outlook for the country and more fiscal space that can help in improving the lives of the people and
providing important socio-economic programs for inclusive growth.

At times it is easier to become critical rather than supportive, especially when some policies mean
rocking the boat. But for Mrs. Arroyo, if it means rocking the boat for economic policies and initiatives
to move forward, then so be it. As for her achievements as an economist that led her to develop
sound macro and micro economic programs, the list goes on.
aquino
Economic Development | Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines

In the past three years, a drastic transformation has swept the country, changing perceptions and
attitudes about the Philippines, and ultimately allowing the country to emerge as a bright spot in the
global economy. The Philippines has been steadily climbing up the competitiveness rankings and has
been granted investment grade status by international credit ratings agencies; funds continue to be
allocated to infrastructure, with an eye toward attracting more investors; and there is a rekindled
optimism in the business environment. Most importantly, the dividends from the country’s impressive
economic performance in recent years continue to be channeled to social protection services and to
development programs, all aiming for inclusive growth.

Under the Aquino administration, good governance is good economics: Increased confidence in the
country’s leadership and the reforms that it instituted in critical areas of governance has
strengthened and fuelled the fastest growing economy in East and Southeast Asia in the first quarter
of 2013.

Fast Facts about the Philippine Economy

The performance of the Philippine economy in 2012 and in the first quarter of 2013 indicates that it is
moving along a higher growth trajectory. From the 3.6 percent growth recorded in 2011, the
Philippines’ GDP grew by 6.8 percent in 2012 and by 7.8 percent in the first quarter of 2013. The first
quarter growth of 2013 is the highest growth rate recorded under the Aquino administration, and is
faster than that of China’s, Indonesia’s, Thailand’s, and Vietnam’s for the same period.

Remarkable growth was achieved alongside a slowdown in the increase in prices of basic
commodities. The full-year average inflation rate for 2012 was at 3.2%—the lowest recorded inflation
rate in five years and lower than the average inflation rates in Indonesia, Singapore, India, and
Vietnam. Average inflation for the first half of 2013 was at 2.9%, which is at the lower than the 3% to
5% target for 2012 to 2013.

Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s conferred investment grade status (BBB-) to the country on
March 27, 2013 and May 2, 2013, respectively, while the Japan Credit Rating Agency upgraded the
country one notch above investment grade (BBB) on May 7, 2013. These upgrades will increase the
capacity of the economy to create quality employment opportunities for the people through the
expected influx of foreign investments and cheaper borrowing costs for domestic firms. Moody’s
Investor Service recently cited the country’s strong growth in the first quarter of 2013, improved
revenue receipts on stronger tax compliance, and mid-term election results validating the Aquino
administration’s strong mandate as welcome developments that will boost the country’s credit
profile.

There have been 92 record highs in the Philippine Stock Exchange Index since July 2010, the most
recent record closing registering on May 15, 2013 at 7392.20 points.

The World Economic Forum increased the ranking of the Philippines in the Global Competitiveness
Index, from 85th place in 2010 to 65th (out of 144 countries) in 2012—two consecutive 10-place
jumps.
 Foreign direct investments (FDI) grew by 54% from USD1.8 billion in 2011 to
USD2.8 billion in 2012, outpacing Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore.

The Philippines has committed to provide up to USD1 billion in loan resources under the bilateral
borrowing facility of the International Monetary Fund.

Merchandise exports grew by 7.6% from USD48.30 billion in 2011 to USD51.99 billion in 2012, the
highest recorded export earnings in the country’s history amid adverse global developments.

________

Tourism is among the national government’s priority sectors—and continuous promotional efforts of
the Department of Tourism, particularly the “It’s More Fun in the Philippines” campaign, ensure that
local and global confidence in the tourism industry remains high. The industry passed the four-million
international tourist arrival mark for the first time, with 4.3 million visitors in 2012,  21.4%  higher than
the 3.5 million tourist arrivals in 2010. The DOT targets to reach 5.5 million international tourist
arrivals in 2013 and 10 million in 2016. Domestic travelers, on the other hand, reached 37.5 million in
2011, surpassing the original target of 29.1 million for the year and 35.5 million for 2016 — prompting
the DOT to raise the 2016 domestic tourism target to 56.1 million travelers.

The accolades for the local tourism industry are intensifying, from favorable reviews from
publications like the New York Times to the Philippines ranking as the most improved country in the
Asia-Pacific region in the World Economic Forum Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index. But the
success of the efforts to project the country as a viable tourist destination is best appreciated in its
contribution to the generation of employment and income for local communities and individual
workers in the industry. The DOT and DSWD are currently developing a plan to maximize the
contribution of supplier communities in meeting the demands of tourists and the overall growth of
the tourism sector.

The government remains committed to ensuring the best possible experience for all visitors—from
developing necessary infrastructure, to protecting the country’s natural resources and attractions—to
keep the Philippines truly fun. The DPWH and DOTC has allocated P16.96 billion in their budgets for
improvements of transportation infrastructure in priority destinations throughout the country, while
the DOT allocated P1.25 billion for tourism branding campaigns and promotions.

Agriculture is another of the government’s priority sectors for growth; it makes the most of the
country’s resources and promotes opportunities for growth in the countryside. In the first quarter of
2013, agriculture registered a 3.3% growth and grossed P352.5 billion at current prices—a 3.33
percent increase from last year’s record. All subsectors recorded increases in production.

 Crops accounted for 54.1% of total agricultural production, generating 3.62% more output in
2013, with palay and corn crops the main contributors.
 Livestock production grew by 0.32 percent. The gross value of livestock output amounted to
P54.3 billion at current prices, 9.07 percent higher than 2012.
 The fisheries subsector recovered from last year’s decline and posted the highest growth rate
among the subsectors, with a 5.6% in production. The subsector grossed P59.9 billion, 9.86
percent higher than last year’s level.
The Aquino legacy: solid macroeconomy, healthy finances | Inquirer Business

By: Daxim L. Lucas - Reporter / @daxinq

Philippine Daily Inquirer / 01:27 AM June 20, 2016
First of a series
OF THE fact that the Philippine economy grew during the presidency of Benigno Aquino III, there is no doubt.
The numbers speak for themselves. The country’s gross domestic product—the value of goods and services
produced locally—grew by an average of 5.8 percent in 2015, as a time when so-called emerging market and
developed economies around the world were struggling to even just show decent growth.
Over the six years of the Aquino administration, GDP growth averaged 6.2 percent yearly, even peaking at 7.2
percent in 2013 when the country was the second fastest growing economy in Asia after China.
These impressive numbers raised the country’s profile overseas making it the darling of investors who started
pouring their funds into the Philippine economy to take advantage of the momentum offered by a growing
consumer market.
Most business leaders credit Aquino for restoring the confidence of investors— both foreign and local—in the
Philippine economy. As a result, the country stands on firmer footing, better able to withstand even the most
violent of economic shocks during the last six year.
“It’s clear that our macroeconomic fundamentals have improved,” said George Barcelon, president of the
Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the country’s largest business organization by membership.
At the same time, Barcelon noted that the country’s credibility vis-a-vis the international financial community
improved during Aquino’s six-year watch.
“I give him credit for that improvement,” the PCCI chief said, but declined to comment on what else he thought
could have been achieved by the outgoing administration. “Let’s move on.”
What is now apparent is that Aquino’s economic decisions had to focus on some aspects which he felt were
important, to the neglect of others.
“His focus right from the start was on ‘Daang Matuwid,’” said businessman and the International Chamber of
Commerce’s Philippine chapter head Francis Chua, referring to anti-corruption slogan of the Aquino. “He
wanted to leave a legacy of cleaning up corruption, so this had the effect of delaying projects.”
This was felt most severely in the domestic infrastructure scene which has traditionally been a large source of
public and private sector corruption due to the large sums involved in building big-ticket projects. The effort of
poring over every minor detail in contracts resulted in long delays in improving the country’s mass transit
systems like Metro Manila’s commuter rail line, and the failure to build a new airport to replace the inadequate
facilities of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, for example.
Chua acknowledged that the focus on ensuring corruption-free contracts had adverse effects on the timely
execution of these much-needed infrastructure projects.
“If you focus on one side, the other side will suffer, and that’s what happened,” he said.
Businessmen also noted improvements in the government’s finances under Aquino which transformed the
Philippines from its previous status as a high credit risk to a country whose bonds are much sought after by
international creditors thanks to the investment grade rating it achieved halfway through this administration’s
term.
And amid the persistent criticism that topline growth achieved during the last six years failed to trickle down
more meaningfully to the people who truly needed it, watchers agree that the improved macroeconomic
fundamentals achieved by Aquino provide the incoming Duterte administration with fertile ground for finishing
everything that was left unfinished or starting projects that should have been started.
“I am confident that the next President and his economic team can do even better,” Chua said.
Benigno Aquino III | president of Philippines | Britannica

WRITTEN BY
Melissa Albert
Melissa Albert was a research editor at Encyclopædia Britannica. Her first novel, The Hazel
Wood (2018), was a New York Times bestseller.
Last Updated: Feb 4, 2021

Benigno Aquino III, in full Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III, also called Noynoy,
(born February 8, 1960, Manila, Philippines), Filipino politician who served as president of
the Philippines (2010–16) and was the scion of a famed political family.

He was the son of Corazon Aquino, who served as president of the Philippines (1986–92), and
political leader Benigno Simeon Aquino, Jr.—themselves the children of politically connected
families. The elder Benigno, an opposition figure to Pres. Ferdinand Marcos who was imprisoned
when the younger Benigno was a child, was released and allowed to go to the United States in 1980.
The following year the younger Benigno, after graduating from Ateneo de Manila University with a
bachelor’s degree in economics, followed his family to Boston. His father returned to the Philippines
in 1983 intending to challenge Marcos for the presidency but was assassinated immediately on arrival.
The family nevertheless returned to the country soon afterward, and there the young Aquino worked
for companies including Philippine Business for Social Progress and Nike Philippines.

He became vice president of his family’s Best Security Agency Corporation in 1986, the same year that
his mother was named president of the Philippines after her opposition party successfully charged
incumbent President Marcos with voting fraud. Aquino left the company in 1993 to work for another
family-owned business, a sugar refinery. Finally, in 1998, he made the move to politics as a member of
the Liberal Party, serving the constitutional maximum of three consecutive terms as a representative
of the 2nd district of Tarlac province. During this time he also served as deputy speaker of the House
of Representatives (2004–06), but he resigned from the post in advance of joining other Liberal Party
leaders in making a call for the resignation of Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2001–10), who was
accused of corrupt dealings including the rigging of the 2004 presidential election. From 2006
Aquino served as vice-chairman of the Liberal Party, and in 2007, at the end of his final term in the
House of Representatives, he made a successful bid for a Senate seat.

In September 2009 Aquino announced his candidacy in the 2010 presidential race. His mother, to
many a symbol of democratic rule in the Philippines, had died the previous month, an event that
heightened Aquino’s profile and served as a catalyst for his seeking higher office. Though his
opponents for the presidency included such seasoned politicians as Joseph Estrada, who had
previously served as president of the Philippines (1998–2001), Aquino was considered the front-
runner from the time that he entered the race. In the elections held on May 10, Aquino won the
presidency by a wide margin.

Aquino’s chief domestic accomplishment was the conclusion of a peace agreement with the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in October 2012. The deal promised a significant amount
of autonomy to a Muslim-majority region of southern Mindinao and seemingly concluded four
decades of deadly conflict. Economic growth in the Philippines was strong during Aquino’s
administration, but unemployment remained high, and opposition politicians argued that the benefits
chiefly accrued to the country’s elite. Aquino also faced criticism over his government’s slow response
to Super Typhoon Haiyan, which killed some 8,000 people and displaced more than 800,000 when it
hit the Philippines in November 2013. The most significant foreign policy issue of Aquino’s term in
office was China’s increasingly assertive posture in the South China Sea. The Philippines sought a
judgment from the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague to clarify the ownership of a reef
that was claimed by China despite the fact that it lay within Philippine territorial waters. Although the
court later ruled that China had no claim to the reef and that China’s actions had constituted a
violation of the Philippines’ sovereignty, China dismissed the decision. Limited to a single six-year
term, Aquino supported Manuel (“Mar”) Roxas to succeed him in 2016. Roxas, the grandson of
Pres. Manuel Roxas, represented the mainstream political establishment at a time when voters were
clearly frustrated with the status quo, and he finished a distant second to
inflammatory populist Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte succeeded Aquino as president on June 30, 2016.
Dutertie
JOINT STATEMENT OF THE DUTERTE ADMINISTRATION’S ECONOMIC MANAGERS ON THE Q3 2020
PERFORMANCE OF THE PHILIPPINE ECONOMY  - The National Economic and Development Authority
(neda.gov.ph)

PRESS CONFERENCE ON THE Q3 2020  

PERFORMANCE OF THE PHILIPPINE ECONOMY 

JOINT STATEMENT  

OF THE DUTERTE ADMINISTRATION’S ECONOMIC MANAGERS: 

ACTING SOCIOECONOMIC PLANNING SECRETARY KARL KENDRICK T. CHUA 

FINANCE SECRETARY CARLOS G. DOMINGUEZ 

BUDGET AND MANAGEMENT SECRETARY WENDEL E. AVISADO 

10 November 2020 

Introduction 

Colleagues in government, friends from the media, fellow Filipinos, good morning. 

Our experience with COVID-19 over the past several months tells us two things. First, the economy is
strong enough to recover, if we enable it to do so. Second, our best recourse to help the economy is
to manage the risks.  

Managing risks, instead of avoiding them, will allow us to safely open more of the economy and help
Filipinos recover their sources of income. This will also put the Philippines back on its solid growth
and development trajectory. 

Quarantine impact on health 

The third quarter of 2020 saw the country dance with the virus: two steps forward and one step back.

In August, the National Capital Region (NCR) and neighboring provinces reverted to modified
enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) status for two weeks to respond to the increase in COVID-
19 cases and to help prepare the hospitals critical care units. 

Earlier in June and July, Cebu City also reverted to enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and then
MECQ to improve its health system. Several other local government units (LGUs) also went back to
more stringent quarantines to save lives.  

These actions gave us time to expand our capacity to deal with the contagion. 

From almost zero capacity in February, daily testing capacity reached 111,605 on November 4, with
160 labs providing RT-PCR testing, while daily testing reached a peak of 46,597 on September 11.
From a handful of DOH personnel as contact tracers, we now have over 253,442 trained contact
tracers deployed across the country as of November 6. 

More testing and vigilant contact tracing led to the detection of more cases, as expected, but the far
majority, at 94 percent, are asymptomatic or mildly sick. Most importantly, we have reduced the
number of future infections because we have also implemented more effective isolation protocols. 

Of around 393,961 total cases as of November 7, reported deaths number 7,485, equivalent to a case
fatality rate of 1.9 percent. This is much lower than the 17 percent in April. Total active cases are
manageable at 36,260, of which around 2,283, or six percent, are severely or critically ill, requiring
hospital care.  

We have also used the quarantine period wisely to boost our capacity to treat those requiring
hospitalization. Throughout the country, some 21,909 hospital beds are dedicated to COVID-19 as of
November 4. Of the total allocated beds, only around 39 percent is occupied. This means that the
country is ready to care for COVID-19 patients.  

However, these concerted efforts do not come without costs.  

Quarantine impact on the economy: GDP performance 

The economic team is optimistic that the worst is over for the country.  

The smaller GDP contraction of 11.5 percent in the third quarter from a contraction of 16.9 percent in
the second quarter indicates that the economy is on the mend. The path is clearer to a strong
bounce-back in 2021. 

The double-digit contraction in the third quarter is not surprising given the return to more stringent
quarantine measures in NCR and neighboring provinces, and Cebu City, which together account for
around 60 percent of the Philippine economy.  

In addition, the public transportation was restricted. This prevented many Filipinos from leaving their
homes and reporting for work even if their industries are allowed to operate.  

For instance, in NCR, some 58.2 percent of workers were allowed to resume work in September.
However, public transportation at that time could only accommodate 35.5 percent because of social
distancing rules and lower operator turnout. This means some 22.7 percent of NCR workers could not
go to work. 

Nonetheless, the economy has begun to recover. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy grew by
8 percent in the third quarter, reflecting the return of economic activities as the quarantine was
eased. 

On the expenditure side, households and firms have begun to recover, with smaller contractions in
household consumption, firm investments, exports, and imports. In particular, goods exports grew by
positive 2.2 percent in September, as the economy of our major trading partners in the region
recovered, notably China. 

With the expiration of Bayanihan 1 in June and Bayanihan 2 still in Congress, government
consumption growth slowed to 5.8 percent. According to the Department of Budget and Management
(DBM), actual infrastructure disbursement in the third quarter exceeded programmed levels by 12.1
percent, although this was lower than third quarter 2019 levels by 28 percent in real terms. This is not
surprising given the catch-up spending carried out in the second half of last year after the late
passage of the 2019 budget. 
On the supply side, agriculture growth slowed to 1.2 percent, as the sector faced a number of plant
and animal diseases. These headwinds, however, had minimal effects on overall food supply as
evidenced by falling food inflation in the same period.   

Both industry and services also showed a smaller contraction, consistent with the initial recovery of
employment, where some 7.5 million workers returned in the third quarter. This reduced the
unemployment rate to 10 percent in July from 17.7 percent in April, when the quarantine was at its
strictest. 

Recovery policies 

Recent developments show that the Philippines’ economic fundamentals remain strong and
managing risks going forward will allow us to open up even more of the economy safely to accelerate
the recovery.  

The Cabinet has recently approved measures to further open up the economy in the fourth quarter,
subject to enforcing the minimum health standards and enhancing the Prevent, Detect, Isolate, Treat,
Reintegrate strategy or the PDITR.  

Starting October, new guidelines by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) allow more sectors to
expand capacity to between 75 and 100 percent.  

The Department of Transportation (DOTR), on the other hand, has also issued guidelines to increase
public transport capacity using a combination of faster turnaround, service contracting, and adequate
social distancing, such as the “one seat apart” rule while following the “seven commandments.”  

At the same time, as the economy opens up, the government continues to ensure hospitals are
equipped and preparation for vaccine procurement is underway.

These polices to manage risk will help limit total COVID-19 cases, ensure we are able to care for the
critically and severely ill, and allow everyone else to safely return to work and address their non-
COVID-19 health needs. Successful implementation of this strategy will also help improve consumer
confidence to support near-term growth. 

As the government pursues efforts to avoid virus surges while easing restrictions on businesses and
transportation, the economic team is hopeful that Congress will do its part to help the economy
bounce back faster by passing the pending recovery bills within the year.  

These are the 2021 General Appropriations Act (GAA), the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for
Enterprises (CREATE) Act, the Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiative to Distressed
Enterprises for Economic Recovery (GUIDE) Act, and the Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer
(FIST) Act. 

CREATE will lower the corporate income tax outright from 30 percent to 25 percent as soon as it is
made effective. This will be the biggest stimulus package ever for businesses, benefiting mostly
micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that comprise 99 percent of businesses and employ
over 60 percent of Filipino workers. 

FIST will help banks dispose non-performing loans and assets so they can free up money and capital
to extend more credit, especially to small businesses. Meanwhile, GUIDE will provide equity support
to strategically important companies facing insolvency. All three bills are important elements of the
recovery program to address specific needs of businesses. 

In the fourth quarter, the full release and utilization of Bayanihan 2 is crucial to improving 2020 GDP
prospects. As of November 3, 80 billion pesos or some 58 percent of the 140 billion pesos in regular
appropriations for Bayanihan 2 have been released. 
Finally, the 2021 budget will provide us with some of the heftiest tools necessary to rebuild our
economy. The timely passage of this bill is crucial in helping attain the 6.5 to 7.5 percent GDP growth
target for next year. 

With an infrastructure budget amounting to 1.121 trillion pesos, some 1.7 million jobs can be created.
With its high multiplier effect, the Build, Build, Build program will play a pivotal role in our economic
recovery. 

A delay in passage of the budget will be detrimental to our recovery.  Each day of delay will result in
1.1 billion pesos not spent. 

Conclusion 

To conclude, our experience in 2020, thus far, shows our resilience as a nation. We are aware of and
very thankful for the many sacrifices the Filipino people have to make—from mothers who juggle work
while helping their children study remotely, to healthcare workers in testing centers and in hospitals
who risk their lives to detect the virus and care for the very sick, some of them our family members
and close friends.

A major part of our success in controlling virus transmission is the cooperation of people in making
the minimum health standards a part of their daily lives. All these small contributions go a long way in
our recovery process. 

Like before, we will make sure that we do not let this crisis go to waste. The Duterte administration
will do all that is necessary so that adequate, prudent, and timely policies and responses help bring
our country back to its inclusive growth trajectory. 

The challenges are immense, but we are determined to build back a better economy our people
deserve. 
[ANALYSIS] Under Duterte’s watch, PH economy crashes the most in ASEAN (rappler.com)

NOV 18, 2020 12:01 PM PHT

JC PUNONGBAYAN

'Why is our economy falling behind in the region so bad?'

Last Tuesday, November 10, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that in the 3rd quarter of 2020
our economy shrank by an alarming 11.5% (Figure 1). 
Sure, that’s smaller than the horrific 16.9% decline in the 2nd quarter. But 11.5% is still very bad. It tells us the
road to economic recovery will be long and painful. 

Figure 1.
Even more depressingly, our 11.5% economic contraction turns out to be the worst in ASEAN — at least
among neighboring countries with available data (Figure 2). A number of multilateral agencies indeed forecast
that we will suffer the region’s worst downturn by year end.
Figure 2.
Why is our economy falling behind in the region so bad? 
Blame Duterte twice over: First, his government is failing to spend aggressively to stimulate our economy.
Second, and more importantly, his government didn’t act fast enough against the pandemic.
Collapse of private sector spending

Figure 3 shows that the main driver of our economy — consumption spending by private households and
individuals — collapsed in the 2nd quarter. It dragged down growth by 10.6 percentage points. 
The reason is quite obvious: Filipinos have hunkered down in their homes and avoided public places such as
malls, workplaces, and transit stations. 
But several months into the pandemic, and despite the loosening of quarantine restrictions, Filipinos are still
largely hesitant to go out of their homes to resume business as usual. (READ: Google data: Filipinos are
staying at home more than their ASEAN counterparts)

Figure 4.
Government spending is weaker than ever
Evidently, only government spending was the source of any growth in the 2nd quarter. 
But its 3.1 percentage point contribution was not nearly enough to offset the collapse of both consumption and
investment spending.
Amid the country’s most severe economic decline or recession, the Duterte government is expected to spend
aggressively to shore up our economy. 
This goes back to the ideas of economist John Maynard Keynes, who proposed and pushed massive
government spending — otherwise known as expansionary fiscal policy — in the throes of America’s Great
Depression in the 1930s.
Of course, this is not your run-of-the-mill recession. It’s a health crisis first and foremost. Until consumers are
confident to go out and spend, throwing money into public works won’t necessarily spur consumer spending
throughout the economy. Still, it could help. 
Unfortunately, signs of anemic government spending abound. 
Data show that the Duterte government’s spending weakened rather than strengthened in the 3rd quarter: it
contributed a mere 0.7 percentage point to total GDP growth (Figure 4). 
Total government disbursements also shrank by 15.45% year-on-year in September — the worst decline since
Duterte came into office. 
And in late October, about a third of the P140 billion allocated by the Bayanihan 2 law were still stuck at the
Office of the President. 
All in all, Duterte is spending way too feebly and slowly, without any sense of urgency.
The sheer size of his government’s fiscal response also leaves much to be desired. 
Bayanihan 2 amounted to just P165.5 billion, or about a quarter of the output losses we sustained in the
2nd quarter. (READ: Bayanihan 2 is here, but it’s too small, too late)
The 2021 budget — on which hinges the government’s pandemic and economic programs next year — is also
only about 10% larger than the 2020 budget. 
Most of its budget increases will be poured into infrastructure, government pensions, and Duterte’s anti-
insurgency program — not on more crucial health, education, and economic aid programs. 
Simply put, the 2021 budget is not the COVID-19 budget we desperately need. (READ: Why you should be
alarmed by Duterte’s 2021 budget)
No Build, No Build, No Build
Earlier this year, Duterte’s economic managers touted Build, Build, Build as the centerpiece of our economy’s
recovery. 
But Figure 5 shows that public works dragged down total construction sector growth by 6.2 percentage points.
Capital outlays were also reportedly down by 37.4% in September.
Far from saving our economy, Build, Build, Build has turned out to be a dud. (READ: Why we can’t Build,
Build, Build our way out of this pandemic)
Note that construction projects by households, corporations, and non-profits actually fell by even more. Much
economic pessimism and uncertainty still hangs in the air.

Figure 5.
Monetary policy not working well
Yet another reason to demand aggressive fiscal policy is that the other tool to fight this recession — monetary
policy — doesn’t seem to be working so well.
To shore up our economy, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has already lowered its key interest rate and
the proportion of funds that banks are mandated to keep as reserves. 
In so doing, the BSP is encouraging banks to lend and our people to borrow — for, say, cars, houses, or their
businesses — to induce more economic activity.
But Figure 6 shows that the growth of private sector lending actually crawled to its slowest pace in more than
a decade. Banks have tightened rather than relaxed their requirements. Potential borrowers would rather save
up rather than incur more debt.
With monetary policy proving ineffective, it’s up to Duterte and Congress to rescue our ailing economy through
massive economic stimulus. But so far the data suggest they’re miserably failing at it.

Figure 6.
Delayed, botched pandemic response
You can argue that the economic quagmire we’re all in is caused not so much by Duterte’s weak spending but
by his delayed, botched pandemic response. 
Figure 2 shows that, rather amazingly, Vietnam’s economy never contracted amid the pandemic. The reason is
simple: they acted very early and effectively to contain the virus earlier this year, and they were able to quickly
reopen huge swathes of their economy. (READ: Had Duterte acted earlier, PH economy would be safe to
open by now)
Malaysia’s rebound is also quite remarkable. In the 2nd quarter, its economy contracted by 17.1% — just a shade
more than we did. But in the 3rd quarter, the Malaysian economy declined by only 2.7%, leaving us in the dust. 
The Malaysian government attributes this “to the reopening of economic activities and [the lifting of] the ban
on interstate travel.”
Likewise, Duterte’s economic managers are keen to reopen as many sectors of our economy as possible. But
recovery is not as simple as that. 
Malaysian analysts are actually worried that the recent return of strict quarantine measures could spell grim
4th quarter GDP figures. 
In the US, a prominent study showed that the economic reopening of some states was not followed by a
commensurate increase in consumption spending. 
Our economy, too, won’t recovery any time soon until the epidemic curve is flattened and new COVID-19
cases fall to zero or near zero. (READ: Kalusugan muna bago ekonomiya)
Blame Duterte's negligence, incompetence
Before COVID-19, the Philippine economy was one of ASEAN’s stars. Duterte’s economic managers never
failed to boast that we were growing fast at between 6% to 7% yearly. And we’ve come a long way from the
economic trough during the martial law years.
It’s easy to blame COVID-19 for our current economic malaise. But not all ASEAN economies are shrinking as
much as we are now, even though all of us were hit by the pandemic one way or another.
Hence, the Philippine economy was felled not so much by COVID-19 but by Duterte’s gross negligence of the
pandemic earlier this year, as well as his continuing inability to conduct quick, aggressive government
spending.
The administration of President Rodrigo Duterte continues to focus on inclusive growth and reducing income
inequality in the Philippines | Philippines 2019 | Oxford Business Group
The year 2019 marks the halfway point of President Rodrigo Duterte’s six-year term in office,
following his inauguration in June 2016. The Philippines’ GDP has increased by more than 6% per
year since 2012, making inclusive growth and the reduction of income inequality top priorities for the
current administration.

The successful implementation of public infrastructure upgrades under the Build, Build, Build
programme is also an essential part of spurring sustainable growth, alongside efforts to reduce red
tape and improve access to credit for individuals and small businesses. Although the government has
taken steps to stimulate inclusive growth and rural development, poverty rates remain high in spite of
recent economic expansion.

Current Events

One of the most notable changes in policy under the Duterte administration involves the cultivation of
stronger ties with China, which has been met with some political and grassroots opposition. However,
President Duterte’s most visible campaign has focused on the eradication of crime and illegal
substance use. While these efforts have resulted in mass surrenders to the police, the campaign has
faced criticism from both local and global organisations due to concerns over human rights violations.
The government nevertheless maintains a high approval rating and popularity. This was tested in the
May 2019 mid-term elections, when nine out of 12 contested seats were won by pro-Duterte
candidates.

Moving forward, the administration will face a number of challenges as it seeks to deliver on
campaign promises, which include achieving peace and rule of law in Mindanao, eliminating
corruption in the government and accelerating infrastructure development.

Cultural Roots

Archaeological findings suggest Philippine history may date back as much as 67,000 years, based on
the carbon dating of the oldest known relic. In 2019 the remains of a humanoid that lived between
50,000 and 67,000 years ago was found in a cave on the island of Luzon. The species,
named Homo luzonensis, is not directly related to modern humans but rather an ancient relative.

However, the first permanent settlers of the archipelago were Australoid-Melanesian settlers, who
arrived from mainland South-east Asia in small migrations some 30,000 years ago. These aboriginal
pygmy groups are hypothesised to have crossed through existing land bridges from Borneo, Sumatra
and Malaya, and can still be found in many parts of the archipelago. Subsequent migrations of Malay
peoples took place over thousands of years by sea, driven particularly by Malayan culture, which held
consistent occupation of the archipelago.

Prior to Spanish colonisation, the Philippines had little written history. The earliest written document,
the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, dates to 900 CE. This artefact, however, widely suggests trading
and cultural links between the Kingdom of Tondo, which gained control of much of the Luzon region
by 1500 and was ultimately challenged by the Bruneian Empire, the Javanese and Malay kingdoms,
and the Song Dynasty in China. In those early centuries, chiefdoms, known as barangays, formed
larger groupings under rajahs across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Islam was brought to the southern part of the Philippines in 1380 by Arab traders from Malaya and
Borneo, leading to the founding of the Sultanate of Sulu in 1405. Spanning the islands of the Sulu
Sea, and parts of Mindanao and Borneo, the sultanate grew to become the largest Islamic kingdom in
the archipelago at the time. While the sultanate relinquished political power during the US
occupation, it continues to be a source of tension with Malaysia, which reignited in 2013 when
descendants of the sultanate’s founders staged an armed intervention in Sabah, resulting in 27
deaths.
Occupational Hazard

Colonialism in the Philippines began with the arrival of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who
headed an initial Spanish expedition that landed in Leyte in 1521. Successive Spanish expeditions
followed, including one by Ruy López de Villalobos, who in 1543 named the archipelago Las Islas
Filipinas after King Philip II, and then Miguel López de Legazpi in 1565, who conquered Cebu and
established the first Spanish settlement. Starting from Cebu, Spanish conquest followed until Manila
was captured in 1570. Alongside the growing colonial presence of the Spanish, Catholicism also
spread.

The Philippines remained part of the Spanish empire until the late 19th century. During that period,
Spain’s Manila Galleon trading ships linked the country to one of the world’s first truly global empires
and international commerce routes for two and half centuries. As a result, a largely intra-island
economy became connected across the Pacific to Latin America and beyond. The Spanish also
introduced a centralised administrative system, along with modern social and economic
infrastructure, while the galleon trade positioned the Philippines as the most important centre of
trade in Asia during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Revolution

Nationalist sentiment led to the Philippine Revolution in 1896, with Emilio Aguinaldo leading forces in
the latter part of it, as well as during the Spanish-American War. After a series of victories against
the Spanish, Aguinaldo declared the nation’s independence in 1898. However, the end of the
Spanish-American War saw the Treaty of Paris signed on December 10. This involved Spain
relinquishing most of its empire and ceding the Philippines to the US. While the First Philippine
Republic was established by Aguinaldo’s revolutionary government in January 1899, war broke out
with the US, ending in 1902 with Aguinaldo’s capture.

Although US colonial rule ended in 1946, the transition was gradual. In 1934 the Commonwealth of
the Philippines was created, with the idea that this would begin a 10-year transition to independence.
In 1935 a constitution was drawn up, and elections were held and won by Manuel Quezón. Shortly
after the Second World War broke out, however, the country was invaded and occupied by Japan.
Presidential elections for an independent country were not held again until 1946.

Restoration

Manila was the world’s second-most-devastated Allied city during the Second World War. Due to the
degree of destruction experienced during the occupation and ensuing battle for liberation, the US,
which retained military bases in the Philippines, assisted extensively in the rebuilding efforts. This aid
was part of the provisions of the Bell Trade Act of 1946, which defined Philippine-US trade relations
by prohibiting competition with US firms, giving US citizens and corporations parity with those of the
Philippines in terms of economic rights, and banning import tariffs on US goods. A US dollar peg also
created a major deficit, obliging the Philippine government to impose exchange controls in the 1950s,
which ultimately benefitted manufacturing and later the financial sector in the 1960s.

In 1965 Ferdinand Marcos defeated the incumbent, and his former party-mate, Diosdado Macapagal,
to become the 10th president of the Philippines. In the early stages of his administration, Marcos
stimulated export-oriented industries and encouraged economic policies that got him re-elected in
1969. That same year saw the formation of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which
initiated an armed struggle for the independence of the island of Mindanao; and the establishment of
the Maoist-inspired New People’s Army, the militarised wing of the Communist Party of the
Philippines. As internal conflict intensified, Marcos began his second term facing simultaneous
insurrections, while opposition politicians attempted to block his policies in Manila. In 1972 Marcos
responded by declaring martial law, curtailing civil liberties, abolishing Congress and expediting a new
constitution the following year, allowing him to stay in power beyond 1973.
A New Dawn

Martial law was lifted in 1981, paving the way for presidential elections. However, the boycott by
opposition parties over electoral fraud concerns placed Marcos in an election without any genuine
opponents, resulting in a landslide victory. In 1983 opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr, who had
faced imprisonment in the aftermath of military rule, was assassinated at a Manila airport after being
invited back from exile.

These events, combined with another election that was perceived as fraudulent, roused political
opposition among the populace, resulting in the 1986 People Power Revolution. This led to the
deposition of Marcos, who was sent into exile in Hawaii. Declared the winner of the 1986 elections,
Aquino’s widow, Corazón Aquino, assumed power, and a new constitution was drawn up and enacted
in 1987. Due largely to experiences in the Marcos years, the new constitution severely limited
presidential powers while re-establishing a bicameral Congress and proposing the establishment of
two autonomous regions: Mindanao and the Cordilleras. Under Aquino, whose term survived several
attempted coups and high levels of domestic political instability, the US also withdrew from its
military bases.

In 1992 Aquino was succeeded by Fidel Ramos, a hero of the People Power Revolution, followed by
the former film actor and Ramos administration vice-president, Joseph Estrada, who won the
presidential election in 1998. His leadership ended in 2001, however, after corruption allegations.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, daughter of the late President Macapagal and the Estrada administration’s
vice-president, took over as a result. Re-elected in 2004, she was succeeded by President Benigno
Aquino III in 2010, whose term ended in 2016.

Separatist Movements 

From its founding in 1969, the MNLF has been the Philippines’ largest Islamic separatist group,
engaging in armed hostilities with the government throughout the early 1970s. Despite a peace
agreement between the MNLF and the Philippine government in 1976, allowing for the eventual
creation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), in 1989 hostilities flared up with
smaller individual groups. A faction of the MNLF split off to become the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF), which began its own insurgency in Mindanao. In 2014 the MILF signed a peace deal with the
Philippine government that promised self-rule and enhanced autonomy. Under President Duterte,
peace talks have accelerated, resulting in a successful two-part referendum in 2019 that has paved
the way for the creation of the new Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which
replaced the ARMM.

Foreign Affairs 

President Duterte has actively sought warmer ties with China while criticising the policies of the
nation’s long-time ally, the US, although this stance has somewhat softened since President Donald
Trump took office in 2017. In July 2016 the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague ruled in
favour of the Philippines in a three-year dispute over territory in the South China Sea by declaring
that China had no legal basis to claim historic rights to resources falling within the “nine-dash line”.
Although the Chinese government has failed to recognise the decision, economic cooperation
between the two countries has expanded as President Duterte has not pushed for the enforcement of
the ruling. However, this relationship remains vulnerable to China’s territorial ambitions and tensions
with the US over the South China Sea and trade issues.

Head of State 

The president is head of state and government in the Philippines, and is elected for a single, six-year
term in a nationwide, first-past-the-post ballot. Candidates must be natural-born citizens and have
lived in the country for at least 10 years before standing. The president appoints a Cabinet,
delegating to it many of his or her executive powers. A vice-president is also elected, taking over in
case of the death or incapacity of the president. In addition, the president is commander-in-chief of
the Armed Forces, and has the power to propose the annual national budget and appointment
officials, including members of the Supreme Court. The president may also veto a bill after it has
been passed by Congress, sending it back to the lower chamber, where a two-thirds-majority vote is
necessary to overturn the veto. Several important agencies come directly under the presidency,
including the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council and the National Anti-Poverty
Commission.

Legislative Matters 

The bicameral Congress consists of an upper house (Senate) and a lower house (House of
Representatives). There are 24 senators in the Senate and each is elected for six-year terms, serving
no more than two consecutive terms. Half of the Senate is elected every three years according to a
plurality-at-large voting system whereby the whole country is considered one constituency. The
Senate then elects a Senate president, which is currently held by Vicente Castelo Sotto III. As in the
US, every bill must be passed by both the Senate and the House, then signed by the president before
becoming law. The Senate also has the power, via a two-thirds-majority vote, to cancel any
international treaty signed by the president, or to impeach a government official.

President Duterte has proposed far-reaching constitutional changes that would introduce a federal
system, allowing for the devolution of decision-making powers from the central government to the
regional administrations. This reform was a part of the president’s campaign platform to increase
economic inclusivity. However, it remains to be seen if there is enough support for this constitutional
change to be made before the president leaves office in 2022.

The House of Representatives has 297 seats, with 238 elected from geographic districts and 59 from
party lists. Representatives are elected for three-year terms and may not serve more than three
consecutive terms. Representatives are elected from districts of a similar size – roughly 250,000
inhabitants – although there has been no reapportionment since the 1987 census, leading to
attempts to re-district seats. The party list seats are determined by voter’s choices from a list of
organisations, the intent being to include groups representing minority organisations. If a listed group
wins more than 2% of the total nationwide vote, it gains a seat, with a three-seat maximum per
group.

The House must also approve a bill for it to pass into law. If approval is given, the bill passes to the
Senate, unless the Senate has a similar bill of its own, in which case a bicameral congressional
committee is convened to produce a single version. The House of Representatives is the only
chamber where a motion to impeach the president, or any official, may be initiated, but government
officials can only be tried by the Senate.

Judicial Affairs 

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the Philippines, as well as the court of last appeal. It
consists of 15 justices, led by the chief justice. Justices are appointed by the president from a list
given by the Judicial and Bar Council, and are mandated to retire at the age of 70. Under the
Supreme Court are the Court of Appeals and the Court of Tax Appeals, along with
the Sandiganbayan (meaning “people’s advocate”) – a collegial court that reviews allegations of
government irregularities. At the lower level, there are regional trial courts in each administrative
region.