SST 207

Teaching Social Studies in Primary Grades

The Philippines is an archipelago, or string of over 7,100 islands, in southeastern Asia between the South China
Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The two largest islands, Luzon and Mindanao, make up for two-thirds of the total
land area. Only about one third of the islands are inhabited.
PEOPLE & CULTURE
Filipinos are predominantly of Malay descent, frequently with Chinese and sometimes American or Spanish
ancestry.
Many Filipinos have Spanish names because of a 19th-century Spanish decree that required them to use Spanish
surnames, or last names. Parents often name their children after the saint whose feast day was on the day of
their birth.
Elementary education in the Philippines starts at age seven, is required by law, and lasts for six years. Secondary
education begins at age 13 and lasts for four years; undergraduate college instruction typically is four years.
NATURE
The islands are home to many species of flowering plants and ferns, including hundreds of species of orchids.
Tall grasses have replaced the forests, which have disappeared due to logging, mining, and development.
The Philippines are inhabited by more than 200 species of mammals, including monkeys, squirrels, lemurs, mice,
pangolins, chevrotains, mongooses, civet cats, and red and brown deer, among others.
The binturong, or Asian bear cat, was once prominent, but now this furry mammal is vulnerable. The tamaraw, a
species of small water buffalo found only on Mindoro, is critically endangered.
Hundreds of species of birds live in the Philippines, either for all or part of the year, including peacocks,
pheasants, doves, parrots, kingfishers, sunbirds, tailorbirds, weaverbirds, and hornbills. The endangered
Philippine eagle, which eats monkeys, is barely surviving deforestation.
GOVERNMENT
Filipinos elect their president. The president is the head of state and the commander-in-chief of the armed
forces and serves a six-year term.
The economy is based on agriculture, light industry, and services. The country produces bananas, rice, coconuts,
corn, fish, mangos, pineapples, sugarcane, pork, and beef.
HISTORY
Ferdinand Magellan first landed in the Philippines in 1521. The name Philippines comes from Philip II who was
the king of Spain during the 16th century when the country became a Spanish colony.
The Philippines was granted to the United States  in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. In 1935 the
Philippines became self-governing, but their independence was delayed by World War II and the invasion of
Japanese troops.
The islands were liberated by U.S. forces in 1944-45, and the Republic of the Philippines was proclaimed in
1946, with a government patterned on that of the United States.
In 1965 Ferdinand Marcos was elected president. He declared martial law in 1972, which lasted until 1981. After
20 years of rule, Marcos was driven from power in 1986. Corazon Aquino became president and instituted a
period of democratic rule in the country.
SOURCE: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/geography/countries/article/philippines

Pre Spanish period

History
The Philippines is the only country in Southeast Asia that was subjected to Western colonization before it had the
opportunity to develop either a centralized government ruling over a large territory or a dominant culture. In
ancient times the inhabitants of the Philippines were a diverse agglomeration of peoples who arrived in various
waves of immigration from the Asian mainland and who maintained little contact with each other. Contact with
Chinese traders was recorded in 982, and some cultural influences from South Asia, such as a Sanskrit-based
writing system, were carried to the islands by the Indonesian empires of Srivijaya (7th–13th century)
and Majapahit (13th–16th century); but in comparison with other parts of the region, the influence of
both China and India on the Philippines was of little importance. The peoples of the Philippine archipelago, unlike
most of the other peoples of Southeast Asia, never adopted Hinduism or Buddhism.
Pre-Spanish history
According to what can be inferred from somewhat later accounts, the Filipinos of the 15th century must have
engaged primarily in shifting cultivation, hunting, and fishing. Sedentary cultivation was the exception. Only in the
mountains of northern Luzon, where elaborate rice terraces were built some 2,000 years ago, were livelihood and
social organization linked to a fixed territory. The lowland peoples lived in extended kinship groups known
as barangays, each under the leadership of a datu, or chieftain. The barangay, which ordinarily numbered no more
than a few hundred individuals, was usually the largest stable economic and political unit.
The Spanish period
Spanish colonial motives were not, however, strictly commercial. The Spanish at first viewed the Philippines as
a stepping-stone to the riches of the East Indies (Spice Islands), but, even after the Portuguese and Dutch had
foreclosed that possibility, the Spanish still maintained their presence in the archipelago. The Portuguese navigator
and explorer Ferdinand Magellan headed the first Spanish foray to the Philippines when he made landfall
on Cebu in March 1521; a short time later he met an untimely death on the nearby island of Mactan. After
King Philip II (for whom the islands are named) had dispatched three further expeditions that ended in disaster, he
sent out Miguel López de Legazpi, who established the first permanent Spanish settlement, in Cebu, in 1565. The
Spanish city of Manila was founded in 1571, and by the end of the 1were under Spanish control. Friars marched
with soldiers and soon accomplished the nominal conversion to Roman Catholicism of all the local people under
Spanish administration. But the Muslims of Mindanao and Sulu, whom the Spanish called Moros, were never
completely subdued by Spain.
Spanish rule for the first 100 years was exercised in most areas through a type of tax farming imported from the
Americas and known as the encomienda. But abusive treatment of the local tribute payers and neglect of religious
instruction by encomenderos (collectors of the tribute), as well as frequent withholding of revenues from the
crown, caused the Spanish to abandon the system by the end of the 17th century. The governor-general, himself
appointed by the king, began to appoint his own civil and military governors to rule directly.
Source: https://www.britannica.com/place/Philippines/The-Spanish-period
THE PHILIPPINE UNDER
AMERICAN & JAPANESE RULE
THE PHILIPPINE UNDER
AMERICAN & JAPANESE RULE

THE PHILIPPINE UNDER AMERICAN & JAPANESE RULE

THE PHILIPPINE UNDER
AMERICAN & JAPANESE RULE
THE PHILIPPINE UNDER
AMERICAN & JAPANESE RULE
History of the Philippines (1898–1946)
The history of the Philippines from 1898 to 1946 began with the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in April
1898, when the Philippines was still a colony of the Spanish East Indies, and concluded when the United
States formally recognized the independence of the Republic of the Philippines on July 4, 1946.
With the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898, Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States.
[1]
 The interim U.S. military government of the Philippine Islands experienced a period of great political turbulence,
characterized by the Philippine–American War.
Beginning in 1906, the military government was replaced by a civilian government—the Insular Government of the
Philippine Islands—with William Howard Taft serving as its first governor-general. A series
of insurgent governments that lacked significant international and diplomatic recognition also existed between
1898 and 1904.[a]
Following the passage of the Philippine Independence Act in 1934, a Philippine presidential election was held in
1935. Manuel L. Quezon was elected and inaugurated as the second president of the Philippines on November 15,
1935. The Insular Government was dissolved and the Commonwealth of the Philippines, intended to be a
transitional government in preparation for the country's full achievement of independence in 1946, was brought
into existence.[2]
After the World War II Japanese invasion in 1941 and subsequent occupation of the Philippines, the United States
and Philippine Commonwealth military completed the recapture of the Philippines after Japan's surrender and
spent nearly a year dealing with Japanese troops who were not aware of Japan's August 15, 1945 surrender,
[3]
 leading up to U.S. recognition of Philippine independence on July 4, 1946.
Philippine–American War (1899–1902)
Rising tensions and war[edit]
Main article: Battle of Manila (1899)

Gregorio del Pilar and his troops in 1898

On December 21, 1898, President McKinley issued a proclamation of benevolent assimilation. General Otis delayed
its publication until January 4, 1899, then publishing an amended version edited so as not to convey the meanings
of the terms "sovereignty", "protection", and "right of cessation" which were present in the unabridged version.
[55]
 Meanwhile, on December 26, 1898, the Spanish yielded Iloilo to the insurgents.[56] American forces under
General Marcus P. Miller arriving in Iloilo were refused permission to land by the insurgents, who stated that
landing required "express orders from the central government of Luzon". [57][58] Unknown to Otis, the War
Department had also sent a copy of McKinley's proclamation to General Miller in Iloilo who, unaware that a
politically bowdlerized version had been sent to Aguinaldo, published it in both Spanish and An outbreak of gunfire
between an insurgent patrol and an American outpost on February 4 set off open hostilities between the two
forces.[65][66] On June 2, 1899, the First Philippine Republic issued a declaration of war on the United States. [67] As
before when fighting the Spanish, the Filipino rebels did not do well in the field. Aguinaldo and his provisional
government escaped after the capture of Malolos on March 31, 1899, and were driven into northern Luzon. Peace
feelers from members of Aguinaldo's cabinet failed in May when the American commander, General Ewell Otis,
demanded an unconditional surrender. In 1901, Aguinaldo was captured and swore allegiance to the United States,
marking one end to the war.Tagalog.[59] Even before Aguinaldo received the unaltered version and observed the
changes in the copy he had received from Otis, he was upset that Otis had altered his own title to "Military
Governor of the Philippines" from "... in the Philippines". Aguinaldo did not miss the significance of the alteration,
which Otis had made without authorization from Washington. [60]
On January 5, Aguinaldo issued a counter-proclamation summarizing American violations of the ethics of
friendship, and stated that a takeover of the Visayas by the Americans would lead to hostilities. Within the same
day Aguinaldo replaced this proclamation with another that directly protested American infringement on "the
sovereignty of these islands".[61] Otis took these two proclamations as a call to arms, and as tensions increased
40,000 Filipinos fled Manila within 15 days.[62] Meanwhile, Felipe Agoncillo, who had been commissioned by the
Philippine revolutionary government as minister plenipotentiary to negotiate treaties with foreign governments,
filed a request in Washington for an interview with the president to discuss affairs in the Philippines. At the same
time Aguinaldo protested against General Otis styling himself "Military Governor of the Philippines", and Agoncillo,
along with Filipino committees in London, Paris, and Madrid, issued statements to the United States noting a
refusal for the Philippines to come under American sovereignty. [57] Filipino forced were ready to assume the
offensive, but instead sought to provoke the Americans into firing the first shot. [63] On January 31, 1899, The
Minister of Interior of the revolutionary First Philippine Republic, Teodoro Sandiko, signed a decree saying that
President Aguinaldo had directed that all idle lands be planted to provide food for the people, in view of impending
war with the Americans.[64]
"Insular Government" (1900–1935)
The 1902 Philippine Organic Act was a constitution for the Insular Government, as the U.S. civil administration was
known. This was a form of territorial government that reported to the Bureau of Insular Affairs. The act provided
for a governor-general appointed by the U.S. president and an elected lower house, the Philippine Assembly. It
also disestablished the Catholic Church as the state religion. The U.S. government, in an effort to resolve the status
of the friars, negotiated with the Vatican. The church agreed to sell the friars' estates and promised gradual
substitution of Filipino and other non-Spanish priests for the friars. It refused, however, to withdraw the religious
orders from the islands immediately, partly to avoid offending Spain. In 1904, the administration bought for $7.2
million the major part of the friars' holdings, amounting to some 166,000 hectares (410,000 acres), of which one-
half was in the vicinity of Manila. The land was eventually resold to Filipinos, some of them tenants but the
majority of them estate owners.[72] Under the Treaty of Paris, the U.S. agreed to respect existing property rights.
They introduced a Torrens title system to track ownership in 1902, and in 1903 passed the Public Lands Act which
modeled the Homestead Acts of the United States, and allowed individuals to claim land on the basis of a five-year
residency. Both of these systems benefited larger landowners who were more able to take advantage of the
bureaucracy, and only one tenth of homestead claims were ever approved. [
Philippine Commonwealth (1935–1946)
It was planned that the period 1935–1946 would be devoted to the final adjustments required for a peaceful
transition to full independence, a great latitude in autonomy being granted in the meantime. Instead there was
war with Japan,[108] which postponed any plans for Philippine independence.[citation needed]

On May 14, 1935, an election to fill the newly created office of president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines
was won by Manuel L. Quezon (Nacionalista Party),[109] and a Filipino government was formed on the basis of
principles superficially similar to the U.S. Constitution. The commonwealth as established in 1935 featured a very
strong executive, a unicameral national assembly, and a supreme court composed entirely of Filipinos for the first
time since 1901.

Quezon's priorities were defense, social justice, inequality and economic diversification, and national character.
[110] Tagalog was designated the national language,[111] women's suffrage was introduced,[112] and land reform
mooted.[113][114] The new government embarked on an ambitious agenda of establishing the basis for national
defense, greater control over the economy, reforms in education, improvement of transport, the colonization of
the island of Mindanao, and the promotion of local capital and industrialization. The commonwealth however, was
also faced with agrarian unrest, an uncertain diplomatic and military situation in Southeast Asia, and uncertainty
about the level of United States commitment to the future Republic of the Philippines.

In 1939–40, the Philippine Constitution was amended to restore a bicameral Congress, and permit the re-election
of President Quezon, previously restricted to a single, six-year term.

From 1940 to 1941, Philippine authorities, with the support of American officials, removed from office several
mayors in Pampanga who were in favor of land reform. Following the 1946 election, some legislators who opposed
giving the United States special economic treatment were prevented from taking office.[94]

During the commonwealth years, the Philippines sent one elected resident commissioner to the United States
House of Representatives, as Puerto Rico currently does today.
Japanese occupation and World War II (1941–1945)
A few hours after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched air raids in
several cities and US military installations in the Philippines on December 8, and on December 10, the first
Japanese troops landed in Northern Luzon. Filipino pilot Captain Jesús A. Villamor, leading a flight of three P-26
"Peashooter" fighters of the 6th Pursuit Squadron, distinguished himself by attacking two enemy formations of 27
planes each and downing a much-superior Japanese Zero, for which he was awarded the U.S. Distinguished Service
Cross. The two other planes in that flight, flown by Lieutenants César Basa and Geronimo Aclan, were shot down.
[115]

As the Japanese forces advanced, Manila was declared an open city to prevent it from destruction, meanwhile, the
government was moved to Corregidor. In March 1942, General MacArthur and President Quezon fled the country.
Guerrilla units harassed the Japanese when they could, and on Luzon native resistance was strong enough that the
Japanese never did get control of a large part of the island.

General Douglas MacArthur, commander of the United States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE), was forced
to retreat to Bataan. Manila was occupied by the Japanese on January 2, 1942. The fall of Bataan was on April 9,
1942, with Corregidor Island, at the mouth of Manila Bay, surrendering on May 6.[116] Atrocities and war crimes
were committed during the war, including the Bataan Death March and the Manila massacre.
Independence (1946)

Philippine Independence, July 4, 1946. The Flag of the United States of America is lowered while the Flag of the
Philippines is raised.
On October 11, 1945, the Philippines became one of the founding members of the United Nations.[131][132] On
July 4, 1946, the Philippines was officially recognized by the United States as an independent nation through the
Treaty of Manila between the governments of the United States and the Philippine, during the presidency of
Manuel Roxas.[132][133][134] The treaty provided for the recognition of the independence of the Republic of the
Philippines and the relinquishment of American sovereignty over the Philippine Islands.[135] From 1946 to 1961,
Independence Day was observed on July 4. On May 12, 1962, President Macapagal issued Presidential
Proclamation No. 28, proclaiming Tuesday, June 12, 1962, as a special public holiday throughout the Philippines.
[136][137] In 1964, Republic Act No. 4166 changed the date of Independence Day from July 4 to June 12 and
renamed the July 4 holiday as Philippine Republic Day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Philippines_(1898%E2%80%931946)
THE THIRD PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC

The Third Republic of the Philippines was inaugurated on July 4, 1946. It marked the culmination of the peaceful
campaign for Philippine Independence—the two landmarks of which were the enactment of the Jones Law in 1916
(in which the U.S. Congress pledged independence for the Philippines once Filipinos have proven their capability
for self-government) and the Philippine Independence Act of 1934 (popularly known as Tydings-McDuffie) which
put in place a ten-year transition period during which the Philippines had Commonwealth status. The Third
Republic also marked the recognition by the global community of nations, of the nationhood of the Philippines—a
process that began when the Commonwealth of the Philippines joined the Anti-Axis Alliance known as the United
Nations on June 14, 1942, receiving recognition as an Allied nation even before independence.

Thus, the inauguration of the Third Republic marked the fulfillment of the long struggle for independence that
began with the Philippine Revolution on August 23, 1896 (recent scholarship suggests, on August 24) and which
was formalized on June 12, 1898 with the Proclamation of Philippine Independence at Kawit, Cavite.

From 1946 to 1961, Independence Day was celebrated on July 4. On May 12, 1962, President Diosdado Macapagal
issued Proclamation No. 28, s. 1962, which declared June 12 as Independence Day. In 1964, Congress passed
Republic Act No. 4166, which formally designated June 12 of every year as the date on which we celebrate
Philippine independence. July 4 in turn has been observed as Republic Day since then.

President Roxas takes his oath of office during the Independence Ceremony of July 4, 1946. Administering the oath
is Chief Justice Manuel Moran.
President Roxas takes his oath of office during the Independence Ceremony of July 4, 1946. Administering the oath
is Chief Justice Manuel Moran.
The Roxas Administration (May 28, 1946 – April 15, 1948)

President Manuel Roxas, in his first State of the Nation Address, detailed the challenges the country was facing in
the aftermath of war: A government “without financial means to support even its basic functions,”[1] scarcity in
commodities especially of food, hyperinflation, the “tragic destruction”[2] of a productive economy, and still-
ongoing rehabilitation among the different sectors of society.

8079276482_187690d735_o
President Manuel Roxas addressing the lawmakers of the Second Commonwealth Congress of the Philippines
during his first State of the Nation Address on June 3, 1946 at a converted school house at Lepanto Street, Manila.
In an effort to solve the massive socio-economic problems of the period, President Roxas reorganized the
government, and proposed a wide-sweeping legislative program. Among the undertakings of the Third Republic’s
initial year were: The establishment of the Rehabilitation Finance Corporation (which would be reorganized in
1958 as the Development Bank of the Philippines);[3] the creation of the Department of Foreign Affair and the
organization of the foreign service through Executive Order No. 18; the GI Bill of Rights for Filipino veterans; and
the revision of taxation laws to increase government revenues.[4]

President Roxas moved to strengthen sovereignty by proposing a Central Bank for the Philippines to administer the
Philippine banking system[5] which was established by Republic Act No. 265.

In leading a “cash-starved[6] government” that needed to attend a battered nation, President Roxas campaigned
for the parity amendment to the 1935 Constitution. This amendment, demanded by the Philippine Trade Relations
Act or the Bell Trade Act,[7] would give American citizens and industries the right to utilize the country’s natural
resources in return for rehabilitation support from the United States. The President, with the approval of Congress,
proposed this move to the nation through a plebiscite.

The amendment was necessary to attract rehabilitation funds and investments at a time when public and official
opinion in the United States had swung back to isolationism (the Cold War, and a corresponding reversal in what
had been heretofore a return of isolationism, would only come a few years later). On March 11, 1947, a total of
432,933 (78.89% of the electorate) voted in favor of the parity amendment.[8] The approval of the amendment
had provided the nation with $620 million[9] in war damage compensation, through the Philippine War Damage
Commission.

A major initiative arising from preliminary wartime discussions about the future security of the Philippines, was the
US–Philippine Military Bases Agreement of 1947, which gave the United States the right to retain the use of sixteen
bases, free of rent, with the option to use seven more for a term of 99 years.[10]

The Roxas administration also pioneered the foreign policy of the Republic. Vice President Elpidio Quirino was
appointed Secretary of Foreign Affairs. General Carlos P. Romulo, as permanent representative[11] of the
Philippines to the United Nations, helped shape the country’s international identity in the newly established stage
for international diplomacy and relations. During the Roxas administration, the Philippines established diplomatic
ties with foreign countries and gained membership to international entities, such as the United Nations General
Assembly, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Health
Organization (WHO), the International Labor Organization (ILO), etc.

On April 15, 1948, following a speech before an audience of assembled airmen at Clark Field Air Base, President
Roxas died of a heart attack. Vice President Elpidio Quirino assumed the presidency on April 17, 1948.

On April 17, 1948, Vice President Elpidio Quirino, back in Malacañan Palace, knelt and wept unabashed before the
casket bearing the remains of Manuel Roxas. (Photo courtesy of the National Library of the Philippines.)
On April 17, 1948, Vice President Elpidio Quirino, back in Malacañan Palace, knelt and wept unabashed before the
casket bearing the remains of Manuel Roxas. (Photo courtesy of the National Library of the Philippines.)
The Quirino Administration (April 17, 1948 – December 30, 1953)

President Elpidio Quirino’s goal as chief executive, as stated in his first State of the Nation Address, revolved
around strengthening the people’s confidence in the government and the restoration of peace. In order to achieve
these, the Chief Executive travelled around the country to inspect firsthand the condition of the nation.

President Elpidio Quirino delivering his First State of the Nation Address on January 24, 1949.
President Elpidio Quirino delivering his First State of the Nation Address on January 24, 1949.
President Quirino established the Action Committee on Social Amelioration through Administrative Order No. 68,
in order to efficiently promote the welfare of citizens in the rural districts. He established the Social Security Study
Commission by virtue of Executive Order No. 150, to investigate socio-economic problems of the working class and
formulate legislation developing social welfare. The Labor Management Advisory Board, established by Executive
Order No. 158, formulated labor policies and conducted studies on the ways and means of preventing, minimizing,
and reconciling labor disputes. The Agricultural Credit and Cooperative Financing Administration, established by
Republic Act. No. 821, assisted farmers in securing credit as well as developing cooperative associations to
efficiently market their agricultural commodities.

The Quirino administration reached out to the leaders and members of Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon
(HUKBALAHAP) and the Pambansang Kaisahan ng mga Magbubukid (PKM) to negotiate peace and put an end to
the insurgency. In 1948, through Proclamation No. 76, the government granted amnesty to the insurgents that
surrendered arms. The negotiation failed to persuade HUKBALAHAP leader Luis Taruc and other rebel leaders, as
they conceded to register but never disarm. From 1950 to 1953, Secretary of National Defense Ramon Magsaysay
and President Quirino exerted efforts in reforming the nation’s Armed Forces and promoting welfare of citizens in
the rural areas through the Economic Development Corps (EDCOR)[12] and Land Settlement and Development
Corporation (LASEDECO)[13]. This resulted to a considerable improvement to the country’s insurgency problem.
There were over 25,000 armed communists in early 1950—two thirds of which had either been captured, killed, or
had voluntarily surrendered; an estimated 60,000 firearms were surrendered or captured.[14]

President Elpidio Quirino delivering his First State of the Nation Address on January 24, 1949. (Photo courtesy of
the National Library of the Philippines.)
President Elpidio Quirino shaking hands with Huk Leader Luis Taruc upon issuing amnesty to the rebel group on the
condition that they disarm on June 21, 1948. The negotiation will eventually collapse on August, 1948. (Photo
courtesy of the National Library of the Philippines.)
The Quirino administration came to a close in the presidential elections of 1953. It was a battle between
incumbent Liberal Party of President Elpidio Quirino against the charismatic Nacionalista candidate Ramon
Magsaysay. It was a landslide victory for Ramon Magsaysay, who gained 2,912,992 votes or 68.9% of the
electorate.

President-elect Ramon Magsaysay tries out the presidential chair, on the invitation of President Elpidio Quirino,
when Magsaysay arrived to fetch the latter on inaugural day. Taken on December 30, 1953. (Photo taken from
Palacio de Malacañang)
President-elect Ramon Magsaysay tries out the presidential chair, on the invitation of President Elpidio Quirino,
when Magsaysay arrived to fetch the latter on inaugural day. Taken on December 30, 1953. (Photo taken from
Palacio de Malacañang)
The Magsaysay Administration (December 30, 1953 – March 17, 1957)

To help the rural masses was the focal point of the populist administration[15] of President Ramon Magsaysay.
President Magsaysay insisted in meeting and communicating with his people. In his first Executive Order, he
established the Presidential Complaint and Action Commission, which investigated various citizen complaints and
recommended remedial actions through different government agencies. The Commission served to boost the
nation’s confidence with its government; it was seen as a fulfilment of President Magsaysay’s promise, stated in his
inaugural address, to become a President for the people. The principles of the Magsaysay administration were
codified in the Magsaysay Credo, and became the theme of leadership and public service.

Champion of the Masses - President Ramon Magsaysay was warmly received by the crowd during one of his
Presidential visits. (Photo courtesy of the National Library of the Philippines.)
Champion of the Masses – President Ramon Magsaysay was warmly received by the crowd during one of his
Presidential visits. (Photo courtesy of the National Library of the Philippines.)
Among the accomplishments of the Magsaysay administration were the Social Security Law of 1954 or Republic Act
No. 1161. In an effort to solve the problems of communism and insurgency, President Magsaysay sought to protect
the farmers, through the creation of laws such as: the Agricultural Tenancy Act of the Philippines or Republic Act
No. 1199; the Land Reform Act of 1955 through Republic Act No. 1400; the formation of the Court of Agrarian
Relations through Republic Act No. 1267; and the National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration
(NARRA) through Republic Act No. 1160. The administration achieved victory over insurgents with the surrender of
Huk leader Luis Taruc in 1954.

The Agricultural Tenancy Act and the Land Reform Act of 1955 are among the laws enacted by President Ramon
Magsaysay to help protect the local farmers. (Photo courtesy of the National Library of the Philippines.)
The Agricultural Tenancy Act and the Land Reform Act of 1955 are among the laws enacted by President Ramon
Magsaysay to help protect the local farmers. (Photo courtesy of the National Library of the Philippines.)
In the field of international diplomacy and defense, President Magsaysay, through the Manila Pact of 1954 or the
Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, led the establishment of the Southeast Asian Treaty Organization
(SEATO).[16]

The Laurel-Langley Agreement, signed during the Magsaysay administration, gave the Philippines a preferential
trade system[17] with the United States and other countries. Among its provisions were the right to impose quotas
on non-quota articles and the right to impose export taxes.[18]

On March 17, 1957, President Magsaysay and 25 other passengers of the presidential plane Mt. Pinatubo perished
in a crash, at Mt. Manunggal, Cebu. Vice President Carlos P. Garcia succeeded to the presidency on March 18,
1957.

[READ: Learn more about the death of President Ramon Magsaysay]

A nation in mourning—a huge crowd joined the funeral procession of President Ramon Magsaysay as it passed
through the streets of Manila.
A nation in mourning—a huge crowd joined the funeral procession of President Ramon Magsaysay as it passed
through the streets of Manila.
Our Guy and his Legacy—The Ramon Magsaysay Award, created in 1957, is the highest prize for leadership in Asia.
The award is presented every 31st of August—the birth anniversary of President Ramon Magsaysay. (Photo
courtesy of the National Library of the Philippines.)
Our Guy and his Legacy—The Ramon Magsaysay Award, created in 1957, is the highest prize for leadership in Asia.
The award is presented every 31st of August—the birth anniversary of President Ramon Magsaysay. (Photo
courtesy of the National Library of the Philippines.)
The Garcia Administration (March 18, 1957 – December 30, 1961)

President Carlos P. Garcia, in his inaugural address, sought the help and support of the masses in accomplishing
the tremendous responsibilities of the presidency and in carrying on the legacy of the Magsaysay administration.
President Garcia used the momentum of the previous administration’s campaign on social welfare and signed the
amendment of the Social Security Law through Republic Act 1792, establishing the Social Security System on
September 1, 1957.[19]

President Garcia ran for the presidential elections of 1957. It was the first time in electoral history where there
were four serious contenders to the presidency, namely: Jose Yulo, Claro M. Recto, Manuel Manahan, and
President Garcia. The incumbent president won the elections with 41.3% of the electorate. It was the first time
that a president was elected by plurality of candidates instead of a majority vote. It was also the first time where
the elected president and vice president did not come from the same political party—President Garcia was a
Nacionalista and Vice President Diosdado Macapagal a Liberal.

President Carlos P. Garcia was received by the crowd during his campaign for the Presidential Elections of 1957.
(Photo courtesy of the National Library of the Philippines)
President Carlos P. Garcia was received by the crowd during his campaign for the Presidential Elections of 1957.
(Photo courtesy of the National Library of the Philippines)
(From LEFT to RIGHT) Vice President Diosdado Macapagal, First Lady Leonila Dimataga-Garcia, President Carlos P.
Garcia and Mrs. Eva Macapagal during their inauguration on December 30, 1957. (Photo courtesy of the National
Library of the Philippines)
(From left to right) Vice President Diosdado Macapagal, First Lady Leonila Dimataga-Garcia, President Carlos P.
Garcia and Mrs. Eva Macapagal during their inauguration on December 30, 1957. (Photo courtesy of the National
Library of the Philippines)
The second inauguration of Carlos P. Garcia, at the Independence Grandstand (now Quirino Grandstand). (Photo
courtesy of the National Library of the Philippines)
The second inauguration of Carlos P. Garcia, at the Independence Grandstand (now Quirino Grandstand). (Photo
courtesy of the National Library of the Philippines)
The Garcia administration promoted the “Filipino First” policy, whose focal point was to regain economic
independence; a national effort by Filipinos to “obtain major and dominant participation in their economy.”[20]
The administration campaigned for the citizens’ support in patronizing Filipino products and services, and
implemented import and currency controls favorable for Filipino industries.[21] In connection with the
government’s goal of self-sufficiency was the “Austerity Program,” which President Garcia described in his first
State of the NatIon Address as “more work, more thrift, more productive investment, and more efficiency” that
aimed to mobilize national savings.[22] The Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, through Republic Act No. 301,
aimed to prevent corruption, and promote honesty and public trust. Another achievement of the Garcia
administration was the Bohlen–Serrano Agreement of 1959, which shortened the term of lease of the US military
bases in the country from the previous 99 to 25 years.[23]

President Garcia lost to Vice President Diosdado Macapagal in the presidential race of 1961.[24]

The Macapagal Administration (December 30, 1961- December 30, 1965)

President Diosdado Macapagal, during his inaugural address on December 30, 1961, emphasized the
responsibilities and goals to be attained in the “new era” that was the Macapagal administration. He reiterated his
resolve to eradicate corruption, and assured the public that honesty would prevail in his presidency. President
Macapagal, too, aimed at self-sufficiency and the promotion of every citizen’s welfare, through the partnership of
the government and private sector, and to alleviate poverty by providing solutions for unemployment.

“To solve the immediate problems of the present” and “to build materially and spiritually for the future” were the
goals of the "New Era" of President Diosdado Macapagal. (Photo courtesy of the National Library of the
Philippines)
“To solve the immediate problems of the present” and “to build materially and spiritually for the future” were the
goals of the “New Era” of President Diosdado Macapagal. (Photo courtesy of the National Library of the
Philippines)
Among the laws passed during the Macapagal administration were: Republic Act No. 3844 or the Agricultural Land
Reform Code (an act that established the Land Bank of the Philippines)[25]; Republic Act No. 3466, which
established the Emergency Employment Administration; Republic Act No. 3518, which established the Philippine
Veterans Bank; Republic Act No. 3470, which established the National Cottage Industries Development Authority
(NACIDA) to organize, revive, and promote the establishment of local cottage industries; and Republic Act No.
4156, which established the Philippine National Railways (PNR) to operate the national railroad and tramways. The
administration lifted foreign exchange controls as part of the decontrol program in an attempt to promote national
economic stability and growth.

President Diosdado Macapagal signs the first leasehold contract in Plaridel, Bulacan in front of a crowd of tenant-
farmers and landowners on July 4, 1964. (Photo courtesy of National Library of the Philippines)
President Diosdado Macapagal signs the first leasehold contract in Plaridel, Bulacan in front of a crowd of tenant-
farmers and landowners on July 4, 1964. (Photo courtesy of National Library of the Philippines)
In the field of foreign relations, the Philippines became a founding member of Maphilindo, through the Manila
Accord of 1963.[26] The regional organization of Malay states strove for “Asian solutions by Asian nations for Asian
problems,” and aimed to solve national and regional problems through regional diplomacy.

President Sukarno, President Macapagal and Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman of Malaysia signing agreements
forming the MAPHILINDO on August 5, 1963 at the Juan Luna Hall of the Department of Foreign Affairs. (Photo
courtesy of National Library of the Philippines)
President Sukarno, President Macapagal and Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman of Malaysia signing agreements
forming the MAPHILINDO on August 5, 1963 at the Juan Luna Hall of the Department of Foreign Affairs. (Photo
courtesy of National Library of the Philippines)
The Macapagal administration closed with the presidential elections of 1965. The “Poor boy from Lubao” was
defeated by the Nacionalista candidate Ferdinand E. Marcos.

The Marcos Administration (December 30, 1965 – February 25, 1986)

The last president of the Third Republic of the Philippines was President Ferdinand E. Marcos. Prior to the events
of Martial Law, the first term of the Marcos administration, as emphasized in his inaugural address on December
30, 1965, focused on “the revival of the greatness of the nation.”

First inauguration of President Ferdinand Marcos held at the Quirino Grandstand, Manila, December 30, 1965.
(Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
First inauguration of President Ferdinand Marcos held at the Quirino Grandstand, Manila, December 30, 1965.
(Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
President Marcos, faced with the challenge of corruption in the government, reorganized the Armed Forces, the
Philippine Constabulary, and the Bureau of Internal Revenue. In an attempt to solve the problem of technical
smuggling, the Bureau of Customs was also reorganized. The administration, with a goal to strengthen the local
economy, devised construction programs and irrigation projects. The promotion of Philippine heritage, culture,
and arts was achieved through the establishment of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) in 1969.[27]

Under the Marcos administration, the country hosted the Manila Summit in 1966. The conference aimed to resolve
the Vietnam War, and sought the restoration of peace and the promotion of economic stability and development
throughout the Asia-Pacific region.[28]

Among the laws approved by President Marcos were: Republic Act No. 5186 or the Investments Incentives Act;
Republic Act No. 4864 or the Police Act of 1966; and Republic Act No. 5173, which established the Philippine Coast
Guard.

President Marcos won his re-election bid in the 1969 presidential elections against Liberal Party’s Sergio Osmeña
Jr. President Marcos gained 5,017,343 votes or 61.47% of the electorate to become only the second Philippine
president in history to win reelection and the first to do so in the Third Republic.

Re-electionist President Ferdinand Marcos during his campaign for the Presidential Elections of 1969. (Photo
courtesy of the National Library of the Philippines)
Re-electionist President Ferdinand Marcos during his campaign for the Presidential Elections of 1969. (Photo
courtesy of the National Library of the Philippines)
On the 30th of January 1970, to protest the violent dispersal of the student-led rally during President Marcos’ fifth
State of the Nation Address four days earlier, a demonstration was held in front of Malacañan Palace. This event
intensified into a protracted and vicious battle between authorities and the students who tried to storm the
palace. A fire truck was rammed into one of the Palace gates; properties were destroyed and fires were started by
the rallyists. Two persons were reportedly killed and 106 were injured. The incident and the rallies thereafter
became known as the First Quarter Storm, a period of unrest marked by a series of demonstrations against the
Marcos administration.[29]

On November 27 of the same year, Blessed Pope Paul VI traveled to the Philippines, attending to the 63.2 million
Filipino Catholic faithful. It marked the first time the head of the Catholic church visited the country. Surviving an
assassination attempt upon his arrival, the Pontiff continued his Philippine visit. He officiated the first Papal Mass in
the Far East at the Manila Cathedral, as well as an open-air mass at the Rizal Park. [Learn more about papal visits to
the Philippines.]

Pope Paul VI with President Ferdinand E. Marcos on the balcony of the north wing of Malacañan Palace. (Photo
from Malacañan Palace: The Official Illustrated History)
Pope Paul VI with President Ferdinand E. Marcos on the balcony of the north wing of Malacañan Palace. (Photo
from Malacañan Palace: The Official Illustrated History)
As opposition to President Marcos grew significantly due to corruption in the administration, the Liberal Party then
saw an opportunity in the midterm elections of 1971. The Miting de Avance of the Liberal Party held at Plaza
Miranda on August 21, 1971 was cut short when two bombs were hurled at the opposition candidates, killing nine
people and injuring about a hundred.[30] Because of this incident, President Marcos suspended the Writ of Habeas
Corpus, leading to the arrest and incarceration of twenty people.

The Plaza Miranda bombing, alongside the increasing strength of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its
military wing, the New People’s Army, and the Marcos-staged ambush on the convoy of Secretary of Defense Juan
Ponce Enrile on the night of September 22, 1972, were the pretext for Marcos’ declaration of Martial Law on
September 23, 1972, by virtue of Proclamation No. 1081. The said proclamation was dated September 21, when in
fact it was only put into effect on September 23.

The audience at the Plaza Miranda, caught in a panic following the 1971 blast. (Photo courtesy of the Presidential
Museum and Library)
The audience at the Plaza Miranda, caught in a panic following the 1971 blast. (Photo courtesy of the Presidential
Museum and Library)
Opponents of the administration were incarcerated; decree-making powers were asserted by the President, and
when the ongoing Constitutional Convention produced a draft document, a series of “barangay assemblies” were
held to prevent Congress from convening as scheduled in January, 1973. After claiming approval of a new
Constitution, the dictatorship ordered Congress padlocked. The “ratification” of the 1973 Constitution marked the
end of the Third Republic and the beginning of the Bagong Lipunan—the New Society as the martial law regime
was called—under President Marcos.

Senators Doy Laurel, Eva Estrada Kalaw, Ramon Mitra, Gerry Roxas, and Jovito Salonga outside the padlocked
Senate session hall. (Photo from Doy Laurel by Celia Diaz-Laurel)
Senators Doy Laurel, Eva Estrada Kalaw, Ramon Mitra, Gerry Roxas, and Jovito Salonga outside the padlocked
Senate session hall. (Photo from Doy Laurel by Celia Diaz-Laurel)
In 1981, through Proclamation No. 2045, Martial Law was lifted throughout the country and marked the beginning
of the “New,” or Fourth, Republic of the Philippines.
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/featured/third-republic/
Declaration of Martial Law
The anniversary of the declaration of martial law is on September 23 (not September 21)
“FM Declares Martial Law”—the headline of the September 24, 1972 issue of the Sunday Express, which was the
Sunday edition of Philippines Daily Express. The Daily Express was the only newspaper allowed to circulate upon
the declaration of Martial Law
President Ferdinand E. Marcos signed Proclamation No. 1081 on September 21, 1972, placing the Philippines under
Martial Law. Some sources say that Marcos signed the proclamation on September 17 or on September 22—but, in
either case, the document itself was dated September 21.

Throughout the Martial Law period, Marcos built up the cult of September 21, proclaiming it as National
Thanksgiving Day by virtue of Proclamation No. 1180 s. 1973 to memorialize the date as the foundation day of his
New Society. The propaganda effort was so successful that up to the present, many Filipinos—particularly those
who did not live through the events of September 23, 1972—labor under the misapprehension that martial law
was proclaimed on September 21, 1972. It was not.

The culmination of a long period of preparation

The facts are clear. A week before the actual declaration of Martial Law, a number of people had already received
information that Marcos had drawn up a plan to completely take over the government and gain absolute rule.
Senator Benigno S. Aquino Jr., during a September 13, 1972 privilege speech, exposed what was known as “Oplan
Sagittarius.” The Senator said he had received a top-secret military plan given by Marcos himself to place Metro
Manila and outlying areas under the control of the Philippine Constabulary as a prelude to Martial Law. Marcos
was going to use a series of bombings in Metro Manila, including the 1971 Plaza Miranda bombing, as a
justification for his takeover and subsequent authoritarian rule.

In his own diary, Marcos wrote on September 14, 1972 that he informed the military that he would proceed with
proclaiming Martial Law. Even the U.S. Embassy in Manila knew as early as September 17, 1972 about Marcos’
plan.[1]

This was indeed the culmination of a long period of preparation: As early as May 17, 1969, Marcos hinted the
declaration of Martial Law, when he addressed the Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association:

One of my favorite mental exercises, which others may find useful, is to foresee possible problems one may have
to face in the future and to determine what solutions can possibly be made to meet these problems.

For instance, if I were suddenly asked, to pose a given situation, to decide in five minutes when and where to
suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, I have decided that there should be at least five questions that I
would ask, and depending on the answers to these five questions, I would know when and where to suspend the
privilege of the writ of habeas corpus.

The same thing is true with the declaration of martial law […] It is a useful mental exercise to meet a problem
before it happens.

In his memoir, then Justice Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile recalled that on a late afternoon in December 1969,
Marcos instructed him to study the powers of the President as Commander-in-Chief under the provisions of the
1935 Constitution. Marcos made this instruction as he “[foresaw] an escalation of violence and disorder in the
country and [wanted] to know the extent of his powers as commander-in-chief.”[2] The President also stressed
that “the study must be done discreetly and confidentially.”[3]

At about the same time, Marcos also instructed Executive Secretary Alejandro Melchor and Jose Almonte to study
how Martial Law was implemented in different parts of the world. Marcos also wanted to know the consequences
of declaring Martial Law. The result of their study stated that, “while Martial Law may accelerate development, in
the end the Philippines would become a political archipelago, with debilitating, factionalized politics.” Almonte
recalled that their findings led to the conclusion that “the nation would be destroyed because, apart from the
divisiveness it would cause, Martial Law would offer Marcos absolute power which would corrupt absolutely.”[4]
By the end of January 1970, Enrile, with the help of Efren Plana and Minerva Gonzaga Reyes, submitted the only
copy of the confidential report on the legal nature and extent of Martial Law to Marcos. A week later, Marcos
summoned Enrile and instructed him to prepare the documents to implement Martial Law in the Philippines.[5]

In his January 1971 diary entries, Marcos discussed how he met with business leaders, intellectuals from the
University of the Philippines, and the military to lay the groundwork that extreme measures would be needed in
the future. On May 8, 1972, Marcos confided in his diary that he had instructed the military to update its plans,
including the list of personalities to be arrested, and had met with Enrile to finalize the legal paperwork required.

On August 1, 1972, Marcos met with Enrile and a few of his most trusted military commanders to discuss tentative
dates for the declaration of Martial Law—to fall within the next two months. All of the dates they considered
either ended in seven or were divisible by seven, as Marcos considered seven his lucky number.[6]

The last days of democracy

Senator Benigno S. Aquino Jr. delivers a privilege speech on the Senate floor on September 21, 1972—two days
before Martial Law was declared and implemented. (From A Garrison State in the Make, p. 353)
Senator Benigno S. Aquino Jr. delivers a privilege speech on the Senate floor on September 21, 1972—two days
before Martial Law was declared and implemented. (From A Garrison State in the Make, p. 353)
On September 21, 1972, democracy was still functioning in the Philippines. Senator Benigno S. Aquino Jr. was still
able to deliver a privilege speech—what would be his final one—in the Senate. Primitivo Mijares, among others,
recounted the functioning of the House of Representatives and the Senate, with committee meetings scheduled
for that night. Senate and House leaders agreed not to adjourn on this day, as earlier scheduled. They decided to
extend their special session to a sine die adjournment on September 23.[7]

That afternoon, a protest march in Plaza Miranda was sponsored by the Concerned Christians for Civil Liberties.
The rally was attended by more than 30 “civic, religious, labor, student, and activist groups […] [and] a crowd of
30,000,” and received coverage from newspapers, radio, and television.[9]

A mass rally organized by the Movement of Concerned Citizens for Civil Liberties (MCCCL) was held at Plaza
Miranda in Quiapo. (Photo courtesy of Philippines Free Press Magazine)
A mass rally organized by the Movement of Concerned Citizens for Civil Liberties (MCCCL) was held at Plaza
Miranda in Quiapo. (Photo courtesy of Philippines Free Press Magazine)
In his diary, Marcos wrote that he, together with members of his Cabinet and staff, finished the preparation of
Proclamation 1081 at 8 PM, September 21.

On September 22, 1972, a day after the final speech of Ninoy Aquino, newspapers still came out: they featured the
rally held the previous day in Plaza Miranda. Mijares recounted that Marcos was agitated by a statement reported
in the Daily Express that if Martial Law were declared, Aquino said he would have to be arrested soon after or he
would escape to join the resistance.

The Enrile ambush as pretext for Martial Law

The pretext for Martial Law was provided later in the evening of Friday, September 22, 1972, the convoy of
Secretary of Defense Juan Ponce Enrile was ambushed in Wack-Wack as he was on his way home to Dasmariñas
Village in Makati before 9 p.m. Enrile recalled his convoy was driving out of Camp Aguinaldo when a car opened
fire at his convoy and sped away.

A contrasting account came from Oscar Lopez, who lived along Notre Dame Street, Wack Wack Village, stated that
he heard a lot of shooting and that when he went out to see what was happening, he saw an empty car riddled
with bullets. Lopez’s driver, who happened to see the incident, narrated that “there was a car that came and
stopped beside a Meralco post. Some people got out of the car, and then there was another car that came by
beside it and started riddling it with bullets to make it look like it was ambushed.”[10]

This ambush, as Enrile later revealed in 1986, was staged by Marcos to justify Martial Law.

Excerpt from the diary of Ferdinand E. Marcos on September 22, 1972. From the Philippine Diary Project.
Excerpt from the diary of Ferdinand E. Marcos on September 22, 1972. From the Philippine Diary Project.
Marcos, in his diary entry for September 22, 1972 (time-stamped 9:55 p.m.) wrote, “Sec. Juan Ponce Enrile was
ambushed near Wack-Wack at about 8:00 pm tonight. It was a good thing he was riding in his security car as a
protective measure… This makes the martial law proclamation a necessity.” His diary entry for September 25, 1972
mentions conditions after two days of Martial Law, also indicating martial law in reality is dated to September 23,
1972.

Primitivo Mijares—a former journalist for Marcos who would later write against Marcos and disappear without a
trace in 1973—claimed that the Enrile ambush was fake as it was made as the final excuse for Marcos to declare
Martial Law.[11] Mijares also claimed that the ammunition planted by the Presidential Guard Battalion in Digoyo
Point, Isabela—which was later confiscated by the Philippine Constabulary on July 5, 1972—was used to connect
the ambush with alleged Communist terror attacks.

In the biography of Chino Roces, Vergel Santos questioned the elements of the Enrile ambush: “Why inside a
village and not on a public street, and why in that particular village? Possibly for easier stage-managing: the family
of Enrile’s sister Irma and her husband, Dr. Victor Potenciano, lived there, in Fordham, the next street in the
Potenciano home and got the story straight from him, as officially scripted.”[12]

September 21 or September 23?

When Marcos appeared on television at 7:15 p.m. on September 23, 1972 to announce that he had placed the
“entire Philippines under Martial Law” by virtue of Proclamation No. 1081, he framed his announcement in
legalistic terms that were untrue. This helped camouflage the true nature of his act to this day: it was nothing less
than a self-coup.

Marcos announced that he had placed the entire country under Martial Law as of 9 p.m. on September 22, 1972
via a proclamation which, he claimed, he’d signed on September 21, 1972.

Yet accounts differ. David Rosenberg, writing in the Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars (“The End of the Freest
Press in the World,” Vol. 5, 1973) chronicled that about six hours after the ambush, Marcos signed Proclamation
No. 1081, placing the entire country under Martial Law, placing the signing at around 3 a.m. on September 23.
Raymond Bonner, in his book Waltzing with the Dictator, narrated his interview with Enrile, during which the
former Defense Secretary recalled that he and Acting Executive Secretary Roberto Reyes witnessed Marcos sign
Proclamation No. 1081 in the morning of September 23, 1972. The Bangkok Post asserted in a series of articles
called “The Aquino Papers,” published from February 20 to 22 of 1973, that Proclamation No. 1081 had been
signed even earlier, on September 17, 1972, postdated to September 21. Mijares also mentioned in his book that
Marcos said as much in an address to a conference of historians, in January 1973.

Two things emerge: first, whether they conflict or not, all accounts indicate that Marcos’ obsession with
numerology (particularly the number seven) necessitated that Proclamation No. 1081 be officially signed on a date
that was divisible by seven. Thus, September 21, 1972 became the official date that Martial Law was established
and the day that the Marcos dictatorship began. This also allowed Marcos to control history on his own terms.

Day one of the Marcos dictatorship

The second is that the arbitrary date emphasizes that the actual date for Martial Law was not the numerologically-
auspicious (for Marcos) 21st, but rather, the moment that Martial Law was put into full effect, which was after the
nationwide address of Ferdinand Marcos as far as the nation was concerned: September 23, 1972. By then,
personalities considered threats to Marcos (Senators Benigno S. Aquino Jr., Jose Diokno, Francisco Rodrigo and
Ramon Mitra Jr., and members of the media such as Joaquin Roces, Teodoro Locsin Sr., Maximo Soliven and
Amando Doronila) had already been rounded up, starting with the arrest of Senator Aquino at midnight on
September 22, and going into the early morning hours of September 23, when 100 of the 400 personalities
targeted for arrest were already detained in Camp Crame by 4 a.m.

In the meantime, the military had shut down mass media, flights were canceled, and incoming overseas calls were
prohibited. Press Secretary Francisco Tatad went on air at 3 p.m. of September 23 to read the text of Proclamation
No. 1081. The reading of the proclamation was followed by Marcos going on air at 7:15 p.m. to justify the massive
clampdown of democratic institutions in the country.

Marcos would subsequently issue General Order No. 1, s. 1972, transferring all powers to the President who was to
rule by decree.

[View our infographic: The Day Marcos Declared Martial Law]

The New York Times reported about these events in an article titled “Mass Arrests and Curfew Announced in
Philippines; Mass Arrests Ordered in Philippines” in their September 24, 1972 issue. The Daily Express itself
announced in its September 24 issue that Marcos had proclaimed martial law the day before, September 23, 1972.

“Never again”

After the declaration and imposition of Martial Law, citizens would still go on to challenge the constitutionality of
Proclamation No. 1081. Those arrested filed petitions for habeas corpus with the Supreme Court. But Marcos, who
had originally announced that Martial Law would not supersede the 1935 Constitution, engineered the
replacement of the constitution with a new one. On March 31, 1973, the Supreme Court issued its final decision in
Javellana v. Executive Secretary, which essentially validated the 1973 Constitution. This would be the final
legitimizing decision with on the constitutionality of Martial Law: in G.R. No. L-35546 September 17, 1974, the
Supreme Court dismissed petitions for habeas corpus by ruling that Martial Law was a political question beyond
the jurisdiction of the court; and that, furthermore, the court had already deemed the 1973 Constitution in full
force and effect, replacing the 1935 Constitution.

Martial Law would officially end on January 17, 1981 with Proclamation No. 2045. Marcos, however, would reserve
decree-making powers for himself.

Today, the 1987 Constitution safeguards our institutions from a repeat of Marcos’ Martial Law regime. The
Supreme Court is empowered to review all official acts to determine if there has been grave abuse of discretion.
Congress cannot be padlocked. Martial Law is limited in duration and effects, even if contemplated by a president.
Section 18 of Article VII of the current Constitution provides:

Within forty-eight hours from the proclamation of martial law or the suspension of the privilege of the writ of
habeas corpus, the President shall submit a report in person or in writing to the Congress. The Congress, voting
jointly, by a vote of at least a majority of all its Members in regular or special session, may revoke such
proclamation or suspension, which revocation shall not be set aside by the President. Upon the initiative of the
President, the Congress may, in the same manner, extend such proclamation or suspension for a period to be
determined by the Congress, if the invasion or rebellion shall persist and public safety requires it.

The Congress, if not in session, shall, within twenty-four hours following such proclamation or suspension, convene
in accordance with its rules without any need of a call.
The Supreme Court may review, in an appropriate proceeding filed by any citizen, the sufficiency of the factual
basis of the proclamation of martial law or the suspension of the privilege of the writ or the extension thereof, and
must promulgate its decision thereon within thirty days from its filing.

A state of martial law does not suspend the operation of the Constitution, nor supplant the functioning of the civil
courts or legislative assemblies, nor authorize the conferment of jurisdiction on military courts and agencies over
civilians where civil courts are able to function, nor automatically suspend the privilege of the writ.

THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT

The Philippines is a republic with a presidential form of government wherein power is equally divided among its
three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.
One basic corollary in a presidential system of government is the principle of separation of powers wherein
legislation belongs to Congress, execution to the Executive, and settlement of legal controversies to the Judiciary.

The Legislative branch is authorized to make laws, alter, and repeal them through the power vested in the
Philippine Congress. This institution is divided into the Senate and the House of Representatives.
 

The Executive branch is composed of the President and the Vice President who are elected by direct popular vote
and serve a term of six years. The Constitution grants the President authority to appoint his Cabinet. These
departments form a large portion of the country’s bureaucracy.
 
The Judicial branch holds the power to settle controversies involving rights that are legally demandable and
enforceable. This branch determines whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack
or excess of jurisdiction on the part and instrumentality of the government. It is made up of a Supreme Court and
lower courts.
The Constitution expressly grants the Supreme Court the power of Judicial Review as the power to declare a treaty,
international or executive agreement, law, presidential decree, proclamation, order, instruction, ordinance or
regulation unconstitutional.
Government of the Philippines
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Government of the Philippines

Pamahalaan ng Pilipinas
Jurisdiction Republic of the Philippines

Website www.gov.ph

Legislative branch

Legislature Congress

Meeting place Batasang Pambansa Complex

(House of Representatives)
GSIS Building
(Senate)

Executive branch

Leader President

Appointer Direct popular vote

Headquarters Malacañang Palace

Main organ Cabinet

Departments Executive departments of the Philippines

Judicial branch

Court Supreme Court

Seat Manila

Politics of the Philippines

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Government

show

Executive

show

Legislature

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Judiciary

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Constitutional commissions
 show

Elections

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Political parties

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Administrative divisions

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The government of the Philippines (Filipino: Pamahalaan ng Pilipinas) is the national government of

the Philippines. It is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative and
democratic constitutional republic in which the president functions as both the head of state and the head of
government of the country within a pluriform multi-party system.
The government has three interdependent branches: the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial
branch. The powers of the branches are vested by the Constitution of the Philippines in the following: Legislative
power is vested in the two-chamber Congress of the Philippines—the Senate is the upper chamber and the House
of Representatives is the lower chamber.[1]
Executive power is exercised by the government under the leadership of the president. Judicial power is vested in
the courts with the Supreme Court of the Philippines as the highest judicial body.

Contents

 1Legislative branch
o 1.1National government
o 1.2Local government
 2Executive branch
o 2.1National government
o 2.2Local government
 3Judicial branch
 4Constitutional commissions
 5Office of the ombudsman
 6Local government
 7References

Legislative branch[edit]
The legislative power is vested in the Congress of the Philippines which consists of the Senate of the Philippines
and the House of Representatives. The upper house is located in Pasay, while the lower house is located in Quezon
City. Both are in Metro Manila. The district and sectoral representatives are elected for a term of three years. They
can be re-elected but they may not run for a fourth consecutive term.
Senators are elected to a term of six years. They can be re-elected but may not run for a third consecutive term.
The House of Representatives may opt to pass for a vacancy of a legislative seat, which leads to a special election.
The winner of the special election will serve the unfinished term of the previous district representative, and will be
considered as one elective term. The same rule also applies in the Senate, however it only applies if the seat was
vacated before a regular legislative election.
The current president of the Senate is Juan Miguel Zubiri, and the speaker of the House of
Representatives is Martin Romualdez.
National government[edit]

 Senate
 House of Representatives
Local government[edit]

 Bangsamoro Parliament (an autonomous region inn Mindanao]]

 Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Council)
 Sangguniang Panlungsod (City Council)
 Sangguniang Bayan (People's Council)
 Sangguniang Barangay (Barangay Council)

Executive branch[edit]
The president and vice president are elected separately by national popular vote. The vice president is first in line
to succession if the president resigns, is removed after impeachment, or dies. The vice president is usually, though
not always, a member of the president's cabinet. If there is a vacancy in the position of vice-president, the
president will appoint any member of Congress (usually a party member) as the new vice president. The
appointment must then be validated by a three-fourths vote of the Congress. [2]
The current president is Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and vice president Sara Duterte-Carpio.
National government[edit]

 President
 Vice President
 Cabinet secretaries
Local government[edit]
 Regional chief minister
 Provincial governor
 Provincial vice governor
 City/Municipal mayor
 City/Municipal vice mayor
 Barangay chairman

Judicial branch[edit]
Main article: Judiciary of the Philippines
The judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court of the Philippines and lower courts established by law.
The Supreme Court, which has a chief justice as its head and 14 associate justices, occupies the highest tier of the
judiciary. The justices serve until the age of 70. The justices are appointed by the president on the
recommendation of the Judicial and Bar Council of the Philippines. [3] The sitting chief justice is Alexander
Gesmundo, the 27th to serve in that position.
Other court types of courts, of varying jurisdiction around the archipelago, are the:
Lower Collegiate Courts:

 Court of Appeals

 Court of Tax Appeals

 Sandiganbayan (a special appellate court)
Regular Courts:

 Regional Trial Courts

 First-level courts:
o Metropolitan Trial Courts
o Municipal Trial Courts
o Municipal Trial Courts in Cities
o Municipal Circuit Trial Courts
Sharia Courts

 Sharia District Courts

 Sharia Circuit Courts

Constitutional commissions[edit]
Article 9 of the Constitution of the Philippines establishes three independent constitutional commissions: the Civil
Service Commission, the Commission on Elections, and the Commission on Audit.[4]
The Civil Service Commission is the central personnel agency of the Philippine government. It is responsible for
strengthening employment and a conducive work environment in the civil service sector and overseeing the Civil
Service Exam, a civil service entrance examination to assess qualifications and work integrity for employment in
the sector.[4]
The Commission on Elections enforces and administers all laws and regulations related to the conducting of
elections, plebiscites, initiatives, referendums, and recalls. It decides on all decisions surrounding election protests
and contests and has the right to deputize and take control of law enforcement and state security forces to ensure
the free and orderly conduct of elections. [4]
The Commission on Audit is responsible for examining, auditing, and settling all revenues and expenditures of
public funds and properties used by the government or its attached agencies. [4]

Office of the ombudsman[edit]

See also: Corruption in the Philippines
The Philippine government or three of its branches are independently monitored by the office of the
ombudsman (Filipino: Tanodbayan). The ombudsman is given the mandate to investigate and prosecute any
government official allegedly guilty of crimes, especially graft and corruption. The ombudsman is assisted by six
deputies: the overall deputy, the deputy for Luzon, the deputy for Visayas, the deputy for Mindanao, the deputy
for the armed forces, and the special prosecutor.

Local government[edit]
Main article: Local government in the Philippines
The Philippines has four main classes of elected administrative divisions, often lumped together as local
government units (LGUs). They are, from the highest to the lowest division:

1. Autonomous and administrative regions
2. Provinces and independent cities
3. Municipalities and component cities
4. Barangays

References

1. ^ Exec. Order No. 1987-292 Book II Chapter 1 Section 1 (July 25, 1987) President of the Philippines.
Retrieved on November 21, 2015.
2. ^ Philippine Government
3. ^ Redden, R.K. 1984. Modern Legal System Cyclopedia – Asia Chapter 7(b) "The legal system of the
Philippines" W.B. Hein, Buffalo NY
4. ^ Jump up to:a b c d "1987 Constitution of the Philippines, art. 9".  Official Gazette. Retrieved  December
28, 2018.