ILocos Norte

Marcos the Man: His Rise and Fall

Ferdinand Marcos was Philippine president from 1965 to 1986. He declared war against the Communist party and imposed Martial Law in 1972, assuming absolute legislative power – closing newspapers and tightly controlling mass media, banning demonstrations, strikes and boycotts. Martial Law brought stability and economic turnaround at the price of reduced social freedoms and increased corruption; land reforms were limited; business enterprises were nationalized and handed over to Marcos’ cronies and relatives. The Armed Forces was politicized as well, with officers from Marcos’ home provinces promoted to high ranks; and a Marcos childhood friend became chief of staff of the Armed Forces and head of internal security network. In 1976, the constitution was amended to allow Marcos to continue to rule by presidential decree even after lifting Martial Law. Marcos ended Martial Law in 1981 but continued as president when he won overwhelmingly in the presidential election that same year. In 1983, opposition leader Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr. returned from his political exile in the US only to be assassinated upon his arrival at the Manila Airport, a sad event that served as catalyst to the ouster of Marcos.

The Marco's Family

In 1986, Marcos announced another presidential election and ran against Aquino's wife, Corazon Cojuangco Aquino. Marcos won again in the election but the results were gravely contested and the opposition and Roman Catholic Church called on Marcos to resign during a “People Power” revolution on Edsa on February 22, 1986. On February 25, 1986, the Marcoses fled the presidential palace and flew to Hawaii. When Marcos was in Hawaii, he was indicted by a federal grand jury in New York for offences including mail fraud, fraudulent misappropriation of property and obstruction of justice.

Before his trial in 1989, Marcos died of a heart attack. When the Marcos regime ended, the Philippines was left with the highest debt burden in East and Southeast Asia. The country became bankrupt, unable to meet obligations on its US $24.6 billion debt. When the Marcos government ended, the Philippine debt reached $28 billion.

TOURISM CONTACT

The Provincial Tourism Office can assist you in getting your itinerary together. Call Tourism Officer Angel Lao at +6377/ 770-42-42 or 722-12-11 to 20 loc 119. You can also send an email to Ms. Lao at in.tourism@yahoo.com.

Photo and Article Source: Inflight Magazine (Seair)