Ferdinand E. Marcos
"There are many things we do not want about the world. Let us not just mourn them. Let us change them."
Born: September 11, 1917
Died: September 28, 1989
Position in History: Philippines: 10th President, Third Republic: 6th President, Fourth Republic: 1st President
First Presidential Term: December 30, 1965 - December 30, 1969
Second Presidential Term: December 30, 1969 - June 30, 1981
(extended by martial law, otherwise until December 30, 1973)
Third Presidential Term: June 30, 1981 - February 25, 1986
Fourth Presidential Term: February 25, 1986 (overthrown on the same day)
Duration of Terms: 1461 days (first), 4200 days (second), 1701 days (third), 7362 days (total)
Ferdinand Edralin Marcos, the most infamous Philippine president and one of the few prime ministers of the Philippines, was born on September 11, 1917, in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte. His parents, Don Mariano Marcos and Doña Josefa Edralin were both teachers. As a resulted of this, Marcos transferred from school to school for his primary education during 1923 - 1929. In 1929, Marcos entered the University of the Philippines High School were he obtained his law degree with honours in 1933. Marcos continued his education at the University of the Philippines in 1933. His father was also a politician and was an assemblyman and a representative of Ilocos Norte. However, in 1935, Don Mariano Marcos was defeated by his political enemy, Julio Nalundasan in the local elections. Julio Nalundasan was shot dead shortly after being declared the winner. Ferdinand Marcos, along with his father and two uncles, was arrested and charged with the murder of Julio Nalundasan in 1938.
In April 1939, Marcos received Bachelors of Laws and studied for the bar examinations while in prison. He posted bail in August the same year to attend the bar exams. In September 1939, Macros, his father and two uncles stood trial before Laoag Provincial Court of First Instance. In November 1939, Ferdinand Marcos was summoned by the university dean on suspicion of cheating in the bar exams. Marcos managed to justify his extremely high marks but was not allowed to take oath as his own trial was still pending. Some months later Marcos was found guilty by the Laoag Provincial Court and sentenced to imprisonment.
Marcos appealed to the Supreme Court and defended himself. The Supreme Court under Justice Jose P. Laurel granted Marcos acquittal after finding the prosecution's case contradictory. In effect, Marcos has won his first case before he had even started to practice law. The Philippine Free Press called him lawyer of the year in the November 12, 1940 issue. Marcos became a trial lawyer in Manila. During World War II, he served in the Philippine armed forces. He was captured by the Japanese but managed to survive and escape the Death March from Bataan to Central Luzon and then joined the guerrilla units in Luzon. However, American archive documents show Marcos had very little or no participation in the anti-Japanese guerrilla units.
In 1946, Marcos returned to Manila to resume law practice and served as technical assistant to President Roxas 1946 - 1947. He campaigned for a seat in Congress under the Liberal Party and in 1949, at the age of 32 he became the youngest member of the House of Representatives. Marcos was re-elected as congressman of Ilocos Norte in 1953 and again in 1957. He married Imelda Romualdez on May 1, 1954, in Trinidad, Benguet after a courtship of only eleven days. The principal sponsor was President Magsaysay and the reception was held on Malacañan Palace grounds.
During his second term in Congress, Marcos served as acting temporary president of the Liberal Party and ran for a seat in the Senate during his third term. In 1959, he was elected a senator and served as Senate president 1963 - 1965. In 1961, Marcos gave way to Diosdado Macapagal as Liberal Party presidential candidate on the agreement that Macapagal would support Marcos as presidential candidate in the 1965 presidential elections. Marcos served as Macapagal's campaign manager.
In April 1964, Marcos was sworn into the Nacionalista by Jose P. Laurel Jr. after President Macapagal refused to honour their agreement and decided to run for re-election. In November 1964, he won the Nacionalista Party nominations for candidate in the presidential elections. The campaigns for the presidential elections of 1965 were very expensive and vicious. Both Marcos and Macapagal spent about P32 million each. However, Marcos defeated Macapgal by just under 674,000 votes (both candidates had over three million votes each).
During his first term in office, Marcos created a spending program on public works. This included uniting the islands by building roads and bridges. Elsewhere money was spent on health centres, schools and beautification projects. He also concentrated on self-sufficiency in rice. Marcos was so successful in his first term that he made history by becoming the first president of the Third Republic of the Philippines to be re-elected. His popularity went into decline during his second term. Students and activists started protesting against Marcos and abuses by the military. Communists began recruiting and established a guerrilla army which in turn started a campaign of violent activities. As a result of military abuses, war erupted in the Muslim areas of Mindanao.
Marcos held the Constitution Convention in 1971. The 1935 Constitution denied him a third term in office. Many of the delegates in the convention were bribed into changing this to allow Marcos more terms. The bribery scandal was exposed and this particular part of the constitution was not amended. On September 21, 1972, Marcos signed Proclamation No. 1081 placing the entire nation under martial law. Thousands of people including communists and activists were arrested and imprisoned without due process. The 1935 Constitution was suspended and replaced in 1973. The 1973 Constitution granted the president a term of six years in office with no limit number of terms. The president was also mandated to continue in office under a period martial law. A semi-parliamentary form of government was established under the new constitution.
Martial law was lifted in 1981, after eight years and Marcos announced presidential elections were to be held. He won the 1981 elections (which are generally belived to have been under the control of Marcos) with a huge majority under his the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan Party (KBL). Presidential elections were held again in February 1986. Marcos ran against Corazon Aquino. The elections were greatly fraudulent to Marcos' advantage. He was declared the winner. Protests against Marcos and the election fraud started. Marcos planned to deal with the protests and to re-impose martial law. However, the military defected. Marcos was sworn in as president in the early morning of February 26, 1986. His fourth presidential term ended in the afternoon the same day amidst the civilian and military uprising known as the EDSA Revolution. Marcos, his family and closest followers fled to Honolulu, Hawaii.
In 1987, it is believed Marcos was conspiring to raise an army, invade the Philippines and take office by force. However, the US authorities learned of this and Marcos was confined to the island. Legal proceedings took place concerning the ill-gotten wealth Marcos had amassed and the crimes he had committed. He was unable to attend the hearings himself due to deterioration of health and died before the hearings concluded. His wife Imelda was put on trial but acquitted on July 2, 1990. She returned to the Philippines with the remains of her husband.
After the Marcos regime ended, the Philippines was in a far worse state than before Marcos became president. Between 1983 - 1985, the economy contracted and economic growth became negative. As a result, the Philippines had the highest debt burden in East and Southeast Asia. The Central Bank of the Philippines admitted it was unable to meet obligations on the US$24.6 billion debt. In effect, the Philippines had become bankrupt. By the time of his otherthrow in 1986, the debt had reached about US$28 billion. Marcos and his cronies had illegally extracted billions from the Philippine economy. The exact fortune Marcos amassed is unknown. Estimates suggest it lies between US$3 billion and US$35 billion. Also, 24.6 kg of gold was found in one of the numerous Marcos' Swiss bank accounts. Marcos arrived in Hawaii with suitcases full of jewels, 24 gold bricks and paperwork relating to large amounts of money in various Swiss bank accounts.
