Ferdinand Marcos

Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. From 1972 to 1981, Marcos ruled the Philippines under martial law, embracing a policy of "constitutional authoritarianism." Following the lifting of martial law in 1981, a wide-ranging economic crisis, and the assassination of Ninoy Aquino, Marcos was deposed in 1986 by the People Power Revolution and was succeeded as president by Aquino's widow, Corazon Aquino.^[1][2]

Early life and education

Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos was born in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, on September 11, 1917. His father, Mariano Marcos (1897–1945), was a lawyer who represented Ilocos Norte in the House of Representatives of the Philippines from 1925 to 1931. His mother, Josefa Edralin Marcos (1893–1988), was a schoolteacher.^[1]

Education

From 1923 to 1929, Marcos attended Sarrat Elementary School, Shamrock Elementary School (in Laoag), and Ermita Elementary School (in Manila). He received his secondary education at University of the Philippines High School and attended University of the Philippines Manila, studying liberal arts before studying law at University of the Philippines College of Law. At the College of Law, he joined Upsilon Sigma Phi, where he first met many of his future colleagues and critics.^[1]

World War II

Marcos's military service record, and his alleged exaggeration of it, have been the source of controversy and confusion. Near the end of his presidency, researchers found that most stories about Marcos's military service were inaccurate or untrue.^[1]

Political rise (1949–1965)

After World War II, the Philippines gained political independence from the United States on July 4, 1946. Marcos was appointed as one of eleven special prosecutors, tasked to prosecute those accused of collaboration with the Japanese. Leveraging this appointment and his exaggerated war record, Marcos eventually entered politics as a member of the new Liberal Party.^[1]

Second term (1969–1972)

Marcos's second term was characterized by social unrest, beginning with the 1969 balance of payments crisis, which was triggered by exuberant infrastructure spending. Opposition groups began to form, with moderate opposition calling for political reform and radicals espousing revolutionary ideology. A period of unrest and political violence culminated in Marcos's 1972 declaration of martial law, ending his term early and establishing himself as the constitutional dictator of the Philippines.^[1]

Military dictatorship (1972–1981)

On the evening of September 23, 1972, shortly after the attempted assassination of Enrile, Marcos declared martial law in the Philippines and extended his rule beyond the two-term constitutional limit. Although martial law was formally lifted on January 17, 1981, this marked the beginning of a 14-year period of autocracy lasting until Marcos fled into exile on February 25, 1986. After 1981, Marcos retained virtually all of his constitutional authority until he was ousted.^[1]

Human rights abuses

The Marcos regime committed documented human rights abuses against a long list of opponents, particularly after the institution of martial law in 1972. These included student activists, farmers, journalists, legal political opponents, and priests and nuns. Victims were commonly accused of supporting communist rebels or other leftists or of joining or sympathizing with insurrectionist groups, including the Communist Party, NPA, or Moro National Liberation Front.^[1]

Estimates

It is difficult to develop a precise accounting of the abuses under the Marcos regime due to heavy press censorship at the time.^[1]

Assassination of Julio Nalundasan

In 1934, Mariano Marcos lost his campaign for re-election to the House of Representatives to Julio Nalundasan. Mariano Marcos challenged Nalundasan again in the 1935 election but was defeated. On the day after the election, September 21, 1935, Nalundasan was killed by a single rifle shot at his home in Batac.^[1]