Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr.
was known as a dictator and he had
been controversial since then until now. He was ousted when People Power
Revolution rose which then made for former President Corazon Aquino to
replace him. In 1989 at the age of 72, Marcos died in Hawaii, United States.
Under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, Marcos was finally
allowed to be buried at the “Libingan ng mga Bayani” which many Filipinos
contested to.
He first seated as the President of the Philippines back in December 1965
until February 1986. Marcos ruled the Philippines for over 20 years.
September 23, 1972 he declared ‘martial law’ due to alleged attack from
rebels and communists.
According to KAMI has listed the pros and cons of the Marcos regime
throughout the 21 years he governed the country.
INFRASTRUCTURE, During the time of Marcos, infrastructures in the country
had bloomed. As written by Max Sangil in SunStar, Marcos administration
was able to build the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Kidney Center,
Philippine Heart Center, Folk Arts Center. Marcos also put up the Lung Center,
San Juanico Bridge, and the Manila Film Center. Criminal activities.
Criminal activities According to Sangil as well, the criminality lowered during
the time of Marcos due to the curfew imposed as part of martial law. The
corruption also lessened in government agencies like Bureau of Customs and
Bureau of Internal Revenue to the point that they brought their own “baon”
for lunch when they used to eat at the Manila Hotel before.
Transportation and Geothermal power
Marcos was the man behind the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) as well as
the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX). During his regime, Manila Light Rail
Transit (LRT) was also built. All these are still being used by the Filipinos up
until now. According to Lopez Link, in 1983, Philippines became the world’s
second largest producer of geothermal power.
Cons
Philippines’ external debt
Marcos went on a ‘borrowing spree’ in between the 70’s to early 80’s. In 1975,
the external debt reached from $4.1 billion to $8.2 billon. In 1982, it went
higher up to $24.4 billion. The debt exceeded more than the exports at that
time.
Freedom of Expression and of the Press
When Marcos declared martial law, the media was shut down. As written by
Jose Santos and Melanie Pinlac in Center for Media Freedom and
Responsibility (CMFR)’s website, media practitioner as well as the opposition
personalities who criticized Marcos were brought to military camps for
detention. As per Department of Public Information (DPI) mandated, all media
publications must seek permission from them first. Marcos also issued a
Presidential Decree to penalize anyone who would “undermine the integrity if
the government” through print or even just possessing leaflets about it.
Everything went through censorship.
Human rights violation
As reported by The Manila Times, around 3, 257 were killed during the martial
law. The data was written by American historian Alfred McCoy who authored
A Question of Torture and Policing America’s Empire. “Under Marcos military
murder was the apex of a pyramid of terror with 3,257 killed, an estimated
35,000 tortured, and some 70,000 arrested,” McCoy wrote. Prominent
oppositions were also arrested that time like the late Senators Ninoy Aquino,
Jose Diokno, Lorenzo Tañada and Jovito Salonga. Former Senate President
Auquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. was arrested as well.
