The Fourth Philippine Republic, also known as the Fourth Republic of the Philippines ( tl, Repúbliká ng Pilipinas; es, República de Filipinas) was established after
Ferdinand Marcos Sr won the
June 16, 1981 Philippine Presidential Election. Marcos announced the beginning of the Fourth Republic on June 30, during his inauguration speech. On February 25, 1986, due to the
1986 EDSA Revolution
The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of c ...
, Marcos ended into exile in Hawaii and
Corazon Aquino became the 11th president of the Philippines.
The Fourth Republic would come to an end under Aquino's leadership, and the
Fifth Republic would commence with the adoption of a new constitution.
Background
Marcos officially lifted martial law on January 17, 1981. However, he retained much of the government's power for arrest and detention. At the time,
Corruption,
nepotism, as well as civil unrest contributed to a serious decline in economic growth and development under Marcos, whose own health faced obstacles due to
lupus.
The political opposition boycotted the
1981 presidential elections, which pitted Marcos and his ''
Kilusang Bagong Lipunan'' party against retired Gen.
Alejo Santos
Alejo Santos Santos (born Alejo de los Santos de los Santos; July 17, 1911 – February 18, 1984) was a Filipino soldier and World War II hero who parlayed his fame into a political career. His prestige was somewhat marred in later life when he ...
of the
Nacionalista Party, in protest over his control over the results.
Marcos won by a margin of over 16 million votes, which constitutionally allowed him to have another six-year term under the new Constitution that his administration crafted.
Finance Minister
Cesar Virata
Cesar Enrique Aguinaldo Virata (born 12 December 1930) is a Filipino former statesman and businessman who was the fourth Prime Minister of the Philippines from 1981 to 1986. He is currently the corporate vice chairman of the Rizal Commercial B ...
was eventually appointed to succeed Marcos as Prime Minister by the ''
Batasang Pambansa
The Batasang Pambansa Complex, or simply the Batasan (), is the seat of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. It is located along the Batasan Road in Batasan Hills, Quezon City.
The complex was initially the home of the Batasang ...
''.
In 1983, opposition leader Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. was assassinated at the
Manila International Airport
Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA , ; fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Ninoy Aquino or ''Pandaigdigang Paliparan ng Ninoy Aquino''; ), originally known and still commonly referred to as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main ...
upon his return to the Philippines after a long period of exile in the United States. This coalesced popular dissatisfaction with Marcos began a series of events, including pressure from the United States, that culminated in a
snap presidential election on February 7, 1986. The opposition united under Aquino's widow,
Corazon Aquino, and
Salvador Laurel
Salvador Roman Hidalgo Laurel (, November 18, 1928 – January 27, 2004), also known as Doy Laurel, was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the vice president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992 under President Corazon Aquino an ...
, head of the
United Nationalists Democratic Organizations
The United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO) was the main political multi-party electoral alliance of the traditional political opposition during the turbulent last years of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos in the mid-1980s. It w ...
(UNIDO). The election was marred by widespread reports of violence and tampering with results by both sides.
The official election canvasser, the
Commission on Elections
An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
(COMELEC), declared Marcos the winner, despite a walk-out staged by disenfranchised computer technicians on February 9. According to the COMELEC's final tally, Marcos won with 10,807,197 votes to Aquino's 9,291,761 votes. By contrast, the partial 70% tally of the
National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections
The National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections or NAMFREL is an election watchdog in the Philippines. It was the first and one of the most famous election watch campaigns. It is known to have introduced non-partisan national election monitor ...
, an accredited poll watcher, said Aquino won with 7,835,070 votes to Marcos's 7,053,068.
A peaceful civilian-military uprising, now popularly called the
People Power Revolution
The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of c ...
, forced Marcos into exile and installed
Corazon Aquino as president on February 25, 1986. The administration of Marcos has been called by various sources as a
kleptocracy
Kleptocracy (from Ancient Greek, Greek κλέπτης ''kléptēs'', "thief", κλέπτω ''kléptō'', "I steal", and -κρατία -''kratía'' from κράτος ''krátos'', "power, rule") is a government whose Corruption, corrupt leaders ...
and a
conjugal dictatorship
''The Conjugal Dictatorship of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos'' is a 1976 memoir written by press censor and propagandist Primitivo Mijares. It details the inner workings of Philippine martial law under Ferdinand Marcos from the perspective of M ...
.
1981 Presidential Election
The ''1981 Philippine presidential election and national referendum'' was held on June 16, 1981. President
Ferdinand E. Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...
of the
Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) defeated retired general and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
veteran
Alejo Santos
Alejo Santos Santos (born Alejo de los Santos de los Santos; July 17, 1911 – February 18, 1984) was a Filipino soldier and World War II hero who parlayed his fame into a political career. His prestige was somewhat marred in later life when he ...
of the
Nacionalista Party in a landslide victory. Most opposition parties boycotted the election as a sign of protest over the
1978 election for the
Interim Batasang Pambansa
The Interim Batasang Pambansa (English: Interim National Assembly) was the legislature of the Republic of the Philippines from its inauguration on June 12, 1978 to June 5, 1984. It served as a transitional legislative body mandated by the 1973 ...
(National Assembly), which they condemned as fraudulent. At the same time, a national referendum was held on the question in holding
elections for barangay elections in 1982.
Marcos' 80% margin of victory is the most lopsided
Philippine presidential election
This list of presidential elections in the Philippines includes election results of both presidential and vice presidential elections since 1899 with the candidates' political party and their corresponding percentage.
The offices of the president ...
ever, him getting 88% of the vote is also the largest in Philippine presidential election history, also beating Quezon's 1941 record of 82%. This is also the most votes received by a person in the Philippines for a single-winner election until
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
when
Sara Duterte won 32 million votes; for multiple-winner elections, it was beaten by
Mar Roxas in
2004 with 19 million votes. This was also the presidential election with the most number of candidates, with 13, although nine candidates with the fewest votes collectively just got 0.13% of the vote.
Marcos would have served another six-year term ending in 1987, but it was cut short by the
1986 snap election that eventually resulted in his ouster in the
People Power Revolution
The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of c ...
.
Assassination of Ninoy Aquino
The ''Assassination of Ninoy Aquino'' was credited with transforming the Philippine opposition to the Marcos regime from a small, isolated movement into a national crusade, incorporating people from all walks of life. The middle class got involved, the impoverished majority participated, and business leaders whom Marcos had irked during martial law endorsed the campaign—all with the crucial support of the military and the Catholic Church hierarchy. The assassination showed the increasing incapacity of the Marcos regime—Ferdinand was mortally ill when the crime occurred while his cronies mismanaged the country in his absence. It outraged Aquino's supporters that Marcos, if not masterminding it, allowed the assassination to happen and engineered its cover-up. The mass revolt caused by Aquino's demise attracted worldwide media attention and Marcos's American contacts, as well as the
Reagan administration
Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over ...
, began distancing themselves. There was a global media spotlight on the Philippine crisis, and exposes on Imelda's extravagant lifestyle (most infamously, her thousands of pairs of shoes) and "mining operations", as well as Ferdinand's excesses, came into focus.
End of the Fourth Republic
The ''1986 Philippine presidential election'' was generally perceived to be fraudulent, both locally and internationally. The International observers, including a U.S. delegation led by Senator
Richard Lugar, denounced the official results. Corazon Aquino rejected the results and held the "Tagumpay ng Bayan" (People's Victory) rally at Luneta Park on February 16, 1986, announcing a civil disobedience campaign and calling for her supporters to boycott publications and companies which were associated with Marcos or any of his cronies. The event was attended by a crowd of about two million people. Aquino's camp began making preparations for more rallies, and Aquino herself went to Cebu to rally more people to their cause.
In the aftermath of the election and the revelations of irregularities, A small contingent of Aquino supporters, led by her brother in law
Butz Aquino
Agapito "Butz" Aquino (May 20, 1939 – August 17, 2015) was a Senator of the Philippines from 1987 to 1995, congressman from Makati and a part-time film and television actor. He was born to former senator Benigno S. Aquino Sr. and Aurora Aqu ...
, went to EDSA to express support the coup plotters, in the hope of preventing Marcos from annihilating them. At around the same time, Ramos and Enrile contacted the highly influential Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal
Jaime Sin to ask for help.
Cardinal Sin went on radio and encouraged people on the capital to likewise go to EDSA to support Ramos and Enrile, and crowds, already preparing to conduct election protests, trooped en masse to the stretch of EDSA between the two camps.
This evolved in the largely peaceful
1986 EDSA Revolution
The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of c ...
, which ended with Marcos going into exile in Hawaii and
Corazon Aquino becoming the 11th president of the Philippines on February 25, 1986. Under Aquino, the Philippines would adopt a new constitution, ending the Fourth Republic and ushering in the beginning of the
Fifth Republic.
By the end of the Marcos dictatorial era, the country was experiencing a debt crisis,
extreme poverty, and severe underemployment.
Government
1981-1986
Starting 1981, The Philippines was under
Unitary
Unitary may refer to:
Mathematics
* Unitary divisor
* Unitary element
* Unitary group
* Unitary matrix
* Unitary morphism
* Unitary operator
* Unitary transformation
* Unitary representation
* Unitarity (physics)
* ''E''-unitary inverse semigrou ...
dominant-party
A dominant-party system, or one-party dominant system, is a political occurrence in which a single political party continuously dominates election results over running opposition groups or parties. Any ruling party staying in power for more t ...
semi-presidential
A semi-presidential republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliamentary republic in that it has a ...
constitutional republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...
under a
conjugal dictatorship
A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship a ...
. Marcos' administration was noted for its authoritarian rule, especially under the
Martial law era. Even after Marcos officially lifted martial law, he still retained all presidential decrees, legislative powers and the suspension of the privilege of the
writ of habeas corpus
''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...
. On 1986, A
provisional revolutionary government was set up in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
following the
People Power Revolution
The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of c ...
which ended on February 25. The revolution removed President
Ferdinand Marcos, who ruled as a dictator, from office and installed
Corazon Aquino as the new president of the country.
1986-1987
The Provisional Government of the Philippines in 1986 to 1987 functioned as a
Interim provisional revolutionary government, although never was officially characterized as such.
The legislative powers under the provisional government was exercised by the President with the abolishment of the
Batasang Pambansa
The Batasang Pambansa Complex, or simply the Batasan (), is the seat of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. It is located along the Batasan Road in Batasan Hills, Quezon City.
The complex was initially the home of the Batasang ...
.
Economy
During Marcos' declaration of Martial Law and his overthrow in the event of the 1986 People Power Revolution, the Philippine economy saw significant highs and lows.
The commodities boom continued throughout most of the 70s, only slowing down towards the early 1980s when it left the Philippine economy vulnerable to the instability of the international capital market.
As a result, the economy grew amidst the two severe global oil shocks following the
1973 oil crisis and
1979 energy crisis
The 1979 oil crisis, also known as the 1979 Oil Shock or Second Oil Crisis, was an energy crisis caused by a drop in oil production in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. Although the global oil supply only decreased by approximately four per ...
–
oil price
The price of oil, or the oil price, generally refers to the spot price of a barrel () of benchmark crude oil—a reference price for buyers and sellers of crude oil such as West Texas Intermediate (WTI), Brent Crude, Dubai Crude, OPEC Ref ...
was $3 / barrel in 1973 and $39.5 in 1979, or a growth of 1200% which drove inflation.
The Heritage Foundation pointed that when the economy began to weaken in 1979, the government did not adopt anti-recessionist policies and instead launched risky and costly industrial projects.
Despite the 1984–1985 recession, GDP on a per capita basis more than tripled from $175.9 in 1965 to $565.8 in 1985 at the end of Marcos' term, though this averages less than 1.2% a year when adjusted for inflation.
The overall economy experienced a slower growth GDP per capita, lower wage conditions and higher unemployment especially towards the end of Marcos' term after the 1983–1984 recession. The Philippine peso devalued sharply from 3.9 to 20.53. The recession was triggered largely by political instability following Ninoy's assassination, high global interest rates,
severe global economic recession, and
significant increase in global oil price, the latter three of which affected all indebted countries in
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, Europe, and Asia. The Philippines was among these countries and was not exempted from the negative economic consequences.
The period is sometimes erroneously described as a golden age for the country's economy.
However, by the period's end, the country was experiencing a debt crisis, extreme poverty, and severe underemployment.
On the island of
Negros
Negros is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . Negros is one of the many islands of the Visayas, in the central part of the country. The predominant inhabitants of the island region a ...
, one-fifth of the children under six were seriously malnourished.
The country's total external debt rose from US$2.3 billion in 1970 to US$26.2 billion in 1985.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:History of the Philippines (1965-1986)
Presidency of Ferdinand Marcos
Presidencies of the Philippines
Ferdinand Marcos
1981 establishments in the Philippines
1980s in the Philippines
1986 disestablishments in the Philippines