The Marcos Japanese ODA Scandal, referred to in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

simply as the , or "Marcos scandal", refers to incidents of alleged

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

linked to Japanese

Official Development Assistance Official development assistance (ODA) is a category used by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to measure foreign aid. The DAC first adopted the concept in 1969. It is w ...

(ODA) to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

during Philippine president

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

' administration. The scandal so preoccupied the Japanese legislature in 1986 that the legislative session of that year earned the nickname of the "Marcos Diet." The lessons from the Marcos corruption scandals were among the reasons why Japan created its 1992 ODA Charter.

Revelations

When the Marcoses were exiled to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in February 1986 after the

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, were a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

, the American authorities confiscated papers that the Marcoses brought with them. The confiscated documents revealed that since the 1970s, Marcos and his associates embezzled 10 to 15 percent of Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund loans through commissions from about fifty Japanese contractors.

Background

When Ferdinand Marcos first became president in 1965, he appointed his

Upsilon Sigma Phi The Upsilon Sigma Phi () is the oldest Greek-letter organization and fraternity in Asia. Founded in 1918, it is also the oldest student organization in continuous existence in the University of the Philippines. It has two chapters—an integra ...

fraternity brother and golfing buddy

Roberto Benedicto Roberto Salas Benedicto (April 17, 1917 – May 15, 2000) was a Filipino lawyer, ambassador, diplomat, and banker historically most remembered as a crony of President Ferdinand Marcos. Benedicto owned Philippine Exchange Company, the '' Phili ...

as the Philippines' ambassador to Japan. Benedicto's appointment as Japanese ambassador allowed him to develop high-level contacts in Japan, and allowed him to acquire over $550 million in World War II reparations, which he allegedly used to forward his own private interests. Benedicto's ambassadorship also gave him insider knowledge regarding the business interests of the Japanese, which allowed him to arrange lucrative joint-venture operations between Japanese corporations and his own. In 1972, Ferdinand Marcos abolished the Philippine

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

under

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

, and took on its legislative powers as part of his authoritarian rule. Benedicto and Marcos then ratified the Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation ten days prior to a visit of Japanese Prime Minister

Kakuei Tanaka was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan, prime minister of Japan from 1972 to 1974. Known for his background in construction and earthy and tenacious political style, Tanaka is the only modern Japanese prime minister who ...

, giving Japan a “most-favored nation” status. Prior to this, the Philippine legislature had refused to ratify the measure for 13 years after it was first proposed. By 1975 three years later, Japan had displaced the United States as the main source of investment in the country.

Aftermath

The Marcos ODA scandal and other incidents of corruption were issues that the succeeding administrations of presidents

Corazon Aquino María Corazón "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines and the first woman president in the country, from Presidency of Corazon ...

and

Fidel V. Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military officer to reached ...

had to address. The Japanese government discreetly requested the Philippine government to downplay the issue as it would affect the business sector and bilateral relations. The lessons from the Marcos scandals were among the reasons why Japan created its 1992 ODA Charter.

References

{{The Marcoses Ferdinand Marcos administration controversies Japan–Philippines relations Political corruption in the Philippines Political scandals in Japan Corruption in Japan 1986 scandals Japan International Cooperation Agency 1986 in Japanese politics

Revelations

Background

Aftermath

See also

References