Is Ferdinand Marcos a Good President: The Marcos Presidency

Introduction

Ferdinand E. Marcos was the tenth President of the Philippines who served for two decades. After serving two terms from 1965 to 1972, he declared martial law to suppress the political chaos that was prevalent at that time. He ended it in 1981 and was removed from power in 1986. Using primary (video and official documents) and secondary (discussion paper) sources, this paper provides a review on the economic and social contributions Marcos brought to the country and an analysis of the opposing views on his image. The question of 'Is Ferdinand Marcos a good president?' has been a subject of intense debate among historians, scholars, and the Filipino population, making it crucial to examine both sides of his leadership.

In his inaugural address, Marcos spoke about the miserable state of the country: “Our people have come to a point of despair. I know this for I have personally met many of you. I have heard the cries of thousands and clasped hands in brotherhood with millions of you. I know the face of despair and I know the face of hunger because I have seen it in our barrios, huts and hovels all over our land. Unemployment has increased. Prices of essential commodities and services remain unstable. The availability of rice remains uncertain.” His vows were also stated and he, to make them true, said: “…We must drive ourselves to be great again. This is your dream and mine. …Let us march together towards the dream of greatness.”

Ferdinand Marcos' Economic and Social Contributions

In his first State of the Nation Address, Marcos mentioned his plans which included the strengthening of the agricultural sector, implementation of projects totaling to Php 3,986 million, extension of maximum protection to the working man, and massive production programs in rice, fish, vegetables, and meat.

Despite the many social and political challenges, such as the rebellions, Marcos was able to attain an achievement in uplifting the country’s economic situation. His accomplishments were along government reform, infrastructure investment, social and people‐oriented reform, and economic and industrial reform. Under government reform, Marcos designated professionals to lead the agencies. His keenness about whether the men and women that he put had the capability to perform their tasks got him good results in terms of job performance in the major programs in the economy and in the social sector.

In terms of infrastructures, Marcos’ projects complemented sector development goals. An example would be the major irrigation systems and hydroelectric power plants built in Luzon that supported the Green Revolution of the 1970s which resulted to the rise of agricultural productivity. Major programs that advanced the social agenda included Presidential Decree No. 27 of 1972 or the Land Reform Program of the Government that allowed the distribution of 3,739 hectares of lands in Central Luzon to farmers and the Green Revolution or Masagana 99 program that was initiated by the promotion of the cultivation of IR-8 hybrid rice. Furthermore, in Marcos’ 1972 message, it is stated that the Philippines became self-sufficient in rice in 1968 and exported rice worth US$ 7 million. In order to deal with the energy shock during the 1970s and to reduce dependence on petroleum, Marcos created the Department of Energy that would respond to the energy crisis. With the energy shock, the Middle East boomed and Marcos displayed efforts to employ Filipinos to work in the region’s construction and industrial sites. However, that attempt was quite unsuccessful due to the weak industrial base of the Philippine construction industry.

Stance on Ferdinand Marcos as a Good President

Filipinos have differing views about Marcos. Some believe him to be a great leader due to his accomplishments, while others think of him as a dictator and human rights violator since his administration was accused of plunder, nepotism, corruption, abuse of human rights, and crony capitalism. Gerardo Sicat, a Professor of Economics Emeritus in University of the Philippines, believes that Marcos lost his voice with his fall and that those who took power and succeeded him did their best in unmasking his faults and weaknesses. Since they had control over the airwaves, the journalistic space, and the current historical writing, Marcos’ great achievements were replaced by sad accusations.

Succession was the main thought of Marcos. As he governed the Philippines with greatness, he already knew that he couldn’t forever hold on to the power. He made mistakes, like any other politician, but no one could argue that he was advanced in the game of politics. He only wanted loyalty from his hardworking lieutenants. What others wanted was for him to introduce a good leader to at least preserve what he did and his legacy. However, Marcos concentrated on beholding succession that would reassure continuity for his personal bloodline. He speculated that his wife could be the one because his children were too young that time. It started when Marcos gave his wife prominent powers. Issues spread, like too much financial support on some programs that were not significant and that Imelda’s travels were only for fun and shopping. Marcos did not recognize what was really happening and, at the same time, his health was getting in the way. The worsening debt problem became into an economic crisis that was transformed also by the political crisis of 1983 due to the assassination of Ninoy Aquino. The government adopted the defensive economic measures to fend off the collapsing economy. The succession that was aforementioned became a problematic topic since Marcos could not deal with it properly. He held on to the political power that was already weak and could lead to his downfall.

Conclusion

People, being unique individuals, have different experiences that help create different viewpoints. While some have experienced the good side of Marcos’ presidency and hold the belief that Marcos was a great leader, others have experienced the bad and believe he was the opposite. These differing beliefs would go down many generations through word of mouth and history manipulation, and the cycle of this debate would go on. Nonetheless, this topic is a good example of how history, being subjective and biased, requires the use of various sources and multiperspective for a richer understanding and fair judgment.

Works Cited

1. Marcos, Ferdinand E. Inaugural Address. 30 December 1965.

2. Marcos, Ferdinand E. State of the Nation Address. 24 January 1966.

3. Sicat, Gerardo. 'Marcos, A Great Man But....' Discussion Paper Series No. 1987-05, Philippine Institute for Development Studies, 1987.

4. Hernandez, Leandro. 'Reevaluating the Marcos Years: A Review Essay.' Philippine Studies 47, no. 3 (1999): 369-390.

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5. Guerrero, Amado. 'The Unholy Trinity of the Philippines: Crony Capitalism, Plunder, and Human Rights Violations under Marcos.' Journal of Contemporary Asia 36, no. 3 (2006): 293-308.