Independence

When the United Nations was established in September 1945, the Commonwealth of the Philippines was listed as a charter member. The Commonwealth was granted full independence in 1946 and renamed the Republic of the Philippines. Manuel Roxas became the first president, serving until 1948. The United States retained some privileges. Roxas gave United States citizens equality with Filipinos in exploiting the country's natural resources. The United States also retained its naval base at Subic Bay and Clark Air Base, both near Manila. (By 1992 the United States had given up both of these bases.)

The ruling Filipino elite was challenged after World War II by a Communist-led armed peasant movement, the Hukbalahap whose members are commonly called Huks. The Huks had originally emerged as an anti-Japanese guerrilla army. It was not until 1954 that President Ramon Magsaysay succeeded in suppressing the Huk rebellion for the time being.

Magsaysay was an extremely popular president because of his attempts to bring the government closer to the citizens. He instituted some agricultural reforms, among them the resettlement of landless tenant farmers and the establishment of courts to handle their grievances. Unfortunately, Magsaysay was not able to continue his reforms because he was killed in a plane crash in 1954. During succeeding administrations agricultural reformers met with increasing resistance from the large landowners. Some presidents have been large landowners themselves Marcos and Aquino among them.

Two more presidents, Carlos Garcia (held office 1957-61) and Diosdado Macapagal (held office 1961-65), held office before the former World War II hero, Ferdinand Marcos, was elected in 1965. How the Marcos regime would have turned out, had he not faced so many difficulties, is impossible to say. During his first years in office the Huk insurgency resumed. By 1970, students, farmers, and workers were demonstrating for reforms. There were also violent outbreaks by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), an organization of armed Muslims in Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago, which sought autonomy. Marcos declared martial law on Sept. 21, 1972, claiming that it was the last defense against rising disorder. He jailed opponents who opposed his rule, including Benigno Aquino, Jr.

A new constitution providing for a parliamentary system of government was approved and ratified in a nationwide referendum in 1973. Marcos assumed the office of prime minister. Incomes of workers steadily declined during the 1970s, and a general disillusionment developed about martial law and the consolidation of power by the Marcos regime. Elections for an interim National Assembly were held in April 1978, and the main opposition group was led by Benigno Aquino, who was still in prison. The election gave the opposition few seats, leading to charges of election fraud. In 1980 Aquino was released so that he could travel to the United States for heart surgery.

In January 1981 martial law was finally lifted, although Marcos continued his dictatorial rule. He won a virtually uncontested election for a new six-year term. The economy continued to disintegrate amid charges of overwhelming corruption by Marcos, his wife, Imelda, and other associates. The population increasingly opposed his rule.

On Aug. 21, 1983, Benigno Aquino flew to Manila from the United States. As he was leaving the airplane, he was assassinated by one or more uniformed soldiers. The government blamed Communist rebels, but the evidence (the event was caught on film) pointed to the government itself. On Nov. 3, 1985, under mounting pressure from Filipinos and from the Reagan Administration in Washington, Marcos called for new presidential elections to be held on Feb. 7, 1986, more than a year ahead of schedule.

His opponent in the election was Corazon Aquino, widow of the slain Benigno Aquino. Marcos was declared the winner in an election that was marred by violence and fraud despite the presence of American poll watchers. Strong public outcry precipitated a revolt that finally drove Marcos from power. Marcos and his family, accompanied by several of his cronies, fled to Hawaii on Feb. 26, 1986, at the urging of the United States government. Aquino then assumed the presidency. American customs officials impounded huge sums of money and other valuables carried by the exiles. The Aquino government claimed that about 3 billion dollars had been looted from the Philippines under Marcos.

During the Aquino presidency there were six unsuccessful military coup attempts, the most serious one in December 1989. The president always garnered enough military support to put down these insurrections, but the frequency of the attempts suggests the difficulties of her presidency and of the generally poor economic climate. The Philippines was left behind by the remarkable economic advances that took place in other parts of the Far East.

Ferdinand Marcos died in Hawaii in 1989. Aquino, concerned about possible demonstrations, refused to allow his body to be flown back for burial. In mid-1990, Imelda Marcos was acquitted in New York City of charges of racketeering, fraud, and obstruction of justice. Aquino still refused Imelda Marcos's request to return to the Philippines. On Sept. 28, 1990, a Manila court convicted 16 military men of murdering Benigno Aquino and sentenced them to life imprisonment. Finally, in November 1991, Imelda Marcos was allowed to return home, but she returned to face charges brought by the government. In 1992 permission was granted to return the body of Ferdinand Marcos, which was buried in his home province of Ilocos.

Longtime close and friendly relations with the United States deteriorated in the last years of the 20th century. One reason for this is the unflagging support for Marcos that the American government offered until Corazon Aquino defeated him. Another point of conflict lay in the two large American military installations: Clark Air Base in Angeles and Subic Bay Naval Base in Olongapo. Both are located on Luzon. On May 15, 1990, formal notice was served by the Philippine government that the agreement on maintaining the military bases would expire on Sept. 16, 1991.

The United States government negotiated for a ten-year period to phase the bases out. This became a moot issue with regard to Clark Air Base after Mount Pinatubo erupted in the first half of 1991. Clark Air Base was buried under about 10 feet (3 meters) of ash and was rendered unusable. When the Philippine government refused to allow an extension of the lease for Subic Bay, the United States agreed to pull out. It closed the base in mid-1992. Militarily, loss of the bases was not a serious problem, coming as it did after the end of the Cold War, the collapse of Communism, and the breakup of the Soviet Union.

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