Philippine Constitutional Convention of 1971

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Historical marker created by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the convention and installed inside the Manila Hotel. (PH Historical Marker) Kombensiyong Konstitusyonal ng 1971.jpg
Historical marker created by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the convention and installed inside the Manila Hotel.

The Philippine Constitutional Convention of 1971 was called to change the 1935 Constitution of the Philippines. The delegates were elected on November 10, 1970, and the convention itself was convened on June 1, 1971. It was marked by controversies, including efforts to uphold term limits for incumbent President Ferdinand Marcos, and a bribery scandal in which 14 people, including First Lady Imelda Marcos, were accused of bribing delegates to favor the Marcoses.

Contents

Marcos declared martial law in September 1972, and had 11 opposition delegates arrested. The remaining opposition delegates were forced to go either into exile or hiding. Within two months, an entirely new draft of the constitution was created from scratch by a special committee. The 1973 constitutional plebiscite was called to ratify the new constitution, but the validity of the ratification was brought to question because Marcos replaced the method of voting through secret ballot with a system of viva voce voting by "citizens' assemblies". The ratification of the constitution was challenged in what came to be known as the Ratification Cases.

Background

The 1935 Constitution

By the middle of the 1930s, the end of the American occupation of the Philippines was supposed to be in sight. In 1934 the US had approved a ten-year plan for the Philippines' transition from a commonwealth to a fully independent nation-state, based on the Jones Act of 1916. One of the preconditions for this independence was the creation of "a stable democratic government" based on the American model of governance, rather than being based on the French model as the Malolos Constitution had been. [1]

Although World War II interfered with the transition plan and a puppet constitution was put in place by the Japanese Imperial Army from 1943 until the defeat of the Japanese forces in 1944, the Philippines was granted independence on July 4, 1946. Upon independence, the 1935 constitution came into effect, featuring a government structure very similar to that of the United States: an executive branch with a President who could be elected to a maximum of two four-year terms; a bicameral legislature consisting of a congress and a senate; and an independent judicial branch. [1]

Campaign to change the 1935 Constitution

In 1967, the executive branch was headed by the tenth president, Ferdinand Marcos. Expressing opposition to the administration's policies and citing rising discontent over wide inequalities in society, [2] critics of Marcos began campaigning to change a constitution which they said had been written under the dominion of the country's former colonial overlords. [3] On March 16 of that year, the Philippine Congress constituted itself into a Constituent Assembly and passed Resolution No. 2, which called for a Constitutional Convention to change the 1935 Constitution. [4]

Marcos surprised his critics by endorsing the move, and it was later revealed that the resulting Constitutional Convention would lay the foundation for the legal justifications Marcos would use to extend his term past the two four-year terms allowable under the 1935 Constitution. [2]

Convention leadership and members

A special election was held on November 10, 1970, to elect the delegates of the convention. [2] :"130" Once the winners had been determined, the convention was convened on June 1, 1971, at the Manila Hotel [5] and was later transferred in 1972 to the then-newly completed Quezon City Hall. [6]

Former Philippine President Carlos P. Garcia was sworn in as the President of the Constitutional Convention on the day the convention was convened, but died thirteen days after taking oath. Former President Diosdado Macapagal replaced Garcia. [7] Sotero H. Laurel served as the President Pro-Tempore of the convention. [8]

A total of 320 delegates were elected to the convention, the most prominent being former senators Raul Manglapus and Roseller T. Lim. Other delegates would become influential political figures, including Hilario Davide, Jr., Marcelo Fernan, Sotero Laurel, Aquilino Pimentel, Jr., Teofisto Guingona, Jr., Raul Roco, Edgardo Angara, Richard Gordon, Margarito Teves, and Federico Dela Plana. [2] [8]

Delegates Elected to the 1971 Constitutional Convention, sorted according to Provincial District
ProvinceDistrictDelegates [8]
Abra Lone DistrictArturo V. Barbero
Loreto L. Seares
Agusan del Norte Lone District Edelmiro A. Amante
Antonio R. Tupaz
Agusan del Sur Lone DistrictLamberto M. Mordeno
Vicente M. Guzman
Aklan Lone DistrictAugusto B. Legaspi
Godofredo P. Ramos
Albay First DistrictJose A. Madrilejos, Jr.
Salvador C. Balane
Second DistrictDomingo R. Imperial, Jr.
Julian J. Locsin
Third DistrictEfren R. Sarte
Teresita D. Flores
Antique Lone DistrictAngel Salazar, Jr.
Arturo F. Pacificador
Bataan Lone DistrictJose R. Nuguid
Armando L. Abad, Sr.
Batanes Lone DistrictCustodio A. Villalva
Geronimo M. Cabal
Batangas First District Felixberto M. Serrano
Antonio de las Alas
Second DistrictHonesto Mendoza
Jose P. Leviste, Jr.
Antonio C. Alano
Third District Sotero H. Laurel
Artemio M. Lobrin
Oscar L. Leviste
Benguet Lone DistrictFloro R. Bugnosen
Fernando Bautista
Bohol First DistrictNatalio R. Castillo, Jr.
Victor de la Serna
Second DistrictTeogenes Borja
Jose S. Zafra
Third District Carlos P. Garcia
Simplico M. Apalisok
Bukidnon Lone DistrictDante Sarraga
Luis R. Lorenzo
Alfredo J. Lagamon
Bulacan First DistrictPablo S. Trillana III
Dakila F. Castro
Mateo A. T. Caparas
Second DistrictManuel C. Cruz
Justino P. Hermoso
Cesar B. Serapio
Magtanggol C. Guinigundo
Cagayan First DistrictManuel T. Molina
Jose T. Antonio
Pedro N. Laggui
Second DistrictLeoncio M. Puzon
Oscar L. Lazo
Camarines Norte First DistrictRogelio E. Panotes
Fernando S. Vinzons
Camarines Sur First District Raul S. Roco
Ramon A. Diaz
Antonio M. Sison
Second District Edmundo C. Cea
Domingo M. Guevarra
Eddie P. Alanis
Lilia B. de Lima
Felix R. Alfelor, Jr.
Camiguin Lone DistrictPedro P. Romualdo
Antonio V. Borromeo
Catanduanes Lone DistrictClemente A. Abundo
Rafael P. Santelices
Capiz First DistrictEnrique M. Belo
George H. Viterbo
Second DistrictDandy K. Tupaz
Pedro G. Exmundo
Cavite Lone DistrictJuanito R. Remulla
Abraham F. Sarmiento
Jose P. Santillan
Alberto Jamir
Cebu First DistrictLydia D. Rodriguez
Casimiro R. Madarang, Jr.
Second DistrictPedro L. Yap
Marcelo B. Fernan
Natalio B. Bacalso
Jesus P. Garcia
Third District Napoleon G. Rama
Antonio T. Bacaltos
Fourth DistrictOliveros E. Kintanar
Hilario G. Davide, Jr.
Fifth DistrictJorge Kintanar
Pedro B. Calderon
Sixth DistrictAndres R. Flores
Francis M. Zosa
Seventh DistrictAntionio Y. de Pio
Gerardo M. S. Pepito
Cotabato Lone DistrictMidpantao L. Adil
Linda U. Ampatuan
Anacleto D. Badoy, Jr.
Macario C. Camelo
Jose M. Estaniel
Michael O. Mastura
Sandiale A. Sambalawan
Duma D. Sinsuat
Sergio F. Tocao
Antionio R. Velasco
Davao del Norte Lone District Camilio L. Sabio
Gaudioso R. Buen
Lauro C. Arabejo
Ramon A. Tirol
Davao del Sur Lone DistrictIsmael I. Veloso
Leon M. Garcia, Jr.
Pedro S. Castillo
Dominador F. Carillo
Samuel C. Occeña
Jesus V. Matas
Davao Oriental Lone DistrictAdolfo A. Angala
Antonio D. Olmedo
Eastern Samar Lone DistrictJaime C. Opinion
Generoso A. Juaban
Ifugao Lone DistrictGaspar R. Ponchinlam
Raymundo Baguilat
Ilocos Norte First District Antonio V. Raquiza
Federico B. Ablan, Sr.
Second DistrictGregorio R. Paruganan
Emerito M. Salva
Ilocos Sur First DistrictRamon S. Encarnacion
Melchor G. Padua, Jr.
Second DistrictGodofredo S. Reyes
Eduardo Guirnalda
Iloilo First DistrictSalvador B. Britanico
Lourdes S. Trono
Second DistrictEmilio M. de la Cruz II
Oscar Ledesma
Third DistrictManuel C. Locsin
Amanio Sorongon
Fourth DistrictRamon A. Gonzales
Licurgo T. Tirador
Fifth DistrictSonia S. Aldeguer
Juan V. Borra
Isabela Lone DistrictBenjamin C. Reyes
Heherson T. Alvarez
Francisco B. Albano, Jr.
Leocadio E. Ignacio
Celso D. Gangan
Kalinga-Apayao Lone DistrictInfante S. Calaycay
Eubulo G. Verzola
Laguna First DistrictJose A. Yulo, Jr.
Manuel A. Concordia
Amado G. Garcia
Vicente G. Hocson
Second DistrictEstanislao A. Fernandez
Rustico F. de los Reyes
Lanao del Norte Lone DistrictMariano Ll. Badelles
Luis Quibranza
Francisco L. Abalos
Lanao del Sur Lone DistrictAhmed Domocao Alonto
Mangontawar B. Guro
Lininding P. Pangandaman
Oga M. Mapupuno
Pangalian M. Balindong
Tocod M. Macaraya
La Union First DistrictVictor F. Ortega
Pedro O. Valdez
Second DistrictAntonio M. de Guzman
Leyte First DistrictCirilo Roy Montejo
Eduardo Quintero
Second DistrictDamian V. Aldaba
Francisco A. Astilla
Third DistrictRamon V. Salazar
Antero M. Bongbong
Fourth DistrictDomingo Veloso
Flor L. Sagadal
Manila First DistrictReynaldo T. Fajardo
Salvador L. Mariño
Fidel A. Santiago
Second DistrictRoberto S. Oca
Juan T. David
Third DistrictGerardo S. Espina
Eduardo M. Sison
Feliciano Jover Ledesma
Fourth DistrictCarlos J. Valdez
Jose P. Marcelo
Antonio S. Araneta, Jr.
Marinduque Lone DistrictCarmencita O. Reyes
Ricardo G. Nepomuceno
Masbate Lone DistrictAndres C. Clemente, Jr.
Raul R. Estrella
Mateo A. Esparrago, Jr.
Venancio L. Yaneza
Mountain Province Lone DistrictWillian Claver
Felix Diaz
Northern Samar Lone DistrictEmil L. Ong
Cesar A. Sevilla
Nueva Ecija First DistrictRomeo T. Capulong
Rebeck A. Espiritu
Ernesto R. Rondon
Second DistrictJuan R. Liwag
Emmanuel T. Santos
Sedfrey A. Ordoñez
Raymundo A. Padiernos
Nueva Vizcaya Lone DistrictJose D. Calderon
Demetrio A. Quirino, Jr.
Occidental Mindoro Lone DistrictRicardo V. Quintos
Honofre Restor
Oriental Mindoro Lone DistrictJose A. Leido
Juan Luces A. Luna
Amado S. Tolentino, Jr.
Occidental Misamis Lone DistrictTimoteo C. Ruben
Julio H. Osamis
Elizabeth C. Johnston
Oriental Misamis Lone District Aquilino Pimentel, Jr.
Rolando C. Piit
Felino Neri
Pablo S. Reyes
Occidental Negros First DistrictCarlos Ledesma
Rodolfo Gamboa
Benito Montinola, Sr.
Emmanuel G. Aguilar
Ramon Hortinela, Jr.
Romeo C. Gonzaga
Second DistrictArsenio B. Yulo, Jr.
Carlos Hilado
Loreto V. Valera
Third DistrictGregorio Tingson
Plaridel G. Villadelgado
Jacinto Montilla
Juan G. Yulo
Oriental Negros First District Margarito Teves
Gonzalo O. Catan, Jr.
Vicente G. Sinco
Cicero D. Calderon
Second District Emilio C. Macias II
Felix G. Gaudiel, Sr.
Palawan Lone DistrictAlfredo E. Abueg, Jr.
Jose N. Nolledo
Pampanga First District Diosdado P. Macapagal
Amado M. Yuzon
Jose E. Suarez
Fidel U. Canilao
Second DistrictAmelito R. Mutuc
Ricardo M. Sagmit
Bren Z. Guiao
Pangasinan First DistrictMauro Baradi
Jose F. S. Bengson, Jr.
Second DistrictLuis C. Catubig
Numeriano G. Tanopo, Jr.
Third DistrictRicardo B. Primicias
Emiliano L. Abalos
Fourth DistrictReynaldo A. Villar
Jose M. Aruego
Fifth DistrictFelix M. Mamenta, Jr.
Jesus M. Reyes
Quezon First District Rodolfo D. Robles
Edgardo J. Angara
Vincent L. Recto
Leandro P. Garcia
Second DistrictGil G. Puyat, Jr.
Cesar A. Caliwara
Oscar F. Santos
Benjamin M. Campomanes
Rizal First District Raul S. Manglapus
Jesus G. Barrera
Voltaire R. Garcia
Salvador Z. Araneta
Jose Concepcion, Jr.
Jose Mari U. Velez
Jose Y. Feria
Augusto T. Kalaw
Jose Ma. V. Paredes
Miguel P. Cuaderno Sr.
Teofisto T. Guingona, Jr.
Leonardo Siguion Reyna
Ceferino P. Padua
Alejandro A. Lichauco
Tomas C. Benitez
Mary Rose J. Ezpeleta
Augusto Caesar Espiritu
Augusto L. Syjuco, Jr.
Second DistrictPacifico A. Ortiz
Gilberto M. Duavit
Emilio de la Paz, Jr.
Francisco Sumulong
Augusto Sanchez
Romblon Lone DistrictManuel F. Martinez
Ernesto G. Ang
Samar Lone DistrictDecoroso Rosales
Romualdo R. Mendiola
Ramon V. Mijares
Valeriano C. Yancha
Sorsogon First DistrictPacifico F. Lim
Bonifacio H. Gillego
Second DistrictJose L. Lachica
Celso P. Tabuena
South Cotabato Lone DistrictRodolfo A. Ortiz
Tomas T. Falgui
Fidel P. Purisima
Arturo P. Pingoy
Southern Leyte Lone DistrictGabriel O. Yñiguez
Federico U. de la Plana
Sulu Lone DistrictJal M. Anni
Tating Sangkula
Benjamin Abubakar
Surigao del Norte Lone DistrictConstantino M. Navarro, Jr.
Fanny C. Garcia
Surigao del Sur Lone DistrictVicente L. Pimentel
Eriberto B. Misa
Tarlac First DistrictMercedes C. Teodoro
Homobono C. Sawit
Second DistrictJose Y. Feliciano
Ramon M. Nisce
Zambales Lone District Richard J. Gordon
Enrique J. Corpus
Luis D. Santos
Zamboanga del Norte Lone DistrictAugusto C. Saguin
Adolfo S. Azcuna
Ernesto S. Amatong
Zamboanga del Sur Lone DistrictVincenzo A. Sagun
Roseller T. Lim
Wilfredo G. Cainglet
Antonio M. Ceniza
Maria Clara L. Lobregat
Teodoro C. Araneta
Pedro M. Rodriguez, Jr.
Ramon V. Blancia
Benjamin A. Rodriguez

Proposal of "Ban Marcos" provisions

Even as far back as 1967, when the creation of the Constitutional Convention was proposed, opposition politicians feared that Marcos would use the convention as a way to stay in power beyond the two four-year terms allowed him by the 1935 Constitution. Because of these fears, the original resolution in congress which called for the convention had a provision that would have required the proposed new Constitution to have a provision preventing Marcos or his wife Imelda from running for office after the end of his term in 1973. [2] :"132" The provision was defeated in Congress by a narrow vote. [2]

Members of the opposition who were elected as Constitutional Convention delegates nevertheless proposed such "Ban the Marcoses" provisions during the deliberations of the convention. [2]

Soon after the Constitutional Convention was convened, 176 of the 206 delegates signed a resolution by delegate Napoleon Rama calling for a ban on the Marcoses. Later, the Committee on Suffrage and Election Reforms, chaired by Raul Manglapus, drafted a resolution [2] which read:

No person who has served as President of the Philippines shall be eligible to occupy the same office or that of chief minister or chief executive any time in the future, nor shall his spouse or relatives to the second degree by consanguinity or affinity be eligible to occupy the same office during any unexpired portion of his term or in one immediately succeeding term. [2]

Deliberations on these provisions dragged out due to partisan rambling, continuing until Marcos' declaration of martial law in September 1972. [2] Rama was put in jail along with 10 other members of the opposition bloc, while numerous others, including Manglapus, were forced into hiding or exile. They were dropped from the Marcos-sponsored final draft of the constitution which was approved by the convention in November 1972. [2] [9]

Eduardo Quintero's delegate bribery exposé

Already bogged down by politicking and delays, the credibility of the 1971 Constitutional Convention took a severe blow in May 1972 when a delegate exposed a bribery scheme in which delegates were paid to vote in favor of the Marcoses – with First Lady Imelda Marcos herself implicated in the alleged payola scheme. [2] :"133" [10]

Ever since the convention was convened, the "progressive bloc" of the convention believed that Marcos was influencing the proceedings through the votes of delegates allied to the Marcoses and Imelda's family, the Romualdezes. [2] This suspicion was further strengthened on May 19, 1972, when Eduardo Quintero – a former Ambassador to the United Nations and the elected Constitutional Convention delegate for Leyte's first district – alleged that some of the delegates, including himself, had been receiving money from a "Money Lobby" in the convention. In his speech on the plenary, Quintero accused fellow delegates that were for the moment unnamed of bribing him P11,150 to vote in support of provisions that would prolong the political career of the Marcoses and against those that would hamper it. [10] The major provisions that would have greatly impacted the political surivival of the Marcos family were the proposals to a shift to parliamentarianism which would have enabled President Marcos to run as Prime Minister unhampered by the term limits set in the presidential system of the 1935 constitution as well as the "Ban Marcos" provisions of Napoleon Rama. Quintero himself was politically indebted to the Marcoses because he was elected with the aid of Imelda Marcos' brother, but he said that he finally wanted "to do the correct thing". [10] [11]

Quintero eventually released a three-page sworn statement that named 14 persons involved in the bribery scheme. The list included 12 of Quintero's fellow Convention delegates, the wife of delegate Artemio Mate, and Imelda Marcos. [12]

The exposé tainted the convention, angered the anti-Marcos opposition, and scandalized the country. Manila drivers plastered signs reading "Mabuhay Quintero!" ("Long Live Quintero!") on the sides of their cars in the days after Quintero's exposé. [2] Later historians [2] note that this would have jeopardized any efforts on Marcos' part to hold on to power beyond the two four-year terms allowed him by the 1935 Constitution, but the social unrest brought about by Marcos' 1970 debt crisis enabled him to stay in power anyway – by declaring martial law. [2]

September 1972 bombing

On September 18, 1972, the convention was targeted by one of the last 1972 Manila bombings – about 20 explosions in various locations in Metro Manila in the months after the Plaza Miranda bombing and immediately preceding Marcos' declaration of martial law. [6] [2]

Arrest of opposition delegates

The work of the convention was affected by the declaration of martial law in September 1972 by President Marcos. The military units assigned to implement the law were given a list of 400 individuals to arrest, consisting mostly of outspoken critics of Marcos' administration. This included a number of members of the Constitutional Convention. [2]

Some of the individuals on the list, such as Raul Manglapus, [13] were either not in the Philippines when martial law was declared, while some, such as Raul Roco, were in the country but managed to evade arrest. [9] However, numerous members of the Constitutional Convention's opposition bloc were among those arrested in the early hours of September 22, 1972. [2] :"157" [14] [15] [16] Convention delegates immediately arrested after the proclamation of martial law included: [9] :37

As recounted by oppositionist Convention delegate Caesar Espiritu, officials privy to variations of the priority arrest list eventually informed them which other Convention delegates had been put on the list. Aside from those actually arrested, one "shortlist" of 12 delegates identified six other delegates: Sonny Alvarez, Antonio "Tonypet" Araneta, Romy Capulong, Boni Gillego, Raul Manglapus, and Raul Roco. (Among those actually arrested, this list named Garcia, Guiao, Lichauco, Rama, Rondon, and Velez.) [9] :39

The longest list the convention delegates were able to piece together listed a total of 32 delegates, identifying Bacalzo, Guingona, Concepcion, Nolledo, and Viterbo who were all arrested, and additionally mentioned "Delima (the only girl), Occeña, Badoy, Sanchez, the Espiritu brothers, Pepe Calderon, Kalaw, Father Ortiz, and Amatong". [9] :39

With nearly a dozen of its members in jail and some of its most prominent leaders overseas or in hiding, the "progressive faction" of the convention which spoke against Marcos was no longer able to contribute to the discussion. [2]

Revised new draft Constitution

In contrast to the slow, contentious deliberations that marked its early days, the Convention moved quickly after Marcos had declared martial law. The opposition bloc had effectively been decimated and the threat of imprisonment hung over any delegates who might voice opposition in the convention. Macapagal thus allowed the regular rules of the convention to be suspended so that a 166-member group headed by Marcos-supporting delegate Gilberto Duavit came up with a new draft of the Constitution. [16]

By November 29, 1972, a little over two months after the declaration of martial law, the Convention approved the draft, with Macapagal "reluctantly putting his signature" on a document that would give so much power to Marcos. [9] It was presented to Marcos at the Malacañang palace on December 1, 1972, marking the end of the Constitutional Convention's task. [16]

1973 constitutional plebiscite and the Ratification Cases

On January 5, 1973, Marcos, who had seized legislative power as part of his declaration of martial law, issued Presidential Decree No. 86-A, an addendum to the Revised Barrio Charter (Presidential Decree No. 86) which he had signed in late December to reconstitute Philippine barrios (villages) into a new structure called a "barangay". [17] Presidential Decree No. 86-A cancelled the election plebiscite in which Philippine citizens would have voted whether or not to ratify the new Constitution. Instead, the 1973 Constitution would be ratified using "Citizen's Assemblies". [18]

The Constitution was supposedly presented for the people's ratification in the 1973 constitutional plebiscite, [2] where the Citizen's Assemblies supposedly showed their assent through viva voce votation. [19] :213 Due to the lack of reportage accompanying the gagging of the Philippine press during martial law, there are no reliable records of how many citizens actually participated in these assemblies. [2] The results of the plebiscite were thus questioned before the Philippine Supreme Court in what came to be known as the Plebiscite Cases (Planas v. COMELEC (1973)), and the legality of the 1973 Constitution questioned in what came to be known as the Ratification Cases (Javellana v. Executive Secretary). [20] [21]

In the Ratification Cases, six of the 10 members of the court (the Chief Justice, and Justices Makalintal, Zaldivar, Castro, Fernando, and Teehankee) said that the 1973 Constitution had not been ratified validly. But Justices Makalintal and Castro said that the people had acquiesced to the 1973 Constitution whether or not the ratification was valid, saying that the question of whether the Constitution could be invalidated was a political determination and not a judicial one. The Constitution was thus effectively upheld. [20] [21]

Marcos would continue to rule as a dictator until being ousted by the People Power Revolution in 1986. [2]

See also

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At 7:15 p.m. on September 23, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos announced on television that he had placed the Philippines under martial law, stating he had done so in response to the "communist threat" posed by the newly founded Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), and the sectarian "rebellion" of the Muslim Independence Movement (MIM). Opposition figures of the time accused Marcos of exaggerating these threats and using them as an excuse to consolidate power and extend his tenure beyond the two presidential terms allowed by the 1935 constitution. Marcos's signed Proclamation No. 1081 on September 21, 1972, marking the beginning of a fourteen-year period of one-man rule which effectively lasted until Marcos was exiled from the country on February 25, 1986. Proclamation No. 1081 was formally lifted on January 17, 1981, although Marcos retained essentially all of his powers as dictator until he was ousted in February 1986.

Certain associates of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, historically referred to using the catchphrase "Marcos cronies", benefited from their friendship with Marcos – whether in terms of legal assistance, political favors, or facilitation of business monopolies, during his administration. Marcos critics, and the local and international press began referring to these individuals as "cronies" during the latter days of the Marcos dictatorship, and the Philippine government – especially the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) – continued using the term after the ouster of Marcos in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcos family</span> Filipino political family

The Marcos family is a political family in the Philippines. They have established themselves in the country's politics, having established a political dynasty that traces its beginnings to the 1925 election of Mariano Marcos to the Philippine House of Representatives as congressman for the second district of Ilocos Norte; reached its peak during the 21-year rule of Ferdinand Marcos as president of the Philippines that included his 14-year dictatorship beginning with the declaration of Martial Law throughout the country; and continues today with the political careers of Imelda Marcos, Imee Marcos, Sandro Marcos and reached a fresh political apex with the presidency of Bongbong Marcos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eduardo Quintero (diplomat)</span> Filipino diplomat

Eduardo Torcelo Quintero was a Filipino lawyer and diplomat. He served as an ambassador to the United Nations, and an elected delegate to the Philippine Constitutional Convention of 1971 tasked with framing a new constitution for the country to replace the previous 1935 constitution. He is most notable for his role during the 1971 Constitutional Convention when he exposed a bribery scandal during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos prior to his dictatorial rule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second term of the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos</span> Philippine political event

Ferdinand Marcos's second term as President of the Philippines began on December 30, 1969, as a result of his winning the 1969 Philippine presidential election on November 11, 1969. Marcos was the first and last president of the Third Philippine Republic to win a second full term. The inauguration was at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila. The inauguration marked the commencement of the second four-year term of Ferdinand Marcos as president and the third term of Fernando Lopez as Vice President. The oath of office was administered by Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines Roberto Concepcion.

Referendums in the Philippines are occasionally held at a national, regional or local level. Referendums can either by national or local in scope. In the Philippines, "referendums" and "plebiscites" mean different things.

The alleged September 22, 1972, ambush attack on the then-Defense Minister of the Philippines Juan Ponce Enrile is a disputed incident in which Enrile's white Mercedes-Benz sedan was ambushed near the upscale Wack Wack village in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. It was cited by President Ferdinand Marcos as the proximate incident which led to the announcement of Marcos' declaration of martial law the following day, although Marcos would later claim that he signed the formal proclamation of martial law on September 21, the day before the Enrile ambush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle force opposition to the Marcos dictatorship</span>

In the Philippines during the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, groups and individuals which opposed the regime without subscribing to leftist ideology were usually labeled with the terms "middle force," "third force," the "mainstream opposition," or more rarely, as the "conservative opposition." Mostly consisting of middle class and upper class groups which had been apolitical when Marcos first declared martial law, the most prominent examples of oppositionists in this category include religious groups, business sector groups, professional groups, social democrats, academics, journalists, and artists. Politicians from the traditional opposition are also sometimes counted in this category, although the terms are traditionally associated with ground level opposition, rather than political opposition per se.

Movement for a Free Philippines was a Washington, D.C.-based organization established in 1973 by exiled Filipinos in opposition to the authoritarian regime of Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines.

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