Some points to consider during Marcos Regime

 

1.       One of the richest country second to Japan – undecided

As what the Marcos loyalists are always bragging, we are 2^nd to Japan as the richest country in Asia. I tried to search for available articles or documents but as of today I can’t find anything to support the claim. If that would be the case, Philippines is a first world country by then. But there is no tangible evidence to  support this. Upon doing my research, I came to see this data; 1970-1980 Growth Rates of GDP per capita: Malaysia – 5.3% ; Thailand – 5.1%; Indonesia – 5.7%; Singapore – 7.7%; Philippines – 3.4%. If Philippines is second to Japan, why do we have the least increase in GDP. So if you can provide me any documents I can probably believe this.

Source: Data from Wikipedia

2.       Philippines has the strongest currency exchange rate of $1=P2.  - True.

But let me remind you, it is not right to claim someone’s achievement. Before he was elected as President on 1965, peso-dollar exchange rate is already   $1=P2.  If you see the trend, the exchange rate becomes $1=P20 when he left the post, the most drastic drop of peso’s value in history. Here are the peso value per president at the end of term (before and after Marcos): Diosdado Macapagal – 1965 -$1=P3.80; Marcos – 1986 - $1=P20.53; Aquino – 1992 - $1 = P27.61.

Source: Data from Wikipedia/Philstar

3.       We had better economy during Marcos Regime – False.

Poverty significantly worsened during the Marcos years. “A World Bank study estimated that the proportion of people living below the poverty line in [Phl] cities had risen from 24 percent in 1974 to 40 percent in 1986 [the year Marcos was ousted]. The countryside was no better.” Thus wrote the well-respected journalist and historian Stanley Karnow in his book, In Our Image, America’s Empire in the Philippines, which won the Pulitzer Prize for History. 

Economic growth slackened. Penn World Tables reported that while real growth in GDP per capita averaged 3.5 percent from 1951 to 1965, under the Marcos regime (1966 to 1986) annual average growth was only 1.4 percent (Wikipedia). So how could the Philippines have overtaken Singapore which had witnessed “unprecedented economic growth” averaging 12.7 percent of real GDP from 1965 to 1973, according to the Library of the US Congress? Thereafter, Singapore frequently reached growth rates averaging 8-10 percent. Homepage (Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

Workers’ wages decreased drastically. Between 1982 and 1986, real wages of unskilled laborers in Metropolitan Manila declined annually at 5.8 percent, and those of skilled laborers at 5.2 percent. Agricultural wages also declined at the same rate, according to James K. Boyce, associate professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts in his book, The Political Economy of Growth and Impoverishment in the Marcos Era.

Source: Philstar

4.       Low price of commodities. – True; but because it was subsidized.

Basic commodities have been subsidized so that the public will be on the impression that they have a good quality of life. But if you dig deeper, the money that has been used to subsidize the services is from the loan from IMF and WB. In short, GINISA TAYO SA SARILI NATING MANTIKA.

5.       Martial was declared to stop insurgency/communism/activism – Half True – Half False.

Yes, there might be are insurgency at that time, but the question is, did the declaration of Martial Law solve the insurgency problem? The insurgency intensified. “. . . [T]he US foreign policy experts also perceived that the longer Marcos’ excesses continue, the faster the Communist insurgency would spread . . . So his profligacy, corruption and repression presented a potential danger to America’s strategic interests,” said Karnow. Not only did the Communist insurgency strengthen, the Muslim insurgency erupted and after protracted war forced the Marcos government to sign the humiliating Tripoli Agreement giving concessions to the Moro National Liberation Front.  - For me, It doesn’t solve the problem but rather intensify the problem and even cause life of thousands Filipino.

Source: Philstar

6.       Lot infrastructure project has been constructed. – True; but foreign debt also increases.

It is rightful the build lot of infrastructure since he is in the position for 21 years. With the sudden increase of our foreign debt, we then should expect that the money will be use for the public. The Philippines’ foreign debt rose from $360 million in 1962 to $28.3 billion in 1986, said Boyce. Hence, more than one-half of the present $53 billion external debt was contributed by Marcos. The government financed its spending primarily from foreign debt. From $2.9 billion in 1973, it rose to $6.8 billion in 1976 and $17.3 billion in 1980. The balance of payments also behaved generally well in the earlier years, with surpluses recorded from 1973 to 1974. However, an increasing trend of deficits followed the years afterwards.  From 1974 to 1976, investments were still very high as the government still engaged in massive spending. Spending on infrastructures was primarily the focus of the government, targeting an increase economic growth and tourism. Because of the large influx of investments from the public and private sector and the increase in economic activity, together with high domestic savings which financed part of government spending, the Philippines survived the first oil price shock, the Middle East oil embargo which started in 1973 and caused inflation to rise in the Philippines. By the years 1977-1980, the Marcoses primarily supported and focused on the expansion of its government-owned corporations, which were able to loan from foreign institutions for investments.  According to Joseph Lim of the University of the Philippines, a businessman in 1981 related to Marcos fled the country with $80 million worth of debt in international and local banks. Because of the gravity of the parties involved, the Central Bank, together with national banks like Philippine National Bank and Development Bank of the Philippines, formed a bailout package and rescued the banks and companies implicated, which paved way for “the expansion of the money supply from 1980 to 1983.”^[3] The outflow of capital, termed “capital flight", contributed to the foreign exchange depletion as seen in Table 2 (qtd. in Boyle, 1990). "As the import liberalization program started to be implemented, important sectors … became more and more monopolized by the cronies of Marcos.” 

Source: Wikipedia/Philstar

7.       Di bale ng corrupt at least may nagawa. – Isang malaking kabobohan.

Sige nga kung maholdap ka habang pauwi, dahil mabait yung holdaper bingyan ka ng pamasahe pauwi. Ok lang ba sa’yo na ganoon?

8.       Siya pa rin ang pinakamagaling na naging president, maraming nagawa, kayang mag-speach ng walang kodigo, etc. – Matalino siguro, Oo.

Nagamit ba ng maayos yung kagalingan nya? Wala ba siyang flaws di tulad ng ibang presidente? Sapat ba lahat ng mga tulay, daan, gusali na nagawa nya upang tumbasan ang libo-libong buhay na nawala, sapat ba ito upang ibsan ang dalamhati ng mga pamilyang nawalan. Kung nangyari sayo ang narasan ng maraming Pilipino na biglang naglaho ang mahal sa buhay, iidolohin mo pa ba siya?

Now, you decide.