Ferdinand Marcos ruled the Philippines from 1966 to 1986, concentrating power through a cult of personality and declaring martial law. His regime was criticized for corruption and nepotism. Though initially popular, opposition grew due to human rights abuses and economic troubles. After a disputed election in 1986, the "People Power" movement drove the Marcos family into exile in Hawaii, ending his authoritarian rule.

1. Ferdinand Marcos

2. • Ferdinand Marcos ruled the Philippines
with an iron fist from 1966 to 1986.
• Critics charged Marcos and his regime
with crimes like corruption and
nepotism. Marcos himself is said to
have exaggerated his role in World War
II. He also murdered a family political
rival.
• So, how did this man stay in power?

3. • Marcos created an elaborate cult of
personality. When that state-
mandated adulation proved
insufficient for him to maintain
control, President Marcos declared
martial law.

4. Early Life:
• September 11, 1917, Josefa Edralin gave birth to a son
in the village of Sarrat, on the island of Luzon, the
Philippines.
• The boy was named Ferdinand Edralin Marcos.
• Persistent rumors say that Ferdinand's biological father
was a man named Ferdinand Chua, who served as his
godfather. Officially, however, Josefa's husband,
Mariano Marcos, was the child's father.
• Young Ferdinand Marcos grew up in a privileged milieu.
He excelled at school, and took an eager interest in
martial skills such as boxing and shooting.

5. Education:
• Marcos attended school in Manila. His godfather,
Ferdinand Chua, may have helped to pay for his
educational expenses.
• During the 1930s, the young man studied law at the
University of the Philippines, outside of Manila.
• This legal training would come in handy when Marcos
was arrested and tried for a 1935 political murder. In
fact, he continued his studies while in prison, and even
passed the bar exam with flying colors from his cell.
• Meanwhile, Mariano Marcos ran for a seat on the
National Assembly in 1935, but was defeated for a
second time by Julio Nalundasan.

6. Marcos Assassinates Nalundasan:
• On September 20, 1935, as he was celebrating his
victory over Marcos, Nalundasan was shot dead at his
home. Mariano's 18-year-old son Ferdinand had used
his shooting skills to kill Nalundasan with a .22-caliber
rifle.
• The young law student was indicted for the killing, and
convicted by a district court in November of 1939. He
appealed to the Supreme Court of the Philippines in
1940. Representing himself, the young man managed
to get his conviction overturned despite strong
evidence of his guilt.
• Mariano Marcos and (by now) Judge Chua likely used
their political power to influence the outcome of the
case.

7. World War II:
• At the outbreak of World War II, Ferdinand Marcos was
practicing law in Manila. He soon joined the Filipino
Army, and fought against the Japanese invasion as a
combat intelligence officer in the 21st Infantry Division.
• Marcos saw action in the three-month-long Battle of
Bataan, in which the Allied forces lost Luzon to the
Japanese. He survived the Bataan Death March, a
week-long ordeal that killed about 1/4 of Japan's
American and Filipino POWs on Luzon.
• Marcos escaped the prison camp and joined the
resistance. He later claimed to have been a guerrilla
leader, but that claim has been disputed.

8. Rise to Power:
• In 1965, Marcos hoped to secure the Liberal Party nomination
for the presidency. The sitting president, Diosdado Macapagal
(father of current president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo), had
promised to step aside, but reneged and ran again.
• Marcos resigned from the Liberal Party and joined the
Nationalists.
• He won the election, and was sworn in on December 30,
1965.
• President Marcos promised economic development, improved
infrastructure, and good government to the people of the
Philippines. He also pledged help to South Vietnam and the
US in the Vietnam War, sending more than 10,000 Filipino
soldiers to fight.

9. Cult of Personality:
• Ferdinand Marcos was the first president to be
reelected to a second term in the Philippines.
Whether his reelection was rigged is a subject of
Marcos required every business and classroom in
the country to display his official presidential
portrait. He also posted giant billboards bearing
propagandistic messages across the country.
• A handsome man, Marcos had married the
former beauty queen Imelda Romualdez in 1954.
Her glamour added to his popularity.

10. Martial Law:
• Within weeks of his reelection, Marcos faced violent public
protests against his rule by students and other citizens.
Students demanded educational reforms; they even
commandeered a fire truck and crashed it into the
Presidential Palace in 1970.
• The Filipino Communist Party reemerged as a threat.
• Meanwhile, a Muslim separatist movement in the south
urged succession.
• President Marcos responded to all of these threats by
declaring martial law on September 21, 1972. He
suspended habeas corpus, imposed a curfew and jailed
opponents like Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino.
• This period of martial law lasted until January 1981.

11. Presidential Election of 1981:
• For the first time in 12 years, the Philippines
held a presidential election on June 16,
1981. Marcos ran against two opponents:
Alejo Santos of the Nacionalista Party, and
Bartolome Cabangbang of the Federal Party.
• LABAN and Unido both boycotted the
election.
• In proper dictator fashion, Marcos received
88% of the vote. He took the opportunity in
his inauguration ceremony to note that he
would like the job of "Eternal President."

12. Death of Aquino:
• Opposition leader Benigno Aquino was released in
1980 after nearly 8 years in prison. He went into exile
in the United States.
• In August of 1983, Aquino returned to the Philippines.
Upon arrival, he was hustled off the plane, and shot
dead on the runway at the Manila Airport by a man in
a military uniform.
• The government claimed that Rolando Galman was
the assassin; Galman was immediately killed by
airport security.
• Marcos was ill at the time, recovering from a kidney
transplant. Imelda may have ordered Aquino's killing,
which sparked massive protests.

13. Marcos Falls:
• August 13, 1985 was the beginning of the end for Marcos. Fifty-six
members of Parliament called for his impeachment for graft,
corruption, and other high crimes.
• Marcos called a new election for 1986. His opponent was Corazon
Aquino, the widow of Benigno.
• Marcos claimed a 1.6 million vote victory, but observers found a
800,000 win by Aquino. A "People Power" movement quickly
developed, driving the Marcoses into exile in Hawaii, and affirming
Aquino's election.
• The Marcoses had embezzled billions of dollars from the
Philippines. Imelda famously left over 2,500 pairs of shoes in her
closet when she fled Manila.
• Ferdinand Marcos died of multiple organ failure in Honolulu on
September 28, 1989. He left behind a reputation as one of the most
corrupt and ruthless leaders in modern Asia.