A Young RepublicCedrick Abadines

Angelo GustiloJoshua Pontillas

Prospects for Growth

7 Presidents that governed the Philippines since Independence in 1946• Manuel Roxas (1946-1948)• Elpidio Quirino (1948-1954)• Ramon Magsaysay (1954-1957)• Carlos P. Garcia (1957-1962)• Diosdado Macapagal (1962-1966)• Ferdinand E. Marcos (1966-1986)

Ferdinand Marcos

1. Twisted the Constitution to perpetuate himself in POWER

2. There was no continuity of presidential policies

3. He might introduce his own special programs during his term

Manuel Roxas

• The government tried force to defeat communism

• Two pieces of Legislation were approved

1. Tenancy Act – which provided a 70% share of profits for the landlord and 30% for the tenant

2. Charter – which establish the Central Bank of the Philippines

Manuel Roxas

After Liberation, people, in reaction to years of deprivation, had a fit of spending for items they had

missed during war.

The few dollars available in the country were dissipated in luxury items like nylon, stockings and lipstick for the

ladies.

Elpidio Quirino

• The Huks shifted from a parliamentary to a military struggle

• Government policies were ineffectual

• The Government directed that one had to obtain a license to exchange pesos into dollars with which to import goods. What resulted? An

underground peso-dollar exchange.

• Some “businessmen” even put up “dummy” plants and factories

• A shift in emphasis was made and the government encouraged exports through the production of agricultural goods

Ramon Magsaysay

• Ramon Magsaysay proved to be the bright light in this gloomy postwar period

• A “President for the People”

• A democratic government should “satisfy the needs of the common man”

• His famous utterance was “He who has less in life should have more in law”

Death of Magsaysay

March 17, 1957His plane crashed against a mountain. The lighting system malfunctioned and the pilot

had no clear perception of depth

All died except oneNestor Mata – Newspaper reporter who thrown out on impact

Death of Magsaysay

The unprecedented numbers that lined up to pay their last respects to their dead president and accompany the funeral cortege to his final resting place was eloquent testimony of

the pain that gripped the entire nation

They had seen what a good government was, but , like an enjoyable dream, it quickly ended and the Filipinos woke up to

harsh reality

Carlos P. Garcia

• Automatically took office as president for the remaining years of Magsaysay’s term

• He was, however, not another Magsaysay

• His political rivals mercilessly attacked him in the press describing him, with some exaggeration, as “ignorant, venal and inefficient”

• Garcia had promised to share with his supporters the Japanese war reparations fund of $300 million in the form of ships and industrial

machinery

Carlos P. Garcia

• President Garcia decreed that exporters should obtain import licenses before they could exchange their Philippine pesos to dollars

• The Licenses quickly became a source of illegal wealth

• Those who had import licenses obtained U.S. dollars and traded them in the Black Market at twice the legal exchange rate

• As for infrastructure and industrial machinery, no one cared about these

Garcia’s successor was Diosdado Macapagal, who in turn was succeeded by Ferdinand Marcos. Macapagal is still with us, and the

memory of Marcos’s presidency is still too fresh and perhaps painful to many Filipinos. We have to wait a little while longer and allow time to

give us the proper prespective before we can make an objective assessment of their accomplishments as presidents of the Philippines.

Contemporary Problems

Greater Manila Population

1968 19900

1,000,0002,000,0003,000,0004,000,0005,000,000

Series 1

Series 1

Contemporary Problems

• Squatter Families

• City Streets have become too narrow for the number of cars used

• School getting too small for the burgeoning student population

• Business too slow for the rapidly expanding labor force

• 31 out of every 300 adults were unemployed, or working less than eight hours daily

To supplement their income, many engaged in:

Petty retail business, vending cigarettes, newspapers, flower garlands, lottery tickets etc.In 1990, Filipinos continued to face very much the same problems

For the Philippines has remained a poor country

• Many well-trained college graduates migrate to foreign countries where they can earn better salaries

• Existence of fake diploma syndicates who provide forged diplomas for those who wish to “qualify” for better-paying job in the country or elsewhere

• An ambitious candidate is willing to spend millions during the electoral campaigns in the hoe that, after election, he can have a hefty share of the profit (legal or otherwise) of being in government

Mockery of Philippine elections

Vote

buy

ingFlying voters

Terrorism

Dishonest Tallies

People have yet to be educated in their responsibilities, that democracy is indeed government for the people if it is by the people. To succeed, Philippine democracy need intelligent cooperation from its citizens.

Pledge for the FutureAnd because Philippine independence was won through peaceful legal means, the Filipinos have committed their lives and their country’s future, as Rizal dreamed, to constitutional processes

Through Carlos P. Romulo, the Philippines pledged to uphold the dignity and equality of all human beings, their right to lead a free life, to choose one’s religion. This was not an empty promise. It was a deeply held belief born of the experience that has made the Philippines a nation.Will this pledge continue to inspire future generations?

A half century after 4 July 1946 and nearly a century after 12 June 1988, the Philippines is still a young nation. But the new republic is slowly making its own contribution to the shaping of a more just and more human World

A Young RepublicEnd of slide

Thank you for your attention