ROXAS PUPPET REGIME (1946-48)
Manuel A. Roxas became the first president of the third republic of the Philippines. When Roxas assumed his post, he solved the collaboration issued by proclaiming amnesty to all political prisoners. Senator Claro M. Recto refused to be amnestied. he fought his legal battles with the People's Court and was acquitted.
The Philippines as seen by the administration, could not rehabilitate its economy without American aid and investment. Subsequently it adopted two laws legislated by the United States Congress to grow and industrialize. On April 30, 1946, the U.S Congress passed two laws that were intended to help the economic recovery of the country.
These two laws are:
*Philippine Trade Act--> also known as the Bell Trade Act, provided for he continuation of free trade with the Philippines and the United States from 1946 to 1954. For the next 20 years from 1954 to 1974, Philippines exports to the U.S will pay a gradually increased in tariff rate. The value of the peso was fixed at half an American dollar.
*Philippine Rehabilitation Act--> also known as the Tydings Rehabilitation Act, resulted to the creation of the Philippine War Damage Commission to take charge of war damage payments.
President Roxas really wanted to rebuild the Philippine economy. In return for American support, the government went its way to amend the 1935 Philippine Constitution to give parity rights to the Americans. This means that the U.S citizens and corporations were granted the same rights as the Filipinos in the utilization and exploitation of Philippine natural resources. They can acquire land of the public domain, right to acquire grazing, fishing and mining rights, and h right to engage in the ownership and operation of public utilities. The people approved the parity amendment issue in the plebiscite of 1947.
While there were people who agree the said Constitution, there were also group of people who were against the parity rights amendment. These people were Luis Taruc and his colleagues in the Democratic Alliance. For them, it was disadvantageous to the Filipino people. The Huks together with a new party, the Democratic Alliance, composed of intellectuals and peasants, succeeded in electing Taruc and their other members to Congress in 1946. Upon the alleged instigation of President Roxas, the Congress passed a resolution ejecting Taruc and his six fellow party members from Congress on the ground of alleged electoral frauds and terrorism committed by the Huks in Pampanga and Nueva Ecija. The removal from office of Taruc and his companions paved the way to the amendment of the Constitution.
Another government action that also generated varied opinions was the military bases issue. The Military Bases Agreement signed on March 14, 1947, gave the U.S free use of 23 base sites for 99 years. The largest active bases were the Clark Field Air Base in Pampanga and Subic Naval Base, and the U.S Seventh Fleet Base in Zambales.
Believing that the Roxas administration was bowed on checking the movement of the masses by liquidating its leaders, Taruc wrote a letter to Pres. Roxas reminding the latter of their demands. These were: the temporary rights of the people to keep their firearms due to present insecurity, protection of constitutional rights, removal of some government officials, and the creation of social welfare projects and agrarian reform. They also demanded the collectivization of farmland and the abolition of tenant farming.
Inefficient production and very low incomes were among the basic problems of the people. After the liberation, the economy improved but for many workers, wages were inadequate. The government military and the Huks were plunged into hostilities. The civilians, caught in the crossfire, lived in hunger as agricultural production decreased due to constant skirmishes between the contending forces. The government had spent millions of pesos to apprehend Taruc and his men. For two years, the Roxas administration tried to pacify the local dissidents but failed.
To solve the peace and order situation, President Roxas issued a proclamation on March 6, 1948 declaring the Hukbalahap and Pambansang Kaisahan ng mga Magbubukid (PKM), which was reorganized after the war by Mateo Del Castillo, as illegal associations organized and maintained to commit acts of sedition. People having affiliation with these groups were considered as enemies of the State and thus, liable to be arrested and imprisoned.
President Roxas incessantly undertook other activities to promote the people's welfare. On April 15, 1948, Pres. Roxas made a public statement on the reaffirmation of Filipino loyalty to the united states at the Kelly Theater in Clark Air Base in Pampanga. The audience enthusiastically received his speech. At that time, he was no longer feeling well. By evening, his condition became worse. At around 9:30 P.M., he died of heart failure at the residence of major General E.L. Eubank at Clark Field.
Two days later, Vice-President Elpidio Quirino took his oath of office as President of the Philippines, serving the unexpired term of the late President Roxas.
QUIRINO PUPPET REGIME (1948-53)
On June 21, Taruc went to Malacañang and in his presence, Pres. Quirino issued a proclamation granting amnesty to all Huk and PKM leaders and members. The amnesty given was absolute and covered crime of rebellion, sedition, illegal association assault, resistance, and disobedience to persons in authority.
The Huks agreed to surrender their arms and ammunition to duly constituted authorities within a period of 50 days following the amnesty ground.
Three hours after the 50-day period, a clash between the 507th MP Company and a band of 50 Huks occurred in a barrio of Cabanatuan. Fighting between the military and the Huks ensued. Taruc accused the Quirino administration of bad faith when it refused to give the peasants on-the-spot permits for possessing firearms, which they need for self-defense.
The Huk rebellion became more intense in 1949 to 1950. The Huks continued terrorizing Central Luzon and the provinces around manila. the believed that the programs regarding land reform were not instituted. There was no breakup of vast landed estates. the government did not release more than 600 imprisoned Huks and PKMs.
President Quirino created the President's Action committee on Social Amelioration (PACSA) to aid the needy families, the labor management advisory Board, to advise him on labor matters and the Agricultural Credit Cooperative financing Administration (ACCFA) to help the farmers market their crops. Rural banks were also established in the rural areas to facilitate credit facilities. Pres. Quirino also launched his "Total Economic Mobilization program" to employ natural resources, manpower, and technical knowledge for economic progress.
The United States sent the Bell Mission to survey all aspects of the Philippines. It found out that the country had low income, excessive volume of imports, misdirected investment, mounting deficits, and corruption in the government.
In September 1951, the Philippine government signed a peace treaty with Japan. However, in early 1952, the agreement was suspended because the Philippines demanded $8 billion in war damages. Pending the conclusion of talks on the issue, the Philippine legislature refused to ratify the peace treaty.
In the last days of the Quirino administration, Moises Padilla, a Nacionalista party candidate for town mayor, was mauled and murdered. After a painstaking investigation, Magsaysay ordered the arrest of Negros Governor Rafael Lacson, allegedly involved in the crime. As a result, Magsaysay unquestionably turned out to be the hero of the people or "man of the masses" for his crusade for peace and justice.
Magsaysay was able to project his image to the public as a simple and dedicated man. When the proper opportunity came, Magsaysay resigned from his cabinet position and joined the opposition, the Nacionalista Party, which subsequently nominated him as the presidential standard bearer.
Magsaysay's presidential campaign was characterized by his emphasis on both the barrio and the masses. he moved from barrio to barrio and listened to the grievances of the common people. He shared with them his humble meals and projected himself as a friend of the people. He became more popular with his slogan, "land for the landless".
In 1953 presidential elections, the Liberal Party lost. Nacionalista Party's bet Ramon Magsaysay won a decisive victory over the incumbent president.
MAGSAYSAY PUPPET REGIME (1953-57)
Unlike from the previous presidents, President Ramon Magsaysay implemented land reform. Three legislation were made:
1. Agricultural Tenancy Act of 1954 resulted to the shift of share tenancy system to leasehold system. This law also provided the reduction of land rentals as well as the prohibition of ejection of tenants except for just cause.
2. The Court of Agrarian Relations was created to determine if there was a just cause in the ejection of tenant.
3. Land Reform Act of 1955 was also passed to improve landlord-tenant relations.
The Presidential Assistant for Community Development (PACD) was also established to ensure rural development. It was created for increased productivity, building of feeder roads, and improvement of government services in the barrios in the field of health and education.
Community roads and irrigation projects were expanded. Agricultural experts were sent to the barrios to instruct farmers in improved agricultural production. Loans were extended to farmers through the Agricultural Credit and Cooperative Financing Administration (ACCFA).
It was during Magsaysay's term that japan agreed to pay war reparations brought by the World War II amounting to $800 million to the Philippines over a 20-year period.
Mitigation of peasant unrest became the most successful achievement of Magsaysay's administration. Early in 1954, Magsaysay secretly sent Benigno "Ninoy" S. Aquino, Jr., a journalist of the daily Mirror and known Filipino war correspondent in Korea, to confer with Taruc.
After four months of negotiations, Taruc on May 17, 1954 unconditionally surrendered to the government and duly recognized the authority of President Magsaysay. Taruc was tried in court and sentenced to 12 years in jail.Many of his men likewise surrendered or were arrested. The back of rebellion fell into government custody.
To counteract the communist activities in the Philippines and the rest of neighboring countries in the Southeast Asian region, the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was established in Manila.
Presidential Magsaysay,who was hoping for reelection died in a fatal airplane crash at Mt. Manunggal in Cebu on March 17, 1957. The next day, Vice-president Carlos P. Garcia was inducted into office to complete the last 8 months of Magsaysay in office.
GARCIA PUPPET REGIME (1957-61)
On August 28, 1958, the National Economic Council passed the Resolution No. 204, officially promulgating the Filipino First policy of the administration. The Resolution called for the adoption of guidelines giving preferential treatment to Filipino businessmen. Despite pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pres. Garcia refused to liberalize import controls.
On November 16, 1958, a coup d' etat plan of a group of military men was revealed by Bartolome Cabangbang, Congressman from Carcia's home province in Bohol. According to Cabangbang, the initial steps consisted of a propaganda campaign to brand Garcia as a communist supporter and to build up Defense Secretary Jesus Vargas as the heroic defender of the Philippine democracy in the 1951, 1953, 1955, and 1957 elections.
Garcia's administration was also criticized for graft and corruption. Cabangbang claimed that the coup planners had not gone beyond the first stage of their schemes because they could not get the support of the armed forces.
As a result of the publications of Cabangbang's revelations, a libel suit was filed against him by Colonel Nicanor Jimenez, one of those alleged to have been involved. Cabangbang won the case. Secretary Vargas and the Chief of Staff, general Alfonso Arellano, later resigned.
MACAPAGAL PUPPET REGIME (1961-65)
It was during President Diosdado Macapagal administration that the Philippine independence day shifted from the traditional July 4 to June 12, the day, when in 1898, Philippine Independence from Spain was proclaimed in Kawit, Cavite by Emilio Aguinaldo. Former President Aguinaldo was the guest of honor during the first Independence day celebration in 1962. July 4 was the declared Philippine-American Friendship day.
The President sponsored notable projects like the construction of the North and South Expressway, housing for soldiers and government employees, beautification of Rizal Park, and the establishment of the Philippine Veterans Bank.
MARCOS PUPPET REGIME (1965-1986)
The most significant event during the Marcos Administration was the murdered of Benigno "Ninoy" S. Aquino, Jr.
Ninoy Aquino, born in 1932 entered politics at the age of 22 and became the youngest mayor, then governor, and finally a senator of the Philippines. He was married to Corazon Cojuangco in 1954. he was imprisoned in 1972 after martial law was declared. He spent nearly eight years in a military detention cell at Fort Bonifacio. President Marcos allowed him to leave the country in 1980 and to move his family to the United States to undergo a heart bypass surgery.
Upon Aquino's arrival at the manila International airport (now named the Ninoy Aquino international Airport in hid honor), he was shot dead while in the custody of the guards from the Aviation Security Command (AVSECOM). Government reports placed the blame on Rolando Galman, the alleged lone gunman. They laid the body of the assassin near Aquino on the airport tarmac.
The assassination led the country into the forefront of international news. Thousands of Filipinos sympathized with Aquino's bereaved family. many joined his funeral march. His assassination became a catalyst that united the Filipinos to fight the evils of dictatorship openly.
THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE PHILIPPINES
During the 1929 Congress of the Congreso Obrero de Filipinas (C.O.F), the conservative members clashed with Crisanto Evangelista and his group over the proposals submitted by the latter. Some of the recommendations included the organization of factory committees as a first step toward the formation of industrial unions, the establishment of workers' political party, the advocacy of class struggle and the condemnation of the Nacionalista and Democrata parties.
With the radicals in the minority, Evangelista and his followers walked out and immediately launched the Katipunan ng mga Anak-pawis ng Pilipinas or K.A.P. Evangelista became the elected executive secretary while Manahan, the vice-president, in charge of the peasant movement.
Other officers were Jose Hilario, Antonio Ora, Patricio Dionisio, Cirilo Bognot, and H.C. Hao. The K.A.P wanted unity among workers peasants, and the exploited masses. It advocated struggle against American imperialism in the Philippines, betterment of living and working conditions, immediate and complete independence of the country, unity among the revolutionary movements all over the world, and an establishment of a Soviet Union in the Philippines.
On November 7, 1930, the Communist party of the Philippines was formally established with all the officers of the Kpeasrevolts.blogspot.compeasrevolt.A.P except Hao and Hilario, as members of the first central Committee of the Philippines.
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