Second term of the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos

rdf:langString Second term of the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos

rdf:langString Ferdinand Marcos' 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 end of Marcos' second term was supposed to be in December 1973, which would also have been the end of his presidency because the 1935 Constitution of the Philippines allowed him to have only two four-year terms. However, Marcos issued Proclamation 1081 in September 1972, placing the entirety of the Philippines under Martial Law and effectively extending his term indefinitely. He would only be removed from the presidency in 1986, as a result of the People Power Revolution. Marcos’ first term, from 1965 to 1969, had been relatively successful, marked by industrialization, infrastructure development, and an increase in rice production. But in order to win his second term, which would be from 1969 to 1972, Marcos pursued a USD50 million spending spree on infrastructure projects meant to impress the electorate. This rapid spending resulted in a balance of payments crisis, which led Mr. Marcos to seek an adjustment program from the International Monetary Fund, the conditions for which included a reduction of selected tariff rates and a 43 percent monetary devaluation. The exchange rate plummeted from 3.9 Pesos to the Dollar in 1969 to 6 Pesos to the Dollar in 1970, leading to inflation, and eventually, general unrest.