CIAO DATE: 10/2014
March 2011
Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis
After gaining its independence in 1946, the Phi-lippines stood as a “showcase of democracy” in Southeast Asia.[i] Both Spanish and American colonization had bequeathed to the islands Western values and institutions.[ii] The Ameri-cans had provided for the establishment of a democratic constitutional government. The Phi-lippine press was widely considered one of the freest in Asia.[iii] Yet, on September 21, 1972, President Ferdinand E. Marcos issued Executive Order No. 1081, declaring a state of martial law throughout the nation.[iv] In the years following, Marcos’ rule would be marked by harsh political repression, human rights violations, and a massi-ve statewide kleptocracy. The Philippines’ fall from grace left scholars scrambling to answer just how did a promising young democracy fall so quickly.
Resource link: Civil-Military Relations in Marcos' Philippines [PDF] - 1.1M