Imagine ousting a dictator 36 years ago. Under which, 70,000 people were imprisoned, 34,000 were tortured, and 3,240 were killed. He suspended habeas corpus, distinguished the press, and political opponents disappeared. Billions of dollars were stolen from the Philippines and went straight into his pockets, the greatest robbery performed by a government. Two million Filipinos stood up and pushed him out of power.
That dictator’s son, Bongbong Marcos, was just elected as the new president of the Philippines. Not by just a hair, but with 59% of the vote. The runner-up, the current vice president, a human rights lawyer, economist, and mother of three, only received 28%.
As one commentator put it delicately - How the fuck did Marcos win?
Prosperity for all, we promise. But only a privileged few achieve it, and, to make the pain obvious, parade their comforts and advantages before the eyes of an impoverished many […] We are in crisis. You know that the government treasury is empty. Only by severed self‑denial will there be hope for recovery within the next year […] I, therefore, first call upon the public servants for self-sacrifice. Long have we depended upon the people. In every crisis, we call upon our citizens to bear the burden of sacrifice. Now, let the people depend upon us. The economic viability of the government and the nation requires immediate retrenchment. Accordingly, we must install without any delay a policy of rigorous fiscal restraint.
In sharp contrast to his sentiment of financial restraint, Marcos began larger-than-life construction projects, funded by foreign loans, which would end up triggering debt crises for the country. The scale of these infrastructure projects varied from government guest houses made purely of coconut trees, to a twenty-million dollar bridge built as a personal gift for his wife. These grandiose creations, meant to show progress and power, ironically ended up sending the Philippines into a [downwards financial spiral](<https://newslab.philstar.com/31-years-of-amnesia/building-spree>). Included in this cast was the [Manila Film Center](<https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/manila-film-center-haunted-a1729-20191107-lfrm2>), a project with deadlines so tight, that the work required 4,000 workers to take shifts filling a 24/7 schedule. Normal timelines were cut down for sections like the grand lobby from 6 weeks to 72 hours. Due to the pressure, the scaffolding collapsed, burying 169 workers in quick dry cement. Marcos quickly created a media blackout to prevent any news from exiting. The construction continued at the behest of the First Lady, building on top of the workers who were buried to reach her deadlines. The image of the bodies buried under the creation of Marcos’ regime would later serve as a metaphor for the obfuscation of human rights violations, papered over by elegant displays, and new narratives.
The World Bank and International Monetary Fund show that most of Marcos' infrastructure projects were funded by loans that raised the country's foreign deficit by 7800% from when he entered into office, until his departure. At the end of his reign, the average skilled and unskilled labor wages had fallen [68% and 74%](<https://martiallawmuseum.ph/magaral/martial-law-in-data/>) respectively.
Manila Film Center said to have been haunted since the 1981 tragedy.
As president, Marcos’ official income had been only $13,500 a year. However, at the end of Ferdinand Marcos’ regime, the estimated amount that he and his family had plundered, landed in the range of $5 billion – $10 billion, hidden in places like offshore accounts, foreign properties, and an extensive art collection. The amount taken was so outrageous, that the Guinness Book of World Records designated Marcos’ rule as *The Greatest robbery of a Government*. Sources investigated to have been contributors to Marcos’ wealth included: the creation of monopolies and putting them under crony control, direct raiding of the public treasury, kickbacks from public work contracts, and diverted foreign aid.
Ferdinand Marcos’ grandson describes the outlook of his grandfather on careers, specifically involving himself in politics, could lead to money, a view contrasting with that of a politician being a public servant:
“[My father] was a little bit of a nerd as a kid, so he was--you know, he wanted to do physics, math, biology, but my grandfather [Ferdinand Marcos] was like, "There's no money in that, so switch to politics” - Sandro Marcos, Son of Bongbong Marcos.
“Nation is calm; business, life go on normally” - The Daily Express was the only newspaper allowed to circulate upon the declaration of Martial Law. (Bantayog Museum)
In an era where presidents were allowed by law to only rule for a total of 8 years, Ferdinand Marcos ruled for two decades as the President of the Philippines. Nearing the end of his 2nd term, Marcos extended his stay in power by declaring martial law and placing the Philippines under military control, citing social unrest and a communist threat. Historians continue to suspect that Marcos perpetrated bombings blamed on communists as a pretext for his declaration of martial law, with the CIA privately stating that Marcos was responsible for at least one of the bombings. The media was shut down in an effort to control the narrative. Over four hundred media outlets were silenced during martial law. Marcos immediately set about arresting political opponents, journalists, and other prominent critics. Once imprisoned, they faced [torture](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_torture_methods_used_by_the_Marcos_dictatorship>), rape, degradation, waterboarding, burning, and electrocution. 35,000 counts of torture have been documented so far. One account details her arrest as having been made to lie down between two beds with her head on one bed and feet on the other, leaving her body hanging in the air until she fell. Next, she was burned by wax candles and sexually molested. Over 3 thousand others were killed, 77 were disappeared, and a total of 70 thousand were incarcerated under the dictatorship.
Marcos’ dictatorship continued for 14 years until 1986, when the combination of Senator Benigno Aquino’s assassination, fraudulent elections, and unrest from economic collapse came to form the People Power Revolution. 2 million protestors took to Metro Manila’s streets to overthrow Ferdinand Marcos, forcing him and his family to flee to the United States, and achieving a regime change without violence.
CBS anchorman Bob Simon reported: "We Americans like to think we taught the Filipinos democracy. Well, tonight they are teaching the world."
1986 People Power Revolution removing Ferdinand Marcos from the presidency. (Wikipedia)
Our biggest…enemy was already dominant even before the campaign period because decades had been spent working on this. The machinery capable of spreading hate and lies is formidable. It stole the truth, so it also stole our history and our future. Disinformation is one of our biggest enemies. For now, perhaps the machinery of lies rules. But it is up to us how long it would prevail. It is up to us to say whether the fight is over or if it is only just beginning.