Regime Change in the Philippines
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change in the Philippines ation of the Aquino government Mark Turner, editor Political and Social Change Monograph 7 '*>teRfi&&> Political and Social Change Monograph 7 REGIME CHANGE IN THE PHILIPPINES THE LEGITIMATION OF THE AQUINO GOVERNMENT mark turner -' editor- ' ■ ■■ i" '■■< 'y Department of Political and Social Change Research School of Pacific Studies Australian National University Canberra, 1987 P5 M. Turner and the several authors each in respect of the papers contributed by them; for the full list of the names of such copy-right owners and the papers in respect of which they are the copyright owners see the Table of Contents of this volume. This work is copyright. Apart from any fair dealings for the purpose of study, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquiries may be made to the publisher. First published 1987, Department of Political and Social Change, Research School of Pacific Studies, The Australian National University. Printed and manufactured in Australia by Highland Press. Distributed by Department of Political and Social Change Research School of Pacific Studies Australian National University GPO Box 4 CANBERRA ACT 2601 AUSTRALIA National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-publication entry Regime Change in the Philippines Bibliography Includes index. ISBN 0 7315 0140 3. 1. Philippines - Politics and government - 1973 I. Turner, Mark M. (Mark MacDonald), 1949 - II. Australian National University, Dept. of Political and Social Change. (Series: Political and social change monograph; 7). 959.9'046 Cover photograph by Wilfredo Salenga, courtesy of Asiaweek. 35" OWL CONTENTS Contributors iv Acknowledgements iv Abbreviations v 1. People power or palace coup : the fall of Marcos Anne Mackenzie 1 2. The quest for political legitimacy in the Philippines : the constitutional plebiscite of 1987 Mark Turner 5 8 3. Women, women's issues and the 1987 constitution in the Philippines Marian Simms 102 4. The 1987 congressional elections in the Philippines : context, conduct and outcome Alan Robson 116 References 142 Index 151 IV CONTRIBUTORS Anne Mackenzie Department of Government and Public Administration, University of Sydney Alan Robson Research Scholar, Department of Politics, Faculty of Arts, Australian National University Marian Simms Lecturer, Department of Politics, Faculty of Arts, Australian National University Mark Turner Research Fellow, Department of Political and Social Change, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In preparing this monograph I have received valuable assistance from a number of people. Ron May furnished useful comments on the papers and demonstrated considerable tolerance and expertise while answering my numerous queries on editorial matters. Linda Allen assumed responsibility for the monograph in its latter stages by advising on and organizing the business of production. Lulu Turner performed the tedious task of compiling the index. I am grateful to all these people for their contributions to this volume. However, special thanks and commendations for service above and beyond the call of duty go to Sandra Davies. Sandra succeeded in putting the text into the computer, correcting and modifying it several times and then retrieving the final product. All this was accomplished despite discs which refused to function, bugs which truncated paragraphs, gremlins which shifted margins and the activities of other mischievous inhabitants of the computer. Mark Turner Australian National University October 1987 ABBREVIATIONS AFP Armed Forces of the Philippines AMRSP Association of Major Religious Superiors ANP Alliance for New Politics ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations AWARE Alliance of Women for Action Towards Reform Bandila Bansang Nagkaisa sa Diwa at Layunin (a pro-Aquino political party) BAYAN Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (New Patriotic Alliance) CAWP Civic Assembly of the Women of the Philippines CBCP Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines CCA Coalition for the Constitution's Approval COD Citizens for Constitutional Democracy CIA Central Intelligence Agency CNL Christians for National Liberation CODA Coalition for Democratic Action Comelec Commission on Elections Con-Com Constitutional Commission of 1986 CORD Coalition of Organizations for the Restoration of Democracy CPP Communist Party of the Philippines CSM Christian Social Movement CWP Concerned Women of the Philippines vi EDSA Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, Manila EPZ Export Processing Zone FLAG Free Legal Advice Group FORCES Filipinos Overseas for the Ratification of the Constitution Gabriela General Assembly Binding Women for Reforms, Integrity, Equality, Leadership and Action (a coalition of anti-Marcos women's groups) GAD Grand Alliance for Democracy ICHDF Integrated Civilian Home Defense Forces ICJ International Commission of Jurists IMF International Monetary Fund INP Integrated National Police JAJA Justice for Aquino, Justice for All KAAKBAY Kilusan sa Kapangyarihan at Karapatan ng Bayan (Movement for Philippine Sovereignty and Democracy) KBL Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (New Society Movement) KMP Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (Philippine Farmer's Movement) KMU Kilusang Mayo Uno (May 1st Movement) Lab an Lakas ng Bayan (People's Power Party) LABAN Lakas ng Bansa (Power of the Nation Movement) Mabini A human rights lawyers' group named after the revolutionary hero and lawyer, Apolinario Mabini MAKIBAKA Makabayang Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan (Patriotic Movement of New Women) MFP Movement for a Free Philippines Vll MNLF Moro National Liberation Front NAJFD National Alliance for Justice, Freedom and Democracy Namfrel National Citizens Movement for Free Elections NCCP National Council of Churches in the Philippines NCRFW National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women NDF National Democratic Front NGO Non-governmental Organization NISA National Intelligence and Security Authority NPA New People's Army NUCD National Union of Christian Democrats OIC Officer-in-Charge PC Philippine Constabulary PCGG Presidential Commission on Good Government PDP Philippine Democratic Party PDP-Laban Philippine Democratic Party-Lakas ng Bayan (People's Power Party) PDSP Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas (Philippines Democratic Socialist Party) PKP Partido Komunista sa Pilipinas (Philippines Communist Party) PMA Philippine Military Academy PnB Partido ng Bayan (People's Party) RAM Reform the Armed Forces of the Philippines Movement TFD Task Force Detainees Vlll TOSCA Ten Outstanding Senatorial Candidates TUCP Trades Union Congress of the Philippines UNIDO United Nationalist Democratic Organization UPP Union for Peace and Progress US United States USAF United States Air Force VPD Volunteers for Popular Democracy CHAPTER 1 PEOPLE POWER OR PALACE COUP: THE FALL OF MARCOS Anne Mackenzie The overthrow of President Ferdinand E. Marcos in February 1986 by a largely bloodless popular uprising and military revolt came as somewhat of a surprise to Philippine watchers and Filipinos alike. The Marcos regime had demonstrated an uncanny ability to ride out major political storms, and there existed a widespread expectation that the dictatorship would weather yet another crisis in disregard of popular sentiment. The events of the 1986 presidential election and its aftermath proved the observers wrong. This paper is an attempt to ascertain the true nature of Marcos's ouster. Was it a triumph of people's power, a spontaneous non violent uprising which showed the people's refusal to continue obeying Marcos's government? Or was it a coup d'etat, the president being betrayed by his long-time defence minister, Juan Ponce Enrile? Or was it a combination of both people's power and a palace coup, and if it was, which was the more significant of the two? Furthermore, what role did the United States (US) play in the events of February? Did Washington have a hand in orchestrating the overthrow of Marcos? A final question related to Marcos's fall concerns the extent to which the events of February could be categorized as revolutionary: was the 'snap revolution', as it has been called in the Philippines, indeed a revolution? The first section of this paper outlines the Marcos regime in the 1980s. It analyses the long term problems facing the government such as the deteriorating economy, the decreasing solidarity of the ruling elite, the growing opposition - democratic and armed, domestic and international - the worsening human rights situation, and the uncertain state of Marcos's health. The second section traces Philippine political history from Benigno Aquino's assassination on the tarmac of the Manila International Airport on 21 August 1983 to Marcos's arrival in Hawaii on board a United States Air Force (USAF) transport plane on 26 February 1986. Particular attention is paid to the last month of Marcos's rule. The third section investigates the level of US involvement in Marcos's demise. Subsequent sections deal with the military-coup interpretation of February's events and the people's-power interpretation of those events, with special reference to the church's role. The final section analyses the revolutionary aspects of the fall of Marcos. There remains one qualification to be made at the outset. It is essential to note that the events of February 1986, particularly the four days of 'people power' (22-25 February), occurred almost entirely within the bounds of Manila. While the provinces voted in the presidential