Republic of the Philippines (AU)

COLD WAR ERA

The Philippines was one of the first Asian countries to regain it's prosperity after World War 2. The Philippines became a staunch American ally in the developing Cold War. The Philippines and the United States signed a military assistance pact (March 1947). The Philippines granted the United States a 99-year lease on designated military, naval, and air bases. This was later reduced to a 25 year period (beginning 1967). The Cold War began in Europe, but developed in Asia and Oceania as well. The massive task of rebuilding a war-devastated new nation was aided by extensive American assistance.

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MANILA: circa 1960s
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Marcos lifting Martial Law in 1972
In the 1960s, the Philippines was dubbed as the second wealthiest nation in Asia (after Japan) and a leading military power in Asia-Pacific. Filipino forces fought alongside the US in the Korean and Vietnam wars. However, failing economic policies, internal security threats imposed by both Communist and Moro insurgents, and increasing corruption in the leadership of the government eventually led to a period of economic stagnation and political instability in the 1970s. In 1972, Marcos presided over as a dictator and took full-control of the government promising to improve the leadership of the government and regain economic prosperity through a series of reforms. He governed as a strongman, marking his rule through the torture, disappearance, and execution of his political enemies while his wife, Imelda Marcos, lived a lavish lifestyle with trips to Paris and New York City, acquiring property and artwork, such as those of Michaelangelo and Claude Monet. The Filipino people lived in poverty throughout this period. On August 21, 1983, Marcos' chief rival opposition leader Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. ignored warnings and returned from exile in the United States. He was assassinated as he was taken off the plane at the Manila International Airport (now called the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in his memory). With political pressure building, Marcos eventually called for snap presidential elections in 1986. Corazon Aquino, Benigno's widow, was persuaded to become the presidential candidate and standard bearer of the opposition. The elections were widely considered rigged when Marcos was proclaimed the winner. This led to the People Power Revolution, instigated when two long-time Marcos allies – Armed Forces of the Philippines Vice Chief-of-Staff Fidel V. Ramos and Secretary of National Defense Juan Ponce Enrile – resigned and barricaded themselves in Camp Aguinaldo and Camp Crame. Exhorted by the Cardinal Archbishop of Manila Jaime Sin, people gathered in support of the rebel leaders and protested on Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA). In the face of mass protests and military defections, Marcos and his allies fled to Hawaii and into exile. Corazon Aquino was recognized as president.

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People Power crowd blocks 2 Philippine Army APCs alongside the EDSA Avenue
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People Power protesters with a slogan : "SUKO KA NA! TALO KA NA! MARCOS! LAYAS KA NA!" or literally "You surrender! You lose! Marcos you resign!

The final years (1985-1990) of the Cold War saw rapid modernization of the Philippines under the leadership of a more open government. President Aquino set out on a course of market liberalization agenda while at the same time emphasizing solidarity, people empowerment and civic engagement to help alleviate poverty in the country. The Aquino administration also sought to bring back fiscal discipline in order as it aimed to trim down the government's budget deficit that ballooned during Marcos' term through privatization of bad government assets and deregulation of many vital industries. As president, Aquino sought out to dismantle the cartels, monopolies and oligopolies of important industries that were set up by Marcos cronies during the dark days of Martial Law, particularly in the sugar and coconut industries. By discarding these monopolies and allowing market-led prices and competition, small farmers and producers were given a fair chance to sell their produce and products at a more reasonable, competitive and profitable price. This, in a way, also helped a lot in improving the lot of farmers who are in dire need of increasing their personal income and earnings. It was also during Aquino's time that vital economic laws such as the Built-Operate-Transfer Law, Foreign Investments Act and the Consumer Protection and Welfare Act were enacted. This new policies brought positive changes to the country in the turn of the century, 6.5 % economic growth in 1990. This changes will bring the nation as a new Asian "Bright Spark" in the 21st century.

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Corazon Aquino inaugurating as president in 1986
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Manila in late 1980s, showing the progress of the Aquino government

MILITARY

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PAF Mustangs flying in formation (1955)
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PAF Sabres flying in formation (1966). PAF was the first South-east Asian nation to operate a jet fighter
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PN Fletcher class destroyers berthed at Subic before modernization (circa 1968)
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PN Cannon-class DE Rajah Humabon as she appeared in 1968
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Philippine Army in parade, M41 Bulldog light tanks showing (circa 1960s)

By the 1960s, the Philippine Navy was one of the best-equipped navies in Southeast Asia. Many of the countries in the region gained independence between World War II and the 1960s. In 1967, the maritime law enforcement functions of the Navy were transferred to the Philippine Coast Guard. The duties stayed with the coast guard when in the 1990s it became an independent service under the Department of Transportation and Communications.
After the 1960s, the government had to shift its attention towards the Communist insurgency which forced led to the strengthening of the Philippine Army and the Philippine Air Force while naval operations were confined to troop transport, naval gunfire support, and blockade.
As part of its attempts to deal with the economic problems, President Marcos, who had taken over a dictatorship in 1972, launched cuts to public spending. At the end of that month, the Finance Minister, Pedro Serena, notified all public employees, including the members of the armed forces, of a reduction of 30 percent in their salaries. This reduction was on top of a previous 10 percent that had been inflicted on the armed forces the year before and the loss of all extra bonuses already accrued and owed to them. The military were already suffering from chronic low salaries and these reductions were further aggravated by the loss of purchasing power that the Filipino currency had experienced due to inflation and the general recession of the economy. The discontent was specially strong in the Philippine Navy, where a strict class system was in place, separating the officers from the enlisted men.
On the night of August 31 to September 1, 1982, while the fleet was in the port of Subic, the sailors of the Philippine Navy destroyer Rajah Soliman mutinied, taking prisoner all the officers of the ship, who were kept confined in their cabins. The insurrection immediately spread to the rest of the fleet in Subic, and all 14 units were soon in the hands of the sailors. The movement was under the leadership of Petty Officer Ernesto Gonzalez, who cabled the government demanding that they rescind the salary reduction, and also notifying them that the movement was not a political one.
On the third, the mutiny spread to the naval base of Corregidor, where the base personnel, students at the sailors' academy, the coastal artillery and workers of the navy shipyards took over the Southern fleet, bringing the number of ships in the hands of the insurrection to 26. The sailors grounded the officers, and then they took to sea to join the rest of the mutineers in Subic. In the meantime, other military units started to join the movement, including the Army Regiments, stationed in the cities of Balanga, Olongapo, and Iba respectively.
At this point the demands of the mutineers were increased to include an agrarian reform, industrial "solidarity" and the payment of external debt by the "millionaires". Marcos was extremely alarmed and sent the Admiral to negotiate, while at the same time preparing the Army and the Air Force. At the beginning, the negotiations moved quite smoothly, but they soon broke down when the mutineers started to suspect that the government was only interested in buying time while preparing to attack.
After the break in negotiations, the government issued an ultimatum for unconditional surrender. The mutineers answered by declaring a "social revolution" and announcing links with the Communist Party of the Philippines. Meanwhile the Minister of War had massed troops near each of the mutineers' strongholds.
With negotiations failing, the destroyer Rajah Soliman led the captured vessels to fire their guns against Manila. Manila was severely devastated by the attacks, and Marcos was even wounded when a 127mm shell struck the presidential palace. The Air Force concentrated all his air power in the town of Masinloc, near the port of Subic where the fleet was anchored. There the Air Force fielded two F-4 bombers, 8 F-3H Demon, 4 C-47 Skytrains, and 12 T-28 Trojan trainers specialized for light attack role. Their original mission had been to intercept the Southern Fleet to prevent it from joining the rest of the mutineers in Subic, however, the Air Force was not able to find the fleet at sea, and it could not prevent the task force from arriving safely.
Since the effectiveness of the Air Force had been placed in question by its earlier failure, Marcos insisted on attacking the fleet. This raid took place on the sixth at 5:00 PM. The plan was to concentrate the bombing over the destroyer Rajah Soliman, but the result was only one hit on the patrol craft Samar. This resulted in one dead and one wounded. Five planes were hit by fire from the fleet, but they were able to return to their air base, while one T-28 was so seriously damaged that it went down over Corregidor. Its two pilots survived with only minor injuries.

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PAF T-28 flying above Subic (1972) during the Mutiny..

The combined actions of Subic and Corregidor seemingly disheartened the mutineers, who decided to end the mutiny. They took the fleet to Subic and there they surrendered unconditionally to the authorities. The sailors were court-martialed and received different sentences ranging from short imprisonment to the death sentence.
After the mutiny, the Navy was left discontented. In 1985, in the wake of the People Power, the Navy splitted from the Department of Defense (who is pro-Marcos) and aligned themselves with Aquino, saying that "they are ready to fire their arms for the sake of democracy". In 1986, when Aquino presided over the government, she tolerated the bravery of the Navy enlistees and promised a reform and modernization of the Navy that was left "obsolete" during the Marcos era.

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