Condensed Version of Philippine History

PHILIPPINE HISTORY IMPORTANT EVENTS
American Period 1901-1946
Tydings-McDuffie Law
Law on Women’s Suffrage
Tagalog as official language
Japanese invasion
Philippine Independence from America
The Making of the Neo-colony 1946-1972
Independence from the United States
The Third Philippine Republic
Land Reform Code
Marcos’s Reign
Establishment of the Fourth Philippine Republic
Crisis and National Breakdown 1972-2013
Proclamation of Martial Law
Assassination of Benigno Aquino
Establishment of the Fifth Republic
Erap’s Downfall
Chief Justice Corona’s

American Period 1901-1946
1. Tydings-McDuffie Law
March 25, 1934. This law, signed by Theodore Roosevelt, provided for the establishment of the transition period before America would eventually recognize Philippine Independence.
2. Law on Women’s Suffrage
December 14, 1937. For the first time, Filipino women were given the right to vote during elections.
3. Tagalog as official language
June 7, 1940. President Manuel L. Quezon proclaimed Tagalog as one of the official languages in the Philippines starting July 4, 1946. Tagalog later became known as the Filipino language.
4. Japanese invasion December 8, 1941. Japanese bombers attacked Clark Air Base and other American camps in Baguio City, Manila and Davao. This signaled the beginning of the Japanese Occupation in the Philippines.
5. Philippine Independence from America
July 4, 1946. America eventually let go of the Philippines.
6. The Jones Law
August 29, 1916, was signed allowing the existence of the Philippine Legislature and promising the Philippine independence from the United States.
7. Fall of Bataan
April 9, 1942. On this day, the "Fall of Bataan" and the infamous "Death March" took place. Around 76,000 starving Americans and Filipino soldiers surrendered to the Japanese in Bataan. The Japanese led their captives on a cruel hike from Mariveles, Bataan to Camp O’donnell in Capas, Tarlac. Around 7,000 to 10,000 men perished from starvation during the ten-day march while some were luckily pulled out secretly by watching civilians.
The Making of the Neo-colony 1946-1972
1. American Independence
On July 4, 1946, representatives of the United States of America and of the Republic of the Philippines signed a Treaty of General Relations between the two governments. The treaty provided for the recognition of the independence of the Republic of the Philippines as of July 4, 1946, and the relinquishment of American sovereignty over the Philippine Islands.
2. Plaza Miranda Bombing
June 1, 1971. A bomb exploded at Plaza Miranda during a political rally of the Liberal Party. There were around 100 casualties and 10 deaths. Starting that time, the popularity of Benigno Aquino and his Liberal Party grew rapidly. Marcos blamed the communists for suspicious bombing.
3. Martial law
September 21, 1972. President Ferdinand Marcos signed Proclamation 1081 declaring martial law to "save the Republic" from crime and violence. Marcos abolished the Congress and created the semi parliament Batasang Pambansa. It caused the takeover of many private businesses by the government, exile, disappearances and imprisonment of individuals critical of the government.
4. The Land Reform Code
The Agricultural Land Reform Code (RA 3844) was a major advancement of land reform in the Philippines and was enacted in 1963 under President Diosdado Macapagal. It abolished tenancy and established a leasehold system in which farmers paid fixed rentals to landlords, rather than a percentage of harvest. It also established the Land Bank of the Philippines to help with land reform, particularly the purchase of agricultural estates for division and resale to small landholders, and the purchase of land by the agricultural lessee.
5. The establishment of the Fourth Philippine Republic
Appeasing the Roman Catholic Church, Marcos officially lifted martial law on January 17, 1981. However, he retained much of the government's power for arrest and detention. Corruption and nepotism as well as civil unrest contributed to a serious decline in economic growth and development under Marcos, whose health declined due to lupus. The political opposition boycotted the 1981 presidential elections, which pitted Marcos against retired general Alejo Santos. Marcos won by a margin of over 16 million votes, which constitutionally allowed him to have another six-year term. Finance Minister Cesar Virata was appointed as Prime Minister by Marcos.
Crisis and National Breakdown 1972-2013
1. Assassination of Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino August 21, 1983. The senator was assassinated at the Manila International Airport, now named in his honor.
2. Fifth Philippine Republic
With the People Power Revolution, Corazon Aquino's assumption into power marked the restoration of democracy in the country. Aquino immediately formed a revolutionary government to normalize the situation, and provided for a transitional "Freedom Constitution" that restored civil liberties and dismantled the heavily Marcos-ingrained bureaucracy— abolishing the Batasang Pambansa and relieving all public officials. The Aquino administration likewise appointed a constitutional commission that submitted a new permanent constitution that was ratified and enacted in February 1987. The constitution crippled presidential power to declare martial law, proposed the creation of autonomous regions in the Cordilleras and Muslim Mindanao, and restored the presidential form of government and the bicameral Congress.
3. Biggest case of corruption
September 24, 1993. Former first lady Imelda Marcos was convicted for the first time of corruption and sentenced to 24 years in prison. Few days earlier, the remains of former President Marcos who died in 1989 in Hawaii was finally entombed at their family mausoleum in Batac, Ilocos Sur.
4. First actor President of the Philippines, June 30, 1998, first president to be prosecuted because of abuse of power and his involvement to some illegal activities. (November 13,2000)
Joseph Estrada, who had served as Ramos vice president and enjoyed widespread popularity, was elected president in 1998.Within a year, however, Estrada’s popularity sharply declined amid allegations of cronyism and corruption and failure to remedy the problems of poverty. Once again, street rallies supported by Cardinal Sin and Corazon Aquino took place. Then, in 2000 Senate investigators accused Estrada of having accepted bribes from illegal gambling businesses. Following an abortive Senate impeachment trial, growing street protests, and the withdrawal of support by the armed forces, Estrada was forced out of office on January20, 2001. Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was sworn in as Estrada’s successor on the day of his departure.
5. Renato Corona’s Impeachment
Renato Corona, the 23rd Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, was impeached on December 12, 2011. Corona was the third official, after former President Joseph Estrada in 2000 and Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez in March 2011, to be impeached by the House of Representatives. The Senate, convened as an impeachment court, began the trial on January 16, 2012. This was the second impeachment trial in the history of the Philippines, as Gutierrez had resigned prior to the start of her trial. On May 29, 2012, Corona was found guilty of Article II of the Articles of Impeachment filed against him pertaining to his failure to disclose to the public his statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth