Timeline of the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos
This timeline of the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines covers three periods of Philippine history in which Marcos wielded political control. First, it covers the period of Marcos' first two terms—1965 to 1969 and 1969 to 1972—under the 1935 Consititution, as well as the antecedent events which brought Marcos to political power. Second, it covers the period in which Proclamation 1081, which put the entirety of the Philippines under Martial Law, was in force—from September 1972 to January 1981. Lastly, it covers the entirety of the period described as the "Fourth Republic," where the Philippines was governed by the 1973 Marcos Constitution after the formal lifting of Proclamation No. 1081.
The timeline covers many of the events highlighted in narrations of Philippine History since history-writing often has a slant towards political events. However, numerous historical events—especially typhoons and earthquakes—that took place in the Philippines during the Marcos presidency era are excluded from the list, as they are not primarily political in nature and did not highlight the political involvement of the Marcos administration.
A more expansive list of historical events which took place during the Marcos dictatorship era can be found in the relevant section of the Timeline of Philippine History article.
First and Second Terms and Antecedent events (1965–1972 and earlier)
| Year | Date | Event | Source |
| 1965 | November 9 | Ferdinand Marcos elected President of the Republic of the Philippines. | |
| 1965 | December 30 | Ferdinand Marcos takes his oath of office. | |
| 1966 | June 25 | Marcos issues Executive Order 66, paving the way for the construction of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and appointing a six-member board which promptly elects first lady Imelda Marcos as chair. | |
| 1967 | May 21 | A demonstration conducted by Lapiang Malaya ends in a violent disperse attempt by the Philippine Constabulary, killing 33. | |
| 1967 | August 8 | ASEAN was formed. | |
| 1968 | March 18 | In the Jabidah massacre, 68 members of a secret commando unit recruited by the Armed Forces of the Philippines are killed when they refuse further training. | |
| 1968 | May 1 | - | |
| 1968 | May | The Mindanao Independence Movement is short lived; failing to garner the support of the Muslim Masses. But it causes fear among non-muslim settlers. The Marcos administration encourages them to form of self-defense groups, which would later be known as the ilagas. | |
| 1968 | November | Matalam changes his positions five months later and becomes Ferdinand Marcos' adviser on Muslim Affairs. | |
| 1968 | December 26 | The Communist Party of the Philippines is established. | |
| 1969 | March 29 | The New People's Army is formally organized as the military arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines | |
| 1969 | June 14 | Marking the beginning of Ferdinand Marcos' 1969 Presidential campaign, the Nacionalista Party Junta, led by Senate President Gil Puyat, hold a meeting at the Manila Banking Corporation building on Ayala Avenue, Makati to assure that Ferdinand Marcos and Fernando Lopez would be nominated unchallenged at the Nacionalista Party convention a week later. President Marcos joins the group once the decision on his nomination has been finalized. | |
| 1969 | July 3–5 | U.S. President Richard Nixon visits the Philippines. | |
| 1969 | September | The Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila is inaugurated, with costs ballooning so high by December 1968 that Imelda was forced to seek US$7 million to finish the project in time to be a Marcos showcase for the 1969 presidential election. | |
| 1969 | November 11 | Marcos is re-elected for a second term as President of the Republic of the Philippines. | |
| 1970 | January–March | First Quarter Storm
| |
| 1970 | March 23 | Brothers Quintin and Rizal Yuyitung of the Chinese Commercial News are arrested on subversion charges and clandestinely deported to Taiwan | |
| 1970 | April | A large rally at Plaza Miranda | |
| 1970 | April 6 | A Jeepney Strike paralyzes greater Manila. | |
| 1970 | June 27 | President Marcos endorses the formation of Barrio Self Defense Units, which would eventually be renamed the Civilian Home Defense Forces. | |
| 1970 | November 17 | Elections for 315 members of a Constitutional Convention held. | |
| 1970 | November 27 | Pope Paul VI makes his first papal visit in the Philippines, but survived an assassination attempt by Benjamín Mendoza y Amor Flores at Manila International Airport. | |
| 1970 | December 29 | Forces led by Lt. Victor Corpuz raid the armory of the Philippine Military Academy. | |
| 1971 | February 1–9 | Diliman commune | |
| 1971 | June 1 | The Constitutional Convention assembles to rewrite the 1935 Constitution. The Convention elects former Pres. Carlos Garcia as its head. | |
| 1971 | June 14 | Death of Carlos Garcia, former Philippine President; another former Pres. Diosdado Macapagal succeeds as the president of the Constitutional Convention. | |
| 1971 | June 19 | Manili massacre | |
| 1971 | August 21 | Plaza Miranda is bombed during the Liberal Party's election campaign, seriously injuring some opposition personalities. | |
| 1971 | August 22 | Pres. Marcos suspends the Writ of Habeas Corpus following the Plaza Miranda bombing. | |
| 1971 | September 1 | Naval Station Sangley Point is formally turned over the Philippine government, ending 73 years as a US Naval Base. | |
| 1971 | November 8 | 1971 Philippine Senate election | |
| 1972 | January 11 | Pres. Marcos restores the Writ of Habeas Corpus | |
| 1972 | March to September | Various explosions take place in the greater Manila area, which would later be called the 1972 Manila bombings; the administration attributes the explosions to communists, but this is questioned by legislators who noted that the only suspects caught in connection to the explosions were actually linked to the Philippine Constabulary. | |
| 1972 | May 19 | Constitutional Convention Delegate Eduardo Quintero delivers a privilege speech, in which he exposes bribery at the Constitutional Convention | |
| 1972 | May 30 | Quintero provides further details, identifying imelda Marcos and three others as the source of the Payola money used for bribery at the Constitutional Convention | |
| 1972 | July 5 | MV Karagatan incident; The Philippine Constabulary confiscates arms and ammunition in a raid in Digoyo Point, Isabela. | |
| 1972 | September 13 | Oplan Sagittarius, a top-secret plan to place the capital under military control, is exposed by Senator Benigno Aquino, using information provided by Brig. Gen. Marcos Soliman |
Martial law period (September 1972 to January 1981)
| Year | Date | Event | Source |
| 1972 | September 17 or 21 | Pres. Marcos signs theProclamation No. 1081 document, placing the entirety of the Philippines under Martial Law. | |
| 1972 | September 22 | Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile survives an "assassination" attempt. | |
| 1972 | September 22 | Pres. Marcos announces that he had placed the entire country under martial law, with the earlier "ambush" as a pretext. | |
| 1972 | September 22 | Marcos issues Letter of Instruction no. 1, which orders the closure of media establishments and wire agencies. | |
| 1972 | September 22 | Sen. Ninoy Aquino is arrested. | |
| 1972 | September 23 | Press Secretary Francisco Tatad announces the implementation of martial law in the late afternoon; Ferdinand Marcos goes on air at 7:00 PM to formalize the announcement. Demonstrations are banned, and a curfew is imposed. | |
| 1972 | September 23 | Government forces shut down media outlets, including broadsheets the Manila Times; Daily Mirror; Manila Chronicle; Manila Daily Bulletin; Philippine Daily Express; Philippines Herald; Philippine Free Press, Graphic; and the Nation.Media outlets owned by Marcos crony Roberto Benedicto are exempted: newspaper Daily Express and television and radio stations of Kanlaon Broadcasting System. | |
| 1972 | September 23 | In the hours following the announcement, hundreds of media practitioners and opposition figures are arrested, including Senators Francisco Soc Rodrigo, Jose Diokno, and Ramon Mitra Jr., joining Senator Benigno Aquino who had been arrested a day before the formal declaration. | |
| 1972 | October 21 | The Moro National Liberation Front, a splinter group from the Muslim Independence Movement led by Nur Misuari, is officially formed | |
| 1972 | October 21–23 | Upon its formation, the MNLF launches an attack on Marawi, Lanao del Sur. The group targets the Philippine Constabulary headquarters, a government radio station, and the campus of the Mindanao State University. Government troops eventually retake the city. 75 persons are killed. | |
| 1972 | October 23 | Presidential Decree 27 is issued, declaring the entirety of the Philippines as a "Land Reform area". | |
| 1972 | November 2 | Presidential Decree 36 is issued, canceling the franchises and permits of all mass media facilities allegedly trying to topple the government, and creating the Mass Media Council which determines the granting of certificates of authority to newspapers, radio, and TV. It would later be restructured as the Media Advisory Council. Primitivo Mijares serves as chair of the Council as well as of the National Press Club. | |
| 1972 | November 29 | The Constitutional Convention passes the new Constitution of the Philippines, which is supposed to be ratified via a plebiscite. | |
| 1972 | December 7 | Carlito Dimahilig attacks Imelda Marcos with a bolo in a failed assassination attempt during an event for her National Beautification and Cleanliness campaign. Congressman Jose D. Aspiras and beautification campaign administrator Linda Amor Robles also suffer lacerations. | |
| 1972 | December 31 | Marcos issues Presidential Decree 86, the "Revised Barrio charter", which cancels the polls for the ratification of the new constitution, and replaces them with Citizen's Assemblies which would be held in the next month, January 1973. | |
| 1973 | January 10–15 | In the first constitutional referendum of 1973, voters in the Philippines' 35,000 Barangays are gathered into "Citizen's Assemblies," where they are told indicate via show of hands whether they agreed to the continuation of Martial Law, the closure of Congress, and the ratification of the new constitution. Accounts of these citizen assemblies later claim that the questions were misrepresented to the assembled voters, and court cases are filed saying that "there is no proper submission to the people there being no freedom of speech, press and assembly, and there being no sufficient time to inform the people of the contents thereof." | |
| 1973 | January 15 | Chinese drug lord Lim Seng is executed by firing squad in public in Fort Bonifacio for drug trafficking. | |
| 1973 | January 17 | Marcos issues Proclamation 1102, declaring the approval of the 1973 Constitution and ordering Congress to be padlocked. | |
| 1973 | March 31 | A majority decision by the Supreme Court dismisses a case that questions the validity of Proclamation 1102, saying that the question of the proclamation's validity was merely "a political question." The decision effectively upholds the validity of the 1973 Constitution. Chief Justice Roberto Concepcion writes the decision, outlining the facts of the case, and then writes his own dissenting opinion. | |
| 1973 | April 24 | The National Democratic Front is formally organized. | |
| 1973 | April | Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas is established | |
| 1973 | May | The Masagana 99 program is launched | |
| 1973 | July 27 | A second constitutional referendum is held, in which the constituent assemblies vote via show of hands to supposedly ratify the 1973 constitution, suspend the creation of the Interim National Assembly, and extend Martial Law. Ferdinand Marcos's term as president is effectively extended. | |
| 1973 | September 1 | Marcos exercises Presidential Decree 87 and signs a US$12 million service contract with Americans, Canadian and Philippine companies for oil exploration, exempting them from all taxes except income tax, and all duties for importation of materials to be used for exploration. | |
| 1973 | October 20 | Marcos appoints Querube Makalintal as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, replacing Roberto Concepcion. | |
| 1973 | November 8 | Marcos orders a longer semestral break and a three-day weekend in order to save on energy. | |
| 1973 | November 12 | A nationwide gasoline rationing system is put in place, and the Philippine National Oil Company is created to supervise oil operators. | |
| 1974 | February 2 | DWGT-TV, now People's Television, is established | |
| 1974 | February 4–11 | The Municipality of Jolo is destroyed in the Battle of Jolo, between government forces and the recently founded Moro National Liberation Front. | |
| 1974 | March 11 | Japanese Lt. Hiroo Onoda formally surrenders in a ceremony held in Malacañang Palace after staying for years in the Lubang Island. | |
| 1974 | March 19 | Jaime Sin is installed as Archbishop of Manila after the death of the more conservative Cardinal Rufino Santos. Sin formally becomes a member of the College of Cardinals on 24 May of the same year. | |
| 1974 | June 24 | The Marcos administration takes up a US$17 million loan from Kuwait | |
| 1974 | July 21 | The 23rd Miss Universe Pageant, in 1974, is held in Imelda Marcos' project, the specially constructed Folk Arts Theater in Manila. The Marcoses entertain the candidates at their lavishly constructed summer resthouse in Olot, Leyte. | |
| 1974 | August 5 | The Philippine Constabulary starts training the Civilian Home Defense Forces with 36,000 trainees; the first in a projected 180,000-strong force. | |
| 1974 | August 24 | Jesuit Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches is raided by the military, who are allegedly searching for Jose Maria Sison. Jesuit Rev. Jose Blanco is arrested as a suspected rebel. | |
| 1974 | August 28 | The Marcos administration takes up a US$51.3 million loan from the Asian Development Bank to develop metro manila water supply system - the bank's biggest loan ever at the time. | |
| 1974 | August 29 | Marcos orders the release of Rev. Blanco and 13 students. | |
| 1974 | September 11 | Political prisoners are arbitrarily released in celebration of Ferdinand Marcos' birth day, including high profilie prisoners Senator Jose Diokno, former WWII Guerilla leader Eleuterio Adevoso, Benjamin Guingona, Antolin Oreta Jr. and Angel Baking. | |
| 1974 | September 21 | Marcos issues Presidential Decree 557, changing the name of Philippine villages from "Barrio" to "Barangay," based on the assertions of early chronicler Juan de Plasencia that "Barangay" was a name used to describe early Philippine villages. | |
| 1974 | September 20–29 | First Lady Imelda Marcos visits People's Republic of China, meeting Chairman Mao, Premier Chou En Lai and Vice-Chairman and Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping, paving the way for eventual normalization of relations. | |
| 1974 | September 17 | Supreme Court upholds the declaration of martial law and dismisses petitions for habeas corpus. | |
| 1974 | September 20 | Marcos stages a press conference, beamed worldwide via satellite, in which he defends Martial Law and denies media censorship having political prisoners. | |
| 1974 | October 11 | Secretary-general Felicisimo Macapagal of the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas signs a memorandum of cooperation with the Marcos administration. | |
| 1974 | October 15 | Marcos instructs the National Power Corporation to find new areas for the proposed Kalinga dams. | |
| 1974 | October 20 | The Marcos administration takes up a US$125 million loan from the International Monetary Fund so that it can import oil. | |
| 1974 | November 11 | Marcos signs Presidential Decrees 576 and 576-A, abolishing the Media Advisory Council and authorizing the creation regulatory bodies for broadcast and print media, the basis for the creation of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas and the Philippine Council for Print Media. | |
| 1974 | November 20 | Eugenio Lopez, Jr. and Sergio Osmena III stage a hunger strike while in prison to protest their detention. | |
| 1974 | December 1 | Jose Sison's essay entitled Specific Characteristics of Our People's War published | |
| 1974 | December 24 | A classified wire revealing the so-called Rolex 12 is submitted by the American Embassy in Manila to the Secretary of State in Washington, D.C. | |
| 1975 | January 6 | Presidential Decree 633 creates the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women, and Imelda is made its head | |
| 1975 | February 20 | Media Advisory Council chair and Marcos propagandist Primitivo Mijares defects from the government. | |
| 1975 | February 27–28 | The Philippine executive and legislative powers referendum of 1975 is held, with the supposed results allowing Marcos to restructure local government and allowing Martial Law to continue. | |
| 1975 | April 4 | Ninoy Aquino starts his hunger strike and refuses to recognize military court's jurisdiction on charges against him. | |
| 1975 | April 15 | Presidential Decree 684 creates the Kabataang Barangay, and President Marcos' daughter Imee Marcos becomes the first Kabataang Barangay chairperson. | |
| 1975 | June 9 | Diplomatic relations with People's Republic of China are formalized. | |
| 1975 | June 17 | Primitivo Mijares testifies in the U.S. Congress on the alleged corruption and abuses of the government. | |
| 1975 | September 20 | Teenager Ernest Lucas dies after being shot in an altercation with Juan Ponce Enrile's son Jackie Enrile | |
| 1975 | October 2 | The Thrilla in Manila Heavyweight World Championship boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier is held at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City. | |
| 1975 | October 24 | The 1975 La Tondeña strike, because it wasn't against a company claimed as a "critical industry," becomes the first major labor protest to take place after the decalaration of Martial Law. | |
| 1975 | November 3 | Presidential Decree 823 bans all strikes regardless of industry, and prohibits foreigners from participating in local trade unionism | |
| 1975 | November 7 | Presidential Decree 824 creates Metropolitan Manila and appoints Imelda Marcos as Governor. | |
| 1976 | January 4 | New people's Army Spokesman Satur Ocampo arrested | |
| 1976 | April 7 | The National Arts Center is inaugurated on Mount Makiling; National Artist Nick Joaquin uses the occasion to recount the story of Maria Makiling, who got angry at those who felled trees on her mountain, effectively lambasting the Marcoses for the showcase NAC project, which cost US$12 million. | |
| 1976 | April 27 | Primitivo Mijares' book The Conjugal Dictatorship of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos is published. | |
| 1976 | July | Lt. Victor Corpuz is captured. | |
| 1976 | August 17 | An earthquake of 7.8 magnitude and a following tsunami hits the Moro Gulf in Mindanao, killing an estimated 8,000 people on and off the coast. | |
| 1976 | August 26 | Bernabe Buscayno of the New People's Army is arrested in Pampanga | |
| 1976 | September 3 | Government begins demolitions in Tondo in preparation for the upcoming Annual meeting of boards of governors of World Bank and International Monetary Fund; over 400 families are displacedby the time the meeting happens in October. | |
| 1976 | October 4–8 | The Annual meeting of boards of governors of World Bank and International Monetary Fund is held in the Philippine International Convention Center. | |
| 1976 | October 16 | Martial Law allowed to extend through the Philippine constitutional referendum of 1976. | |
| 1976 | November 12 | An economic mission, which includes First Lady Imelda Marcos and Secretary Vicente Paterno, departs for Libya. | |
| 1976 | December 23 | With Libya as a mediator, the MNLF and the Philippine government sign the Tripoli Agreement, which would have established an autonomous region that included Basilan, Sulu, Palawan, and other areas in the southern Philippines, dividing authority over such fields as foreign policy, defense, education, courts, and finances between the Philippine government and the proposed autonomous government. Ferdinand Marcos submits the ratification of the agreement to a referendum, rather than issue an executive order as the MNLF wanted. | - |
| 1977 | January 20 | The Armed Forces of the Philippines enters into a ceasefire agreement with the MNLF. | |
| 1977 | January 20 | Jimmy Carter, who had lambasted Marcos' human records during the campaign, is inaugurated as President of the United States. However, US support for the Marcos regime continues to flow into the Philippines throughout the Carter Administration. | |
| 1977 | March 26 | President Marcos signs Proclamation 1628 established a provisional autonomous government in the 13 provinces stipulated in the Tripoli Agreement. | |
| 1977 | April 17 | A plebiscite on autonomy is conducted in the 13 provinces. The creation of one autonomous region is overwhelmingly rejected, and two separate regional governments are created instead: one for Region IX and one for Region XII. The provinces of Davao del Sur, South Cotabato, and Palawan opting for exclusion from autonomy altogether. | |
| 1977 | August | Pres. Marcos announces amnesty for persons found guilty of subversion. | |
| 1977 | August 22 | Imposition of curfew hours lifted | |
| 1977 | August 31 | Mapua Institute of Technology student Archimedes Trajano attends an Open Forum at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila where presidential daughter and Kabataang Barangay chair Imee Marcos is speaker. He asks, “Must the Kabataang Barangay be headed by the president’s daughter? She would not have gotten the position if she weren't the daughter of the president." Imee Marcos is allegedly irritated, and Trajano is forcibly thrown out of the open forum, blindfolded, and then beaten by Marcos' bodyguards. | |
| 1977 | September 2 | Archimedes Trajano is found dead with signs of beating and torture apparent and his body and face severely mangled. | |
| 1977 | October 1 | Eugenio Lopez, Jr. and Sergio Osmeña III escape from detention in Fort Bonifacio and flee to the United States. | |
| 1977 | October 10 | In the Patikul Massacre, Brigadier General Teodulfo Bautista, and 32 men of the 1st Infantry Division are killed by MNLF Forces under Usman Sali in Patikul, Sulu | |
| 1977 | November 10 | CPP head Jose Maria Sison is arrested | |
| 1977 | November 25 | The military court finds Ninoy Aquino, Bernabe Buscayno and Victor Corpuz guilty of their charges and sentences them to death by firing squad; but sentence never imposed. | |
| 1977 | November 24 | President Marcos accuses former president Diosdado Macapagal of aiding communist forces in Central Luzon, in response to Macapagal's anti-Martial Law stance. | |
| 1977 | December 16 | A referendum is held, the result of which again empowers the President to continue in office, and concurrently become Prime Minister. | |
| 1978 | April 7 | Members of the Interim Batasang Pambansa are elected in the Philippine parliamentary election of 1978. The KBL, including Imelda Marcos, win all 21 seats in Metro Manila, and 187 seats nationwide. | |
| 1978 | May 2 | U.S. Vice President Walter Mondale visits the Philippines. | |
| 1978 | June 12 | Inauguration of Interim Batasang Pambansa with Pres. Marcos as its Prime Minister. | |
| 1979 | January | U.S. military bases agreement amended in return for a US$500 million aid package. | |
| 1979 | March 25 | 23,000 Filipino civilian employees go on strike in the various US Bases in the Philippines, the third such major labor strike in the US bases, after two instances in 1971, | |
| 1979 | May 7 | Regional Legislative Assembly elections are held in the Zamboanga Peninsula Region and former Region XII. | |
| 1979 | May–June | The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development is held in the Philippine International Convention Center. | |
| 1979 | November 12 | Construction of a nuclear-power plant in Bataan is ordered to be stopped. | |
| 1979 | December 24 | The military arrests members of the middle class resistance group Light-a-Fire Movement are arrested, including Ester Paredes Jimenez, future senator Heherson Alvarez, and Asian Institute of Management Professor Eduardo Olaguer. | |
| 1980 | January 30 | The 1980 Philippine local elections are held - the first under the martial law era. | |
| 1980 | May 1 | The Kilusang Mayo Uno is organized | |
| 1980 | May 8 | After Senator Benigno Aquino suffers a serious heart attack in prison, the Marcos administration, wary of the PR risk should the risky surgery done at the Philippine Heart Center and fail, allows Senator Benigno Aquino to seek treatment in the United States. | |
| 1980 | May 13 | Senator Benigno Aquino undergoes Heart Bypass Surgery at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. | |
| 1980 | June 20 | Opposition figures Eva Kalaw, Raul Manglapus, and 20 others are charged with subversion. | |
| 1980 | October 8 | Presidential Decree 727, making unlawful “the malicious dissemination of false information,” is issued. | |
| 1980 | November 4 | Ronald Reagan, whom the Marcoses considered a personal friend, wins the United States presidential election of 1980. | |
| 1980 | December | Imelda Marcos flies to New York, holding meetings "on neutral ground" at her suite at the Waldorf Astoria with leaders of the opposition overseas, including Senator Aquino, and with President Elect Ronald Reagan, who tells Imelda Marcos that it would be good if "Marcos could get a fresh mandate from the people." Imelda informs Reagan that Marcos would lift the proclamation of Martial Law. | |
| 1980 | December 4 | Eva Kalaw and Ernesto Rendon are arrested, only to be released 5 days later. | |
| 1980 | December 20–22 | Marcos grants amnesty to more than two thousand prisoners in preparation for the lifting of the Martial Law edict | |
| 1981 | January | Construction of the Coconut Palace is completed in time for the visit of Pope John Paul. | |
| 1981 | January 16 | The day before the lifting of Martial Law, Marcos issues Presidential Decree No. 1791, which gives immunity from court action to civilian or military officials acting on the basis of the Martial Law edict. The act also gives immunity to officials following orders from the President after martial law is lifted. |
"Fourth Republic" period (January 1981 to February 1986)
| Year | Date | Event | Source |
| 1981 | January 17 | Marcos issues Proclamation 2045 which formally lifts the proclamation of Martial Law in time for Pope John Paul II's visit and Reagan's inauguration, but retains many of his powers. Amendment Six to the 1973 constitution allows him to continue making laws, and the decrees issued during Martial Law are carried forward after its lifting. He also retains the right to suspend the writ of habeas corpus for "crimes related to subversion, insurrection, rebellion, and also conspiracy to commit such crimes." | |
| 1981 | January 20 | Ronald Reagan, who had promised warmer relations with the Philippines than the US had under the Carter administration, is inaugurated. | |
| 1981 | February 17–21 | Pope John Paul II makes his first visit to the Philippines. He declares in a speech that "Even in exceptional situations that may at times arise, one can never justify any violation of the fundamental dignity of the human person or of the basic rights that safeguard this dignity." | |
| 1981 | April 7 | The Philippine constitutional referendum of 1981 amends the Constitution, giving more powers to the President and creating the Executive Committee on succession, new accreditation of political parties, etc. | |
| 1981 | May 11 | Various opposition parties which had decided as early as April to boycott the upcoming elections, meet in Baguio to launch a civil disobedience campaign, urging people "not to vote in the presidential election." | |
| 1981 | June 1 | Seattle-based Filipino American labor activists Gene Viernes and Silme Domingo are murdered at their offices in Pioneer Square in downtown Seattle. The murders are originally thought to be an isolated act of violence, but a 1989 federal jury eventually determined that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda had ordered the murders in retaliation for the victims’ anti-Marcos organizing. | |
| 1981 | June 16 | Ferdinand Marcos is re-elected to a third term as a result of the Philippine presidential election and referendum of 1981 | |
| 1981 | June 30 | The "New Republic" under the 1973 constitution is inaugurated; Marcos is sworn in for the third time as president, and Finance Minister Cesar Virata is elected Prime Minister by the Batasang Pambansa | |
| 1981 | November 17 | The sixth floor of the Manila Film Center collapses, killing a number of workers. Conflicting reports arose about the exact number of casualties. An urban legend later cites a figure 168 workers, with the project supervisor Betty Benitez becoming the 169th victim after her death in a freak car accident a few months later. | |
| 1982 | January | Sportsman Tomas Manotoc is abducted and "rescued" by the government agents. | |
| 1982 | January | The Manila International Film Festival is held in the Manila Film Center, which had been finished so recently that the concrete had reportedly not dried properly yet. | |
| 1982 | April | The United Nationalist Democratic Organization is formed. | |
| 1982 | May | The first Philippine barangay election is held. | |
| 1982 | August 2 | We Forum, a triweekly paper established in 1976, runs a story exposing Marcos' alleged World War II medals as "fake." | |
| 1982 | September 1 | Labor leaders including Felixberto Olalia Sr. and Crispin Beltran of the KMU are arrested. | |
| 1982 | September 14 | Pres. Marcos leaves for a State Visit to the United States, to speak to President Reagan. | |
| 1982 | September 17 | Presidents Marcos and Reagan speak in the white house, with the US bases in the Philippines as a major issue. | |
| 1982 | September 19 | The World Bank approves a US$77 million loan for three more energy projects. | |
| 1982 | December 7 | Newspapers We Forum and Malaya are shut down by the President for engaging in "black propaganda." We Forum editor Joe Burgos is arrested. | |
| 1982 | December 8 | 69 year old Manila Times publisher Chino Roces is also arrested, but is released the following day on house arrest | |
| 1982 | December 25 | Opposition leaders Ribomapil Holganza Sr.and Ramon Alberca are arrested. | |
| 1983 | April 17 | Cagayan de Oro Mayor Aquilino Pimentel Jr. is arrested via a Presidential Commitment Order | |
| 1983 | August 21 | Benigno Aquino, Jr. is assassinated at then Manila International Airport. | |
| 1983 | August 31 | Approximately seven million people attend the funeral procession of Ninoy Aquino. | |
| 1983 | September 21 | The opposition commemorates the anniversary of Martial Law as a National Day of Sorrow to mark Aquino's assassination. | |
| 1983 | November 21 | Martyrdom of Good Shepherd Sisters | |
| 1983 | December | The Marcos administration prepares an ad intended for placement in the New York Times and other major international dailies, exonerating Ferdinand Marcos for the Aquino Assassination. When asked to sign it, Foreign Minister Carlos P. Romulo instead resigns, citing ill health. Romulo goes into retirement "heartsick" over the assassination of Aquino, whom he considered a "friend", and over the resulting freefall of the Philippines' economy and international reputation. | |
| 1984 | January 27 | Executive Committee is abolished and the Office of the Vice President is restored through a constitutional amendment as ratified in a plebiscite. | |
| 1984 | February 5 | "Tarlac to Tarmac" march is staged by opposition and coalition groups. | |
| 1984 | May 14 | 1984 Philippine parliamentary election | |
| 1984 | July | National Assembly covenes; Prime Minister Virata reconfirmed; Nicanor Yniguez elected Speaker. | |
| 1984 | September 15 | Teofisto Guingona Jr. accuses the marcos regime of diverting half of the country's $26 billion debt to private enterprises, and demands a review of Bataan Nuclear Power Plant | |
| 1984 | September 27 | The September 1984 Welcome Rotonda protest dispersal turns violent; student leader and future UP Diliman chancellor Fidel Nemenzo is shot in the kidney and nearly killed; photographs of 80-year-old former Senator Lorenzo Tanada and 71-year old Manila Times founder Chino Roces facing water cannons become iconic of the administration's use of excessive force. | |
| 1984 | November 14 | Mayor Cesar Climaco assassinated | |
| 1984 | December 1 | Manila LRT Line 1 opened. | |
| 1985 | April 11 | Fr. Tullio Favali is murdered by paramilitary forces, making him the first foreign missionary martyred during Martial Law. His death caused international attention to human rights violations and abuses to paramilitary forces during the Marcos dictatorship. | |
| 1985 | July | Pres. Marcos transfers the control of the Integrated National Police from Defense Ministry to the presidential control. | |
| 1985 | August | Opposition Parliament members file impeachment charges against Pres. Marcos. | |
| 1985 | September 20 | A massacre in Escalante, Negros Occidental kills at least 20 people. | |
| 1985 | October 21 | Marchers joining the five-day Lakbayan rally are shot by the police at Taft Avenue before reaching Liwasang Bonifacio, leaving a number of deaths. | |
| 1985 | October 28 | Congressional and U.S. intelligence sources report that Pres. Marcos was diagnosed with a fatal illness. | |
| 1985 | November 3 | Pres. Marcos announces in a television interview that he would set snap elections. | |
| 1985 | December 2 | AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Fabian Ver and 26 others accused of the assassination of Ninoy Aquino are acquitted by Sandiganbayan. | |
| 1985 | December 9 | The Philippine Daily Inquirer is founded and publishes its first issue. | |
| 1985 | December 15 | Death of Carlos Romulo | |
| 1986 | February 7 | 1986 Philippine presidential election | |
| 1986 | February 9 | Thirty-five COMELEC computer workers led by Linda Kapunan walk out at PICC, protesting alleged cheating of election results. | |
| 1986 | February 11 | Opposition Antique former Gov. Evelio Javier is assassinated during the canvassing of election results. | |
| 1986 | February 15 | Batasang Pambansa declares Marcos and Arturo Tolentino as re-elected President and elected Vice-President, respectively. Twenty-six Assembly members walk out before the proclamation. | |
| 1986 | February 16 | Marcos' opponent Corazon Aquino, widow of Benigno Aquino, Jr., is proclaimed President in Tagumpay ng Bayan rally in Rizal Park and calls for a civil disobedience campaign as a protest. | |
| 1986 | February 22–25 | EDSA Revolution ousts Pres. Marcos; Corazon Cojuangco–Aquino becomes President.
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| 1986 | February 26 | From Clark Air Base, Marcoses finally leave the country aboard U.S. planes to Guam and to Hawaii. | |
| 1986 | February 28 | Presidential Commission on Good Government is formed by Pres. Aquino. | |
| 1986 | March 25 | Pres. Aquino declares a revolutionary government, abolishes Interim Batasang Pambansa and the 1973 Constitution and adopts Freedom Constitution. | |
| 1986 | March 25 | After initial representations from the new Philippine government, the Swiss authorities freeze Marcos assets in Switzerland. | |
| 1986 | May 28 | Marcos crony Jose Yao Campos signs a compromise agreement with the PCGG, returns over PhP 250 million in cash, and identifies 197 corporations and properties - worth about PhP 2.5 billion—which he was supposedly holding on behalf of the Marcos Family—more assets than the PCGG had actually known about based on the documents they had recovered in Malacañang palace after the Marcoses left. The deal with Yao is the first compromise settlement entered into by the PCGG. | |
| 1986 | July 22 | DZMM of ABS–CBN is established as the first post-revolution AM radio station. | |
| 1986 | July 22 | DWKO established as the first post-revolution FM radio station. | |
| 1986 | July 28 | The Philippine Star publishes its first issue. | |
| 1986 | August 21 | Bantayog ng mga Bayani founded | |
| 1986 | September 13 | The Mt. Data Peace Accord is signed between the Philippine Government and the separatist Cordillera Bodong Administration-Cordillera People's Liberation Army. | |
| 1986 | September 14 | ABS–CBN resumes its broadcast. | |
| 1986 | November 13 | KMU chairman Rolando Olalia was shot dead in Antipolo, Rizal. | |
| 1986 | December | By the close of 1986, the PCGG had filed "39 civil cases for the recovery, reconveyance, reversion, accounting, and damages against the Marcoses and their cronies" |