Abstract

Total War' in The Philippines

With the fall of the twenty-year regime of politician Ferdinand Marcos in February 1986, the chronic crisis in the Philippine archipelago abated dramatically. The new head of state, President Corazon Aquino, having made a point during the electoral campaign of being "unlike" Marcos, embarked rapidly on a "liberalization program." Political prisoners were released; negotiations with the underground revolutionary forces were started; a new Constitution was drafted with the help of a few radical elements; and assets seized by Marcos and his cronies were returned to private hands. But five coup attempts by splinter military factions since then have altered the scene dramatically once again, and there are those who say that the coups were indeed staged to bring about the current situation.