Independent Philippines came at a cost.

Independent Philippines and the Third Republic (1946 to 1972)

In April 1946 elections were held, but despite the fact that the Democratic Alliance won the election they were not allowed to take their seats under the pretext that force had been used to manipulate the elections. The United States withdrew its sovereignty over the Philippines on July 4, 1946, as scheduled.

Manuel Roxas (Liberal Party) having been inaugurated president before the granting of independence strengthened political and economic ties with the United States - the controversial Philippine-US Trade Act, which allowed the US to partake equally in the exploitation of the countries natural resources and rented sites for 23 military bases to the US for 99 years. These bases would later be used to launch operations in Korea, China, Vietnam and Indonesia.

During the Roxas administration, a general amnesty was granted for those who had collaborated with the Japanese while at the same time the Huks were declared illegal. His administration ended prematurely when he died of heart attack April 15, 1948 while at the US Air Force Base in Pampanga.

Vice President Elpidio Quirino (Liberal Party), was sworn in as president after the death of Roxas. He ran for election in 1949 against Jose P. Laurel (Nacionalista Party), and won.

During this time the CIA under the leadership of Lt. Col. Edward G. Lansdale was engaged in paramilitary and psychological warfare operations with the goal to suppress the Huk-Movement. Among the measures which were undertaken were psyops-campaigns which exploited the superstition of many Filipinos and acts of violence by government soldiers which were disguised as Huks.

Until 1950 the US had provided the Philippine military with supplies and equipment worth $200 million dollars.

Ramon Magsaysay was elected President in 1953. His campaign was massively supported by the CIA, both financially and through practical help in discrediting his political enemies.

The succeeding administrations of presidents Carlos P. Garcia (Nacionalista Party, 1957-61) and Diosdado Macapagal (Liberal Party, 1961-65) sought to expand Philippine ties to its Asian neighbors, implement domestic reform programs and develop and diversify the economy.

Macapagal ran for reelection in 1965 but was defeated by former party-mate, Senate President Ferdinand Marcos who switched to the Nacionalista Party.

For further information on the history of the Philippines have a look here.

---

Copyright (c) 2004 CBD Finance Pty Limited. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".

---