For those who lived through the martial law days in the Philippines, it was obvious back then that President Ferdinand Marcos had lied to the people since the day he became president. His ambition to become the ‘leader for life’ was the greatest blunder he ever made and the country had to pay a very stiff price.
When Marcos defeated then President Diosdado Macapagal in the 1965 election, the country’s foreign debt was merely US$ 7 billion. But when he fled the country after 21 years in power, including 14 year of strongman rule, on widespread allegations of plundering the national coffers, the country’s foreign debt had ballooned to US$ 25 billion.
When Marcos defeated then President Diosdado Macapagal in the 1965 election, the country’s foreign debt was merely US$ 7 billion. But when he fled the country after 21 years in power, including 14 year of strongman rule, on widespread allegations of plundering the national coffers, the country’s foreign debt had ballooned to US$ 25 billion.