History of the Philippines (1986–present)

Early in his administration, Ramos declared "national reconciliation" his highest priority. He legalized the Communist Party and created the National Unification Commission (NUC), chaired by lawyer Manuel C. Herrera, to lay the groundwork for talks with communist insurgents, Muslim separatists, and military rebels. In June 1994, Ramos signed into law a general conditional amnesty covering all rebel groups, and Philippine military and police personnel accused of crimes committed while fighting the insurgents. In October 1995, the government signed an agreement bringing the military insurgency to an end.

A standoff with China occurred in 1995, when the Chinese military built structures on Mischief Reef in the disputed

Ramos was heavily criticized for his liberal economic policies,^[59] such as passing an oil-deregulation law, thus inflating prices of gasoline products.^[60] Ramos was also criticized for alleged corruption in his handling of the Philippine Centennial Exposition and the PEA-AMARI land deal, in which Ramos allegedly received kickbacks amounting to millions of pesos.^[61]

A peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) under Nur Misuari, a major Muslim separatist group fighting for an independent Bangsamoro homeland in Mindanao, was signed in 1996, ending the 24-year-old struggle. However an MNLF splinter group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) under Salamat Hashim continued the armed Muslim struggle for an Islamic state.

The 1998 elections were won by former movie actor and Vice President

Estrada assumed office amid the

On March 21, 2000, President Estrada declared an "all-out-war" against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) after the worsening secessionist movement in Mindanao.^[68][69] The government later captured 46 MILF camps including the MILF's headquarters: Camp Abubakar.^[70][71][72]

In October 2000, Ilocos Sur governor Luis "Chavit" Singson, a close friend of Estrada, accused the President of receiving collections from jueteng, an illegal numbers game.

On November 13, 2000, the House of Representatives impeached Estrada on grounds of bribery, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the constitution. His impeachment trial in the Senate began on December 7, but broke down on January 17, 2001, after 11 senators allied with Estrada successfully blocked the opening of confidential bank records that would have been used by the prosecution to incriminate the President. In response, millions of people massed up at the EDSA Shrine, where in 1986 the

Nevertheless, Estrada himself stood before the Supreme Court on grounds that he did not resign, but just went on an indefinite leave. The Supreme Court upheld the legitimacy of Arroyo with finality on March 2, 2001.

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo administration (2001–2010)

Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (the daughter of the late President Diosdado Macapagal) was sworn in as Estrada's successor on the day of his departure. Estrada later challenged the legitimacy of Arroyo's government, claiming he did not resign from office, but the Supreme Court twice upheld Arroyo's legitimacy. After Estrada was arrested on corruption charges in April 2001, thousands of his supporters staged an "EDSA III" to overthrow the Arroyo government, but the attempt failed when the protest rallies degraded into violence. Arroyo's accession to power was further legitimated by the mid-term congressional and local elections held in May 2001, when her coalition won an overwhelming victory.^[73]

Arroyo's initial term in office was marked by fractious coalition politics as well as

In 2005, a tape of a wiretapped conversation surfaced bearing the voice of Arroyo apparently asking an election official if her margin of victory can be maintained.[74] The tape sparked protests calling for Arroyo's resignation.^[74] Arroyo admitted to inappropriately speaking to an election official, but denied allegations of fraud and refused to step down.^[74] Attempts to impeach the president failed later that year.

Toward the end of her term, Arroyo spearheaded a controversial plan for an overhaul of the constitution to transform the present

On June 9, 2010, at the Batasang Pambansa Complex, in Quezon City, the Congress of the Philippines proclaimed Aquino as the President-elect of the Philippines,^[76] following the 2010 election with 15,208,678 votes,^[77] while Jejomar Binay, the former mayor of Makati, was proclaimed as the Vice President-elect of the Philippines with 14,645,574 votes,^[78] defeating runner-up for the vice presidency Mar Roxas, the standard-bearer of the Liberal Party for vice president.

The presidential transition began when Aquino won the 2010 Philippine presidential election.^[77] The transition was in charge of the new presidential residence, cabinet appointments and cordial meetings between them and the outgoing administration.

On May 11, 2010, outgoing President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed an administrative order, creating the Presidential Transition Cooperation Team.^[79] Arroyo instructed outgoing Executive Secretary Leandro Mendoza to lead the transition team.^[79] The transition team was created "to ensure peaceful, orderly and [efficient] transition on the 30th of June".^[79] On June 9, 2010, the transition team started informal meetings with the Aquino transition team.^[80]

On June 16, 2010, Aquino organized his transition team in a letter to outgoing

In 2013, the government announced it was drawing up a new framework for potential peace talks with the New People's Army.^[99]

In 2015, a

The presidential transition of Rodrigo Duterte began when Duterte won the 2016 Philippine presidential election. The transition was in charge of the new presidential residence, cabinet appointments and cordial meetings between them and the outgoing administration.

Duterte's presidency began following his inauguration on June 30, 2016, at the Rizal Ceremonial Hall of the Malacañang Palace in Manila, which was attended by more than 627 guests.^[104]

On July 12, 2016, the

In middle of October to November 2016, President Duterte announced numerous times his shift to ties with China and Russia. The president also blasted the United States and Barack Obama, as well as the United Nations and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, numerous times in various live interviews and speeches while in the Philippines, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Brunei, and Laos.^{[112][113][114][115][116][117]}

On November 8, 2016, the Supreme Court of the Philippines ruled in favor of the burial of the late president and dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani, the country's official cemetery for heroes, provoking protests from various groups.^[118]

Duterte initiated the "

In 2017, Duterte signed the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, which provides for free tuition and exemption from other fees in public universities and colleges for Filipino students, as well as subsidies for those enrolled in private higher education institutions. He also signed 20 new laws, including the Universal Health Care Act, the creation of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, establishing a national cancer control program, and allowing subscribers to keep their mobile numbers for life.^[127]

Duterte signed laws creating the

Duterte signed the Free Internet Access in Public Places Act. He signed the automatic enrollment of all Filipinos under the government's health insurance program through the Universal Health Care Act, signed the Philippine Mental Health Law, signed a law establishing Malasakit Centers in public hospitals, ordered the full implementation of the Reproductive Health Law, banned smoking in public places nationwide, and set a price cap on select medicines. He oversaw the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, implementing strict lockdown measures causing in 2020 a 9.5% contraction in the country's GDP, which eventually recovered to 5.6% in 2021 following gradual reopening of the economy and implementing a nationwide vaccination drive.

Duterte's domestic approval rating has been relatively high throughout his presidency.

Bongbong Marcos administration (2022–present)

In May 2022, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (known by his nickname "Bongbong"), son of former president Ferdinand Marcos, won the presidential election by landslide. His vice presidential candidate was Sara Duterte, daughter of then-president Rodrigo Duterte.^[128] On June 30, 2022, Marcos was sworn in as the Philippine president and Sara Duterte was sworn in as vice-president.^[129]

See also

• Timeline of Philippine history

References