ABSTRACT

For a quarter century after attaining complete independence on July 4, 1946, the Philippines functioned as a working democracy, with elections held on a regular basis. Although the inspiration for the constitution of the Philippines was the US version, it provided for a unitary government. The first major challenge to the authority of the new government came from the Hukbalahap rebellion. The Japanese occupation of the Philippines proved a catalyst for the formation of the Hukbalahap. The anti-Huk campaign succeeded dramatically in the early 1950s with the appointment of a former guerrilla captain, trucking operator, and congressman, Ramon Magsaysay, as the country's new defense minister. To the two old challenges to the Philippine state—Communist insurgents and Muslim secessionists—was added a third early in the Aquino administration: rightist rebels within the military establishment. They opposed her socioeconomic reforms and negotiations for peace with the Communists on grounds that she had no electoral mandate to carry out such activities.