ABSTRACT
In 1986, a combination of popular demonstrations, army defections, and pressure from the United States led President Ferdinand Marcos to flee the Philippines. Corazon Aquino has had to struggle with a host of obstacles, including attempted military coups, continuing Muslim and Communist rebellions in the countryside, and opposition from the Philippine elite to major social reforms. As David Wurfel has observed, nationalism in the Philippines was a form of "unsystemized ideology" used to legitimate the opposition. The US colonial rulers brought and actively encouraged universal education in the Philippines, giving it one of the highest literacy rates in Asia. Between 1975 and 1983, the Philippines' real gross national product grew at almost 4 percent, and it increased by 6.4 percent between 1975 and 1979. In 1972, the Philippines owed the World Bank only $142 million; this obligation increased to $576 million in 1978 and totaled almost $2.5 billion in 1985.
