Pakikibaka: Salik sa Pag-usbong ng Kamalayang Pilipino, Dinastiyang Politikal, at Batas Militar

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering political dynasties, bossism, local elitism, and the history and human rights violations of the Marcos dictatorship.

Anarchy of Families

A political condition described in the work edited by Alfred McCoy wherein competing powerful families contest control over government offices and local resources, making familial rivalries more decisive than formal political parties, institutions, or public agendas.

Bossism

A political framework articulated by John T. Sidel (Capital, Coercion, and Crime: Bossism in the Philippines, 1999) describing a system where a local strongman maintains an entrenched monopoly over economic resources, state contracts, and coercive force to secure sustained authority.

Historical Roots of Bossism

According to John T. Sidel (1999), the structural phenomenon where formal democratic institutions such as popular elections were established prior to the full maturation of capitalism, rendering impoverished voters dependent on patron payouts and transforming the state apparatus into the primary foundation of wealth for local bosses.

Elite Adaptation (Pakikiangkop)

The tactical adjustment of dominant political families to formal legal restrictions, exemplified by alternating family members across elective posts to circumvent the three-consecutive-term limit mandated by the 1987 Constitution and the Local Government Code.

Three Forms of Power (Tatlong Anyo ng Kapangyarihan)

The structural levers identified by John T. Sidel (1999) utilized by political families: political power (elective positions and party machinery), economic power (control over land, commerce, contracts, and permits), and coercion (private armed groups or influence over state armed forces).

Rent-seeking Families

The characterization of political families highlighted in An Anarchy of Families as groups that directly extract and capture state resources, integrating the private family structure and public state apparatus into an interdependent system.

Maguindanao Massacre

The violent attack on November 23, 2009, in Sitio Masalay, Barangay Salman, Ampatuan, Maguindanao, where 58 individuals (including 32 journalists and media workers; 57 recovered bodies and the missing 58th victim, Reynaldo Momay) were slaughtered while escorting the filing of the certificate of candidacy for Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu.

Political Dynasty

The phenomenon in which members of the same family simultaneously or consecutively occupy elected public posts, frequently employing office-rotation tactics to maintain perpetual family hold over local and national governance.

"Fat" Dynasty

A classification of political dynasties defined by Dean Ronald Mendoza of the Ateneo School of Government wherein more than two family members simultaneously hold elective public offices.

"Thin" Dynasty

A classification of political dynasties where a family maintains an elective presence sequentially rather than having multiple members simultaneously occupying elected seats.

Article II, Section 26 of the 1987 Constitution

The constitutional mandate guaranteeing equal access to opportunities for public service and prohibiting political dynasties "as may be defined by law," an anti-dynasty provision that lacks implementation due to no enabling law being enacted as of September 30, 2026.

Ateneo School of Government / Oxford Development Studies Findings

Research published in Oxford Development Studies establishing a demonstrable correlation between the high prevalence of "fat" dynasties and elevated rates of poverty and socio-economic inequality across Philippine provinces.

First Quarter Storm

A historic wave of student demonstrations and mass actions from January to March 1970 protesting the administration of Ferdinand Marcos Sr., which included the violent confrontation known as the Battle of Mendiola on January 30, 1970.

Plaza Miranda Bombing

The deadly grenade explosion on August 21, 1971, targeting the Liberal Party miting de avance, which was immediately cited by Ferdinand Marcos Sr. as the justification to suspend the writ of habeas corpus via Proclamation No. 889.

Proclamation No. 1081

The presidential proclamation signed by Ferdinand Marcos Sr. on September 21, 1972 (announced publicly on September 23, with certain records noting September 17), placing the entire Philippine archipelago under martial law citing communist insurgency and unrest.

Citizens' Assemblies (1973 Constitution)

The non-secret, viva voce consultative assemblies convened in January 1973 while Congress was closed to bypass a standard plebiscite and declare the ratification of the 1973 Constitution by open show of hands.

Proclamation No. 2045

The presidential order issued on January 17, 1981, that formally concluded martial law in the Philippines while still retaining extensive decree-making and emergency executive powers for Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

Assassination of Ninoy Aquino

The fatal shooting of former Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. on August 21, 1983, at the Manila International Airport upon his return from exile in the United States, which catalyzed nationwide open resistance to the dictatorship.

EDSA People Power Revolution

The mass non-violent uprising from February 22 to 25, 1986, ignited by widespread electoral fraud allegations and tabulator walkouts during the February 7, 1986 snap election between Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and Corazon Aquino, culminating in the end of the authoritarian regime.

Article VII, Section 18 of the 1987 Constitution

A post-EDSA constitutional restriction limiting any executive suspension of the writ of habeas corpus or declaration of martial law to a duration of no longer than 60 days without legislative extension.

Benedict Anderson (1988 Thesis)

The scholarly analysis asserting that the political configuration emerging after the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution predominantly reverted to the pre-authoritarian oligarchic dominance and local elite power networks.

Republic Act No. 10368

The Philippine statute that legally acknowledges human rights abuses committed under the Marcos regime—such as summary executions, enforced disappearances, torture, and arbitrary detention—and provides for state reparation and memorialization.

Human Rights Victims' Claims Board (HRVCB)

The statutory body tasked under RA 10368 with processing and formally recognizing 11,103 victims of human rights abuses under the Marcos regime for official state reparations.

Freedom Memorial Museum

The memorial museum established with a cornerstone laid in 2022 to commemorate the lives, sacrifices, and struggles of human rights victims and activists during the martial law period.

"Never Again, Never Forget"

The collective civic stance and memory framework mobilized against historical revisionism, emphasizing documented evidence, judicial rulings, HRVCB records, and survivor testimonies regarding the martial law dictatorship.