When Ferdinand Marcos was elected the sixth President of the Philippines ten years ago, his island nation was in political turmoil. Even his opponents concede that Marcos, 58, has revived the Philippine economy and brought the country safely through a period of "anarchy, public confusion, terror and despair. "But the price has been high. Three years ago, Marcos imposed martial law and made himself a virtual dictator. Today an estimated 6,000 political prisoners are still in jail, including former Liberal Party Secretary-General Benigno Aquino Jr., 43, who might have defeated Marcos if elections had been held in 1973 according to the constitution. Last week TIME Correspondent David Aikman interviewed Marcos and his wife Imelda, 46, at Manila 's Malacañang Palace and sent this report:
It is after 1 o'clock in the afternoon in the ornate, white stucco Spanish mansion that sits upon Manila's Pasig River. Malacañang's huge second-floor reception hall used to be filled with the guests and functionaries of Spain's colonial governors. Now the great men of Philippine national independence stare down from the walls—Aguinaldo, Quezon, Roxas, Magsaysay. The hall most conveniently serves as a waiting area for the diverse individuals and groups who daily seek audience with the President. Saudi Arabian princes, American bankers, Jaycee delegations—all get their turn and are ushered one by one into the simple, wood-paneled presidential office. Most of the day's visitors have gone, and Marcos, only slightly wearied, is preoccupied by year-end economic projections. Says he, as aides hover around with neat folders of documents: "We thought we were going to have a whopping $1 billion deficit in the balance of payments, but we have been able to cut it by half. We made an across-the-board budget cut in all departments. Ruthless, but what can you do? There is no other way."
Front Men. When Marcos grins, it is hard to believe that the man could be ruthless. He has charm and accessibility in equal abundance. But his steely quality emerges clearly when he discusses his seizure of absolute power and the imposition of martial law. "I am one of those who felt guilty about the old system," he says. "But I realized I was a captive of it and so did a lot of other people. The [earlier] Presidents seemed to me as if they were just front men for the oligarchs behind them and, well, I wasn't going to be a front man for anyone. I wanted to reform and bring about a new society." He insists that even opposition leaders urged him to impose martial law in order to prevent chaos.
One of Marcos' curious attributes is his refusal to become emotional or defensive when accused of dictatorial methods. He does not meet criticism or serious problems headon, but either lets them peter out or attacks them from the side. Thus Marcos has adopted a strangely non-confrontational approach to the Moslem insurgency movement in the southern Philippines. He refused to allow the military an untrammeled hand in putting down the revolt and agreed to recognize the Moro National Liberation Front. Then he undercut its leadership by coaxing Moslem local field commanders into surrendering with generous amnesty conditions and promises of "utmost autonomy" in the Moslem areas.