as President of the Philippines at the
Quirino Grandstand, Manila on December 30, 1961 In the
1961 presidential election, Macapagal ran against Garcia's re-election bid, promising an end to corruption and appealing to the electorate as a common man from humble beginnings. He defeated the incumbent president by a 55% to 45% margin. The
chief justice of the
Supreme Court administered the oath of office. The Bible that Macapagal used was later used by his daughter
Gloria when she took her oath as Vice President in 1998 and as President in 2004.
Administration and cabinet Major legislations signed • Republic Act No. 3512 – An Act Creating A Fisheries Commission Defining Its Powers, Duties and Functions, and Appropriating Funds. • Republic Act No. 3518 – An Act Creating The Philippine Veterans' Bank, and For Other Purposes. • Republic Act No. 3844 – An Act To Ordain The Agricultural Land Reform Code and To Institute Land Reforms In The Philippines, Including The Abolition of Tenancy and The Channeling of Capital Into Industry, Provide For The Necessary Implementing Agencies, Appropriate Funds Therefor and For Other Purposes. • Republic Act No. 4166 – An Act Changing The Date Of Philippine Independence Day From July Four To June Twelve, And Declaring July Four As Philippine Republic Day, Further Amending For The Purpose Section Twenty-Nine Of The Revised Administrative Code. • Republic Act No. 4180 – An Act Amending Republic Act Numbered Six Hundred Two, Otherwise Known As The Minimum Wage Law, By Raising The Minimum Wage For Certain Workers, And For Other Purposes.
Domestic policies Economy In his inaugural address, Macapagal promised a socio-economic program anchored on "a return to free and private enterprise", placing economic development in the hands of private entrepreneurs with minimal interference. With the democratic mechanism, however, the next choice was between
free enterprise and the continuing of the controls system. Macapagal stated the essence of free enterprise in layman parlance in declaring before Congress on January 22, 1962, that "the task of economic development belongs principally to private enterprise and not to the government. Ironically, he had little popularity among the masses. Early on in his presidency, Macapagal honored several individuals who returned lost wallets and checks to emphasize the virtue of honesty. He also publicized the assets, liabilities, and net worths of his cabinet officials to demonstrate his administration's transparency efforts; while government officials are required to submit statements of assets and liabilities, no law at the time necessitated them to be publicized. The administration also openly feuded with Filipino businessmen
Fernando Lopez and
Eugenio Lopez, brothers who had controlling interests in several large businesses. In the
1965 election, the Lopezes threw their support behind Macapagal's rival,
Ferdinand Marcos, with Fernando Lopez serving Marcos' running mate. The change became permanent in 1964 with the signing of Republic Act No. 4166.
Foreign policies in 1960
North Borneo claim in 1962 On September 12, 1962, during President Diosdado Macapagal's administration, the territory of eastern
North Borneo (now
Sabah), and the full sovereignty, title and dominion over the territory were ceded by heirs of the
Sultanate of Sulu, Sultan Muhammad Esmail E. Kiram I, to the Republic of the Philippines. The cession effectively gave the Philippine government the full authority to pursue their claim in international courts. The Philippines broke diplomatic relations with Malaysia after the federation had included Sabah in 1963. It was revoked in 1989 because succeeding Philippine administrations have placed the claim in the back burner in the interest of pursuing cordial economic and security relations with
Kuala Lumpur. To date, Malaysia continues to consistently reject Philippine calls to resolve the matter of Sabah's jurisdiction to the
International Court of Justice. Sabah sees the claim made by the Philippines' Moro leader Nur Misuari to take Sabah to International Court of Justice (ICJ) as a non-issue and thus dismissed the claim.
MAPHILINDO In July 1963, President Diosdado Macapagal convened a summit meeting in Manila in which a nonpolitical confederation for Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia,
Maphilindo, was proposed as a realization of
José Rizal's dream of bringing together the Malay peoples, seen as artificially divided by colonial frontiers. The US government's active interest in bringing other nations into the war had been part of US policy discussions as early as 1961. President
Lyndon Johnson first publicly appealed for other countries to come to the aid of South Vietnam on April 23, 1964–in what was called the "More Flags" program. Chester Cooper, former director of Asian affairs for the White House, explained why the impetus came from the United States instead of from the Republic of South Vietnam: "The 'More Flags' campaign ... required the application of considerable pressure for Washington to elicit any meaningful commitments. One of the more exasperating aspects of the search…was the lassitude …... of the Saigon government. In part ... the South Vietnam leaders were preoccupied with political jockeying. ... In addition, Saigon appeared to believe that the program was a public relations campaign directed at the American people."
1963 midterm election The senatorial election was held on November 12, 1963. Macapagal's
Liberal Party (LP) won four out of the eight seats up for grabs during the election – thereby increasing the LP's Senate seats from eight to ten.
1965 presidential campaign Towards the end of his term, Macapagal decided to seek re-election to continue seeking reforms which he claimed were stifled by a "dominant and uncooperative opposition" in Congress. With Senate President Ferdinand Marcos, a fellow member of the Liberal Party, unable to win his party's nomination due to Macapagal's re-election bid, Marcos switched allegiance to the rival Nacionalista Party to oppose Macapagal. Among the issues raised against the incumbent administration were graft and corruption, rise in consumer goods, and persisting peace and order issues. Macapagal was defeated by Marcos in the
November 1965 polls. is received by incumbent President Diosdado Macapagal at the Malacañan Palace Music Room, before both proceeded to the inaugural venue, December 30, 1965. ==Post-presidency and death (1965–1997)==