15 Most Famous Historical events that happened in the Philippines

The Philippines Photo by Yarla Landeros Wikimedia

15 Most Famous Historical events that happened in the Philippines

*Originally published by Diana K in July 2022 and Updated by Vanessa R on April 2023

The Philippines, consist of more than 7,000 separate islands in the western Pacific. It was declared independence from Spanish rule over 120 years ago. Gen. The Philippine Islands were discovered by Magellen in 1521, and claimed by Spain. The first successful settlements were made in 1565. 

The original peoples were largely Malay and Indonesian tribes, Negritos The earliest inhabitants were Negritos, sometimes called Pygmies and mainly Chinese merchants.

The influence of Muslim traders and teachers was felt in the Philippines as early as the 11th century. By the 14th century many Filipinos in the southern areas had been converted to Islam. They were called Moros by the Spanish. The Spanish were not able to fully contain the Moros until the latter half of the 19th century. In the early period the colony was quite isolated from Spain, which led to near autonomy by the colonial leaders. 

The population was converted to Roman Catholicism, and a strong centralized government with considerable clerical influence developed. Filipino groups Tagalog, Visayan, Bikol, Ilokano, Igorot, Ifugao, Tinggian, Bukidnon, Bagobo, still maintained their identity and languages, but Spanish was introduced throughout the country. 

Trade restrictions were eased in the 19th century creating a wave of prosperity. Chinese immigration increased dramatically during this period as did Spanish emigration from the newly independent countries of Latin America.

 It’s considered to be an emerging market and a newly industrialized country. Tourism also makes a large impact on the Philippines economy.

Here are the 10 Most Famous Historical events that happened in the Philippines

1.Civil and armed campaign for independence from Spanish rule began

Filipino desired for independence led to numerous uprisings. The most important of these began in 1896 and continued until the United States defeated Spain in 1898 in the Spanish-American War. 

Independence was declared at that time, but the terms of the treaty of Paris in 1898 ceded the Islands to the United States. The War of Resistance from 1899 to 1902 against U.S. rule is now referred to by many Filipinos as the Philippine-American War.

2. The capture of Emilio Aguinaldo by U.S troops in 1901

Photo of Emilio Aguinaldo, President of the Philippines 1899-1901 photo by Unknown Author Wikimedia 

Philippine revolutionary leader Emilio Aguinaldo was captured by U.S. troops during the Philippine War. The story of Aguinaldo is symbolic of the United States’ relationship with the Philippines in the last years of the 19 the century. 

After joining the U.S. side of the war against Spain, Aguinaldo and the Philippines faced another war with an imperialist power the United States Aguinaldo

In 1898, Aguinaldo declared the independence of the Philippine islands, and in January 1899, he became the president. After the Spanish defeat, the United States refused to recognize Aguinaldo’s government. 

On February 4, 1899, the Philippine Republic declared war on the United States. Two years later, Aguinaldo was captured by U.S. troops, and he reluctantly pledged allegiance to the United States. For the rest of his life, Emilio Aguinaldo wore a black bow in public to mourn his lost republic. On July 4, 1946, the United States granted the Philippines its independence and Aguinaldo removed his bow.

3.The invasion of the Philippines by the Japanese

Japan launched an attack on the Philippines on 1941, just ten hours after their attack on Pearl Harbor. Initial aerial bombardment was followed by landings of ground troops both north and south of Manila.

 The defending Philippine and United States troops were under the command of General Douglas MacArthur. He had been recalled to active duty in the United States Army earlier in the year . 

Douglas was designated commander of the United States Armed Forces in the Asia-Pacific region. The aircraft of his command were destroyed, the naval forces were ordered to leave. And  this because of the circumstances in the Pacific region, reinforcement and resupply of his ground forces were impossible.

The Philippine defense continued until the final surrender of U.S.-Philippine forces on the Bataan Peninsula in 1942. Corregidor , Quezon and Osmeña had accompanied the troops to Corregidor and later left for the United States, where they set up a government-in-exile. MacArthur was ordered to Australia, where he started to plan for a return to the Philippines.

Most of the 80,000 prisoners of war captured by the Japanese at Bataan. They were forced to undertake the infamous “Bataan Death March” to a prison camp 105 kilometers to the north.

4. The Liberation of the Philippines from Japanese 

During the battle, American and Philippine forces recaptured the city of Baguio on the island of Luzon from a Japanese occupation force photo by Julius Wikimedia

Gen. MacArthur, who had promised to return, landed in Leyte in 1944, thus commencing the military campaign to liberate the Philippines from the Japanese. In the ensuing struggle, Manila and most of the major Philippine cities suffered grievous damage. 

MacArthur declared the military campaign on Luzon closed on July 4, 1945, but the bulk of the Japanese ground forces were still intact in the mountains. Fighting continued in Mindanao. And Japan had not yet surrendered.

Upon his return to Manila, Osmeña pledged a Philippine Army division to participate in the assault landings on Japan. Guerrillas, now part of the army, trained accordingly. The atomic bombs negated the need for such action, and Japan accepted the Allied terms on August 15, 1945.

5. The  Philippines Independence day 1946

The Flag of the United States of America is lowered while the Flag of the Philippines is raised during the Independence Day ceremonies on July 4, 1946 photo from Philippine Presidential Museum and Library  Wikimedia 

This was a big international event. Though the Philippines did not yet have a Department of Foreign Affairs. It had to rely on the US government for much of the preparations.

May 1946 saw the start of a flurry of events to plan out the final days of the Commonwealth and prepare for Independence Day. A joint Filipino-American committee was formed to iron out details. 

The venue for the independence rites was chosen and a stage shaped in the form of a ship’s prow (symbolizing the ship of state) was built with towering pillars behind it. The stage and grandstand were built in front of the iconic memorial of the Philippine national hero, Jose Rizal, in Luneta Park. A large arch was erected near it, in front of the Manila Hotel, to welcome visitors.

As the month of July 1946 began, so did the numerous events and preparations to climax in Philippine Independence on July 4. 

6. The Plaza Miranda bombings and 1972 Manila bombings

On August 21, 1971, while the opposition (Liberal Party) was having their mitting de advance in Plaza Miranda, two fragmentation grenades exploded. It took 9 lives and left more than 100 people seriously wounded.

Some Liberal Party candidates were seriously injured. Including Jovito Salonga, who nearly died and was visually impaired. Suspicion of responsibility for the blast initially fell upon Marcos, whom the Liberals blamed for the bombing.

Based on interviews of The Washington Post with former Communist Party of the Philippines Officials. It was revealed that “the (Communist) party leadership planned  and three operatives carried out the attack in an attempt to provoke government repression and push the country to the brink of revolution…

 (Communist Party Leader) Sison had calculated that Marcos could be provoked into cracking down on his opponents, thereby driving thousands of political activists into the underground, the former party officials said. Recruits were urgently needed, they said, to make use of a large influx of weapons and financial aid that China had already agreed to provide.

7.The Proclamation of Martial Law

Martial law was lifted by President Marcos on January 17, 1981, through Proclamation 2045. He continued to rule the country until 1986 when he went to exile after the People Power Revolution.

 However, Marcos retained virtually all of the executive powers he held as dictator, through a combination of the 1972 constitution and the various decrees he had put in place before Martial Law, which all remained in effect.

Marcos issued Proclamation No. 1081, declaring and imposing martial law in the entire country. This was six hours after the alleged assassination attempt against Enrile . It also involved citing more than 15 bombing incidences, chaos and lawlessness.

8. The assassination’s of political rival of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos 

Ninoy Aquino photo by Armm Wikimedia

Aquino Jr. popularly known as Ninoy, was a prominent political rival of the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos. He was among the first arrested following the declaration of martial law in 1972 .

Aquino was sentenced to death by a military commission in 1977. However hewas never executed and was allowed to seek medical aid and self-exile in the US.

Aquino Jr. was assassinated upon returning to the Philippines in 1983 — an event widely seen as being key to Marcos’ downfall. In 1986, Marcos was replaced as president by Aquino Jr.’s wife, Corazon Aquino. 

9.The Southern Leyte mudslide in Philippines in2006

work to search for survivors and recover casualties of a devastating landslide that struck southern Leyte Photo by CPL Justine Park Wikimedia 

In 2006, a massive rock slide-debris avalanche occurred in the Philippine province of Southern Leyte. It caused widespread damage and loss of life. The deadly landslide (or debris flow) followed a 10-day period of heavy rain and a minor earthquake (magnitude 2.6 on the Richter scale). The official death toll was 1,126.

10. Fate of terror-raided  unknown targets

Philippine Commandos Killed in Raid Over Suspected Terrorist. Almost 400 police commandos had swooped before dawn in the operation to hunt down Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan. A top suspect in the 2002 Bali bombings and one of the United States’ most wanted militants, with a $US5 million bounty for his capture.

11. The Battle of Leyte Gulf 

The Battle of Leyte Gulf is considered to be one of the largest naval battles in history, it took place in October 1944 and is also seen to have been a turning point in World War II. The war that took place for three days was between the United States and the Empire of Japan. Japanese troops tried to stop the US from landing forces in Leyte and managed to stop Allied supplies from getting to the Philippines. 

The Battle of Surigao Strait is seen as one of the battles biggest military engagements among other many battles that also took place. The United States emerged victorious while the Japanese had a lot of casualties. Four aircraft carriers sunk, and three battleships and four smaller ships disappeared. Japan had enjoyed their supremacy in the Pacific for a while and this battle ended it while America helped liberate the Philippines. 

12. A presidential aircraft crashed in 1957

President Ramon Magsaysay who was also the 7th president of the Philippines, together with his wife and 26 other passengers was on board when the plane when crashed. No one survived the crash when a plane that was flying from Cebu City to Manila crashed into Mount Manunggal in the Cebu province. It is unfortunate that the incident would’ve probably been avoided if they didn’t fly in poor weather and if the pilot had better skills. 

13. The explosion of Mount Pinatubo in 1991

During the nine-hour eruption, which happened in the Philippines, ash and other volcanic elements were blasted up to 21 miles into the atmosphere. Many homes and farmlands were destroyed, and thousands of people were killed as a result of the eruption, which also left the surrounding area horribly damaged. Air travel was affected by the ashfall, which also had a global effect by lowering temperatures all over the world. Volcanologists closely followed the eruption and the governments worked hard to help the wounded residents.  

14. Foreign tourists were kidnapped in 2000

20 European tourists who were staying at the 5-star resort in Palawan were kidnapped in May 2000 by the terrorist group known as Abu Sayaff. In order to release the tourists they demanded for cash and also asked for their allies to be released. The Philippine government refused to cooperate which led to the hostages being held captive for months in the forests of the island of Basilan. In September 2000, the tourists were finally saved by the Philippine government. 

15. A lone gunman held a bus full of tourists hostage

A former Philippine police officer by the name of Rolando Mendoza boarded a tourist bus in Manila on August 23, 2010, and held the tourist hostage, as he demanded his reinstatement in the police force. Global attention was drawn to the incident since it lasted for more than 10 hours and was covered live on worldwide news networks. Despite attempts at negotiation, the standoff escalated into a violent fight that left eight hostages dead and many others hurt. The episode strained diplomatic ties between the Philippines and Hong Kong because the tourists were from Hong Kong.