page_title: Ferdinand Marcos
section_title: Bagong Lipunan (New Society)
hierarchical_section_title: Ferdinand Marcos / Martial law (1972–1981) / Bagong Lipunan (New Society)
caption_attribution_description: English: Japanese imperial army soldier Hiroo Onoda (R) offering his military sword to Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos (L) on the day of his surrender, March 11, 1974.
context_page_description: Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. was a Filipino politician and kleptocrat who was the tenth President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. A leading member of the New Society Movement, he ruled as a dictator under martial law from 1972 until 1981. One of the most controversial leaders of the 20th century, Marcos' rule was infamous for its corruption, extravagance, and brutality.
  Marcos claimed an active part in World War II, including fighting alongside the Americans in the Bataan Death March and being the "most decorated war hero in the Philippines". A number of his claims were found to be false and United States Army documents described Marcos's wartime claims as "fraudulent" and "absurd."
  Marcos started as an attorney, then served in the Philippine House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the Philippine Senate from 1959 to 1965. He was elected president in 1965, and presided over a growing economy during the beginning and intermediate portion of his 20-year rule, but ended in loss of livelihood, extreme poverty, and a crushing debt crisis.
context_section_description: As one of his rationalizations for the declaration of martial law, Marcos said that there was a need to "reform society" by placing it under the control of a "benevolent dictator" will could guide the undisciplined populace through a period of chaos.  He referred to this social engineering exercise as the bagong lipunan or "new society," and the Marcos administration produced a range propaganda materials – including speeches, books, lectures, slogans, and numerous propaganda songs – to promote it.
  According to Marcos's book Notes on the New Society, it was a movement urging the poor and the privileged to work as one for the common goals of society and to achieve the liberation of the Filipino people through self-realization.
  The Marcos regime instituted a youth organization, known as the Kabataang Barangay, which was led by Marcos's eldest daughter Imee. Presidential Decree 684, enacted in April 1975, encouraging youths aged 15 to 18 to go to camps and do volunteer work.
caption: Imperial Japanese Army soldier Hiroo Onoda offering his military sword to Marcos on the day of his surrender on March 11, 1974
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