1971 in the Philippines details events of note that happened in the Philippines in the year 1971.
Incumbents
President: Ferdinand Marcos (Nacionalista) Vice President: Fernando Lopez (Nacionalista) House Speaker: José Laurel, Jr. (until April 1) Cornelio Villareal (starting April 1) Chief Justice: Roberto Concepcion Congress: 7th
Events
February February 1–9 – Diliman Commune occurs wherein students, led by Kabataang Makabayan and Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan, set up barricades at University of the Philippines Diliman. It becomes a protest against the militarization in the university as clashes result to arrests and the death of at least a student. Some facilities, including radio station DZUP and the UP Press, are seized. After series of dialogues, barricades in the entire UP system are voluntarily removed, including those at the UP Los Baños which have been set up since February 7. (PDF)
April April 15 – A Philippine Air Force plane crashes into a rice field near an air base in Pampanga, killing all 40 people on board.According to Aviation Safety Network database (Link), the said aviation accident was the 3rd worst at that time and currently the 7th. The worst at that time was the one which occurred in May 1964, now the 3rd deadliest, with 80 fatalities (including 1 on the ground). (See the details of May 1964 and Apr. 1971 accidents. Retrieved 02-11-2021.)
May May 1 – The 55th Philippine Constabulary Company (PC), then assigned to the PC's Metropolitan Command (Metrocom), fires into a crowd of students protesting in front of the Philippines' Legislative Building, killing three protesters in what became known as the May Day Massacre.
June June 1 – The 320-member Constitutional Convention, formed to draft a new Constitution which will replace that of 1935, formally convenes at the Manila Hotel. June 11 – Former president Carlos P. Garcia, a delegate from Bohol, is elected president of the Constitutional Convention, serving only until his death on June 14. June 19 – Suspected members of extremist Christian group Ilagas storm in a mosque in Carmen, Cotabato, and gun the Moslems down, killing at least 65. June 29 – Former president Diosdado Macapagal of Pampanga is elected to replace Garcia as president of the convention. Sotero Laurel of Batangas has served in the same position in acting capacity.
July July 8 – Presidential Arm on National Minorities (Panamin), represented by its director Manuel Elizalde Jr. and its research director Robert B. Fox, announcing the discovery of the Tasaday tribe—described as apparently existed in Stone Age isolation, reports contacting 24 of "no more than 100" of them in a forest in South Cotabato on June 7–8 and 16. July 17 or 18 – A group consisting of anthropologists and journalists, and being led by Elizalde, makes an interview with 25 of about 100 members of the "Tasadays" in the southern Mindanao.
August August 21 – Explosion of fragmentation grenades hurled by terrorists in a political campaign rally of the Liberal Party at Plaza Miranda in Quiapo, Manila, kill nine and injure 95 others, including many prominent LP politicians. August 22 – President Marcos suspends the Writ of Habeas Corpus
September September 5 – On the day of scheduled peace conference called by President Marcos to seek an end the ongoing sectarian violence in Lanao del Norte, an opposition politician is killed in his residence; while 20 armed men allegedly from the Moslems' Barracudas are killed in a gun battle with government troops.Lanao del Norte:
September 19 – Philippine Statehood, U.S.A., a movement being headed by former congressman Rufino Antonio, surfaces publicly through a newspaper advertisement on its nationwide campaign for the Philippines to be the 51st state of the United States by 1973. Since then, its membership reportedly doubled to 2.5 million within a month.Campaign for the Philippines as 51st state of U.S.A.:
October October 10 – Murder convict and fugitive Leonardo Manecio (Nardong Putik) is killed in a highway shootout with a team from the National Bureau of Investigation in Kawit, Cavite, concluding a massive manhunt against him."Manila police kill 'most wanted man'" (10-11-1971) UPI via The Bryan Times, p. 3. (Link) Retrieved 02-24-2022.
November November 8: Senatorial elections were held in the Philippines. The opposition Liberal Party took 5 seats in the Philippine Senate while 3 seats were taken by the Nacionalista Party, the administration party. Oroquieta becomes a city in the province of Misamis Occidental through ratification of Republic Act 6022. Army members, searching for Moslem voters in Lanao del Sur, open fire on civilians, killing 39 and injuring 36. Fourteen military personnel would later be charged of murder in April 1972.
Unknown dates Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) is formally established by Nur Misuari in an island in Malaysia."Kasaysayan: The Story of the Filipino People, Volume 10: Timeline of Philippine History"
Holidays
As per Act No. 2711 section 29, issued on March 10, 1917, any legal holiday of fixed date falls on Sunday, the next succeeding day shall be observed as legal holiday. Sundays are also considered legal religious holidays. Bonifacio Day was added through Philippine Legislature Act No. 2946. It was signed by then-Governor General Francis Burton Harrison in 1921. On October 28, 1931, the Act No. 3827 was approved declaring the last Sunday of August as National Heroes Day. As per Republic Act No. 3022, April 9 was proclaimed as Bataan Day. Independence Day was changed from July 4 (Philippine Republic Day) to June 12 (Philippine Independence Day) on August 4, 1964.
January 1 – New Year's Day February 22 – Legal Holiday April 9: Maundy Thursday Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor) April 10 – Good Friday May 1 – Labor Day June 12 – Independence Day July 4 – Philippine Republic Day August 13 – Legal Holiday August 29 – National Heroes Day November 25 – Thanksgiving Day November 30 – Bonifacio Day December 25 – Christmas Day December 30 – Rizal Day
Sports October 1 – Alberto Jangalay dies after being knocked down by Kid Snowball of South Africa in the 8th of the 10-round fight—the 43rd in his entire boxing career—in Brisbane, Australia.A. Jangalay:
Births February 1 – Cathy Yap-Yang, business journalist February 14 – Kris Aquino, actress and TV host February 22 – Lea Salonga, actress and singer February 24 – Paolo Abrera, actor, TV host and commercial model March 13 – Janet Abuel, lawyer, accountant, and public servant May 14 – Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, government official May 16 – Gary Estrada, actor May 19 – Sylvia Sanchez, actress May 22 – Raimund Marasigan, rock musician July 21 – Paco Arespacochaga, musician and songwriter July 23 – Eugene Domingo, actress August 2 – Tina Paner, singer and actress August 7 – Lawrence Fortun, politician August 12 – Ate Gay, singer and comedian August 26 – Antonio Trillanes, politician September 2 – Arnold Arre, graphic novelist September 7 – Melissa de la Cruz author September 16 – Antolin Oreta, politician October 14 – Robert Jaworski Jr., basketball player October 19 – Noli Locsin, basketball player October 27 – Niño Muhlach, actor November 12 – Joet Garcia, politician November 13 – Buddy Zabala, musician and producer December 13 – Van Partible, animator, writer and producer November 30 – Bobby Andrews, actor December 15 – Diego Llorico, comedian
Date unknown Cherry Pie Picache, actress
Deaths January 4 – Conrado Benitez, founder of the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement February 16 - Edgar Ang Sinco, student activist March 4 – Marcial Lichauco, lawyer and diplomat March 16 – Vivencio Cuyugan, politician, boxer and one of the founders of the Hukbalahap April 29 – Adelina Gurrea, journalist, poet and playwright June 14 – Carlos P. Garcia, 8th President of the Philippines September 5 – Vicente Garces, politician, writer and poet October 10 – Nardong Putik, gangster October 28 – Jesús A. Villamor, Filipino-American pilot
References