MARCOS PA RIN

enate President from 1963–1965. While in power he implemented wide-ranging programs of infrastructure development and economic reform. In Seagrave's book "The Marcos Dynasty", he mentioned that Marcos possessed a phenomenal memory and exhibited this by memorizing complicated texts and reciting forward and backward such as the 1935 Constitution of the Philippines. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, in an interview with the Philippine Star on March 25, 2012, shared her experience as a speech writer to President Marcos: "One time, the Secretary of Justice forgot to tell me that the President had requested him to draft a speech that the President was going to deliver before graduates of the law school. And then, on the day the President was to deliver the speech, he suddenly remembered because Malacañang was asking for the speech, so he said, 'This is an emergency. You just have to produce something.' And I just dictated the speech. I think that was 20 or 25 pages. And then, in the evening, I was there, of course. President Marcos recited the speech from memory." Marcos studied law at the University of the Philippines, attending the prestigious College of Law. He excelled in both curricular and extra-curricular activities, becoming a valuable member of the university's swimming, boxing, and wrestling teams. He was also an accomplished and prolific orator, debater, and writer for the student newspaper. He also became a member of the University of the Philippines ROTC Unit (UP Vanguard Fraternity) where he met his future cabinet members and Armed Forces Chiefs of Staff. He sat for the 1939 Bar Examinations, receiving a near-perfect score and graduating cm laude despite the fact that he was incarcerated while reviewing; had he not been in jail for 27 days, he would have graduated magna cm laude. He was elected to the Pi Gamma Mu and the Phi Kappa Phi international honour societies, the latter giving him its Most Distinguished Member Award 37 years later. Marcos was famous for his anti-Japanese guerrilla activity during World War II—something that set him apart from his political opponents, many of whom had collaborated with the Japanese. Marcos won the presidency in 1965. In his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), Marcos revealed his plans for economic development and government reform. Marcos wanted the immediate construction of roads, bridges and public works, which included 16,000 kilometers of feeder roads, some 30,000 lineal meters of permanent bridges, a generator with an electric power capacity of one million kilowatts (1,000,000 kW), and water services to eight regions and 38 localities. He also urged the revitalization of the judiciary, the national defense posture and the fight against smuggling, criminality, and graft and corruption in the government.