1971 in the Philippines explained

1971 in the Philippines details events of note that happened in the Philippines in the year 1971.

Incumbents

• President: Ferdinand Marcos (Nacionalista Party)
• Vice President: Fernando Lopez (Nacionalista Party)
• 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

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.^[1]

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.^{[2] [3]}

June

• June 1 – The Constitutional Convention assembles to rewrite the 1935 Constitution. The Convention elects former President Carlos Garcia as its head.
• June 14 – Garcia dies and former President Diosdado Macapagal takes over the top position at the Convention.
• June 19 – Manili massacre

August

• August 21 – The Plaza Miranda bombing occurred during a political campaign rally of the Liberal Party at Plaza Miranda in the district of Quiapo, Manila in the Philippines on August 21, 1971.^[4] It caused nine deaths and injured 95 others, including many prominent Liberal Party politicians.^[5]
• August 22 – President Marcos suspends the Writ of Habeas Corpus

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.^{[6] [7]}

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 ratificaton of Republic Act 6022.

Unknown dates

• Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) is formally established by Nur Misuari in an island in Malaysia.^[8]

Holidays

See main article: Public holidays in the Philippines. As per Act No. 2711 section 29,^[9] 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.^[10] On October 28, 1931, the Act No. 3827 was approved declaring the last Sunday of August as National Heroes Day.^[11] As per Republic Act No. 3022,^[12] 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.^[13]

• 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

Births

• January 21 – Nanette Medved, actress and philanthropist
• February 1 – Cathy Yap-Yang, TV business journalist
• February 14 – Kris Aquino, Filipina actress and TV host
• February 22 – Lea Salonga, Filipina Broadway actress
• February 24 – Paolo Abrera, Filipino actor, TV host and commercial model
• March 13 – Janet Abuel, lawyer, accountant, and public servant
• March 21 – Lotlot de Leon, actress
• May 14 – Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, secretary of Tourism
• 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, Filipino actress
• August 2 – Tina Paner, singer and actress
• August 7 – Lawrence Fortun, politician
• August 12 – Ate Gay, singer and comedian
• August 26 – Antonio Trillanes, Senator of the Philippines
• 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
• November 30 – Bobby Andrews, Filipino actor
• December 13 – Van Partible, Filipino-American animator, writer and producer
• December 15 – Diego Llorico, comedian
• December 21 - Kier Legaspi, actor

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

Notes and References

1. 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.)
2. Web site: 2021-05-01 . Fifty years since the May Day massacre in the Philippines . 2023-03-13 . Joseph Scalice . en.
3. Web site: Elsa Balando . 2023-03-13 . Human Rights Violations Victims' Memorial Commission . en-US.
4. Web site: Partido Liberal Pilipinas: Timeline . 2007-10-27.
5. Web site: Locsin . Teodoro Jr. . Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. Man of the Year, 1971 . 2007-10-27 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080917183308/http://philippinesfreepress.wordpress.com/2006/08/20/benigno-s-aquino-jr-man-of-the-year-1971/ . September 17, 2008 .
6. "Manila police kill 'most wanted man'" (10-11-1971) UPI via The Bryan Times, p. 3. (Link) Retrieved 02-24-2022.
7. Web site: 9 Extremely Notorious Pinoy Gangsters. February 6, 2016.
8. http://rizal.lib.admu.edu.ph/reserve/12012/Kasaysayan%20Vol10%20%20A%20Timeline%20of%20Phil%20History.pdf "Kasaysayan: The Story of the Filipino People, Volume 10: Timeline of Philippine History"
9. Web site: AN ACT AMENDING THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE. live. February 22, 2022. Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. https://web.archive.org/web/20171025043316/http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph:80/1917/03/10/act-no-2711/ . October 25, 2017 .
10. Web site: Bonifacio Day in Philippines in 2022. live. February 22, 2022. Official Holidays. https://web.archive.org/web/20200705124615/https://www.officeholidays.com/holidays/philippines/bonifacio-day . July 5, 2020 .
11. Web site: Act No. 3827. live. February 22, 2022. Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. https://web.archive.org/web/20170828111303/http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph:80/1931/10/28/act-no-3827/ . August 28, 2017 .
12. Web site: April 6, 1961. AN ACT PROCLAIMING THE NINTH DAY OF APRIL AS BATAAN DAY AND DECLARING IT AS A LEGAL HOLIDAY.. live. February 22, 2022. Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. https://web.archive.org/web/20210217093423/https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1961/04/06/republic-act-no-3022/ . February 17, 2021 .
13. Web site: August 4, 1964. 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. February 22, 2022. Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.