Some information about the 4th President of the Philippines

1. Carlos P.
Garcia

2. • Carlos P. Garcia (1896-1971) was the fourth
president of the Republic of the Philippines. He was
noted for the enunciation of the Filipino First
Policy, intended to complete and guarantee
Philippine economic independence and sovereignty.
• Carlos P. Garcia was born in Talibon, Bohol, on
November 4, 1896. He took law courses at Silliman
University in 1918-1919 and graduated with a law
degree from the Philippine Law School. He topped
the bar examination in 1923. He was elected for
three terms (1925-1931) as representative of the
third district of Bohol. He served for three terms
(1933-1941) as governor of Bohol Province. For 13
years (1941-1954) Garcia served in the Senate of
the Philippines.

3. • During World War II, in May 1942, Garcia was
hunted by the Japanese military authority
because of his loyalty to the Allied cause and his
refusal to surrender and cooperate with the
government. After the war he participated in
several missions to Washington to work for the
approval of the Philippine Rehabilitation and War
Damage Claims. He was a delegate to the World
Conference at San Francisco to draft the charter
of the United Nations Organization in May 1945.
He acted as presiding officer of the Southeast
Asia Treaty Organization Conference in Manila in
1954, which produced the Manila Treaty and the
Pacific Charter.

4. • When President Magsaysay was killed in an
airplane accident on March 17, 1957, Garcia
became his successor, having been elected
vice president in November 1953. In the
elections of 1957 Garcia won over three other
candidates and became fourth president of
the republic since its independence in 1946.

5. • Garcia's main achievement before he became
president involved his activities as foreign policy expert
for the government. As secretary of foreign affairs, he
opened formal reparation negotiations in an effort to
end the nine-year technical state of war between Japan
and the Philippines, leading to an agreement in April
1954. During the Geneva Conference on Korean
unification and other Asian problems, Garcia as
chairman of the Philippine delegation attacked
communist promises in Asia and defended the U.S.
policy in the Far East. In a speech on May 7, 1954, the
day of the fall of Dien Bien Phu, Garcia repeated the
Philippine stand for nationalism and opposition of
communism.

6. • Garcia acted as chairman of the eight-nation
Southeast Asian Security Conference held in
Manila in September 1954, which led to the
development of the Southeast Asia Treaty
Organization, known as SEATO. Garcia's
cardinal principles in foreign affairs, as
announced in a speech on November 30,
1957, were "to maintain and improve
Philippine-American relations" and "to foster
closer ties with our Asian neighbours."

7. Stressed Austerity, Nationalism
• Garcia's administration was characterized by its
austerity program and its insistence on a
comprehensive nationalist policy. On March 3,
1960, he affirmed the need for complete
economic freedom and added that the
government no longer would tolerate the
dominance of foreign interests (especially
American) in the national economy. He promised
to shake off "the yoke of alien domination in
business, trade, commerce and industry." Garcia
was also credited with his role in reviving Filipino
cultural arts.

8. • The prevalence of graft and corruption in the
government, institutional carryover from
previous administrations, and U.S. disfavor of
his Filipino First Policy put Garcia on the
defensive and led partly to his defeat in the
1961 elections. Garcia died in 1971 at the age
of 74.

9. Alam nyo Ba?
• Maliban sa pagiging
politiko, si Pang.
Garcia ay isang sikat
na makata ng wikang
Cebuano. Dahil
dito, siya ay tinawag
bilang “Prince of
Visayan Poets”.

10. Mga Programa ng Administrasyong
Garcia
• Programa sa pagtitipid
• Patakarang Pilipino
Muna
• Pagpapalaganap ng
kulturang Pilipino
• Military bases
Agreement