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| 1948, April 16 |
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| Roxas died in office and was succeeded by Elpidio Quirino. An amnesty for Huk guerrillas was negotiated, resulting in temporary peace. | 1 |
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| 1949, Nov. 8 |
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| Quirino won the election, and the populist Ramon Magsaysay became secretary of defense. The Central Bank was established to increase Philippine control over financial affairs. | 2 |
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| 1950 |
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| In the midst of a fiscal crisis, the Central Bank had to borrow to pay government servants. Magsaysay arrested the leaders of the Communist Party. By negotiating with the army to ensure that the 1951 election would be free of corruption, Magsaysay increased public confidence in the political system. | 3 |
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| 1953, Nov. 10 |
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| Magsaysay won the presidential election. The Huk insurgency began to decline as a result of a government policy combining reconciliation and military force. Magsaysay attempted to improve the situation of the poor with a series of reforms. However, land redistribution was obstructed by lack of funds, and the problems of poverty remained unsolved. | 4 |
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| 1957, March |
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| Magsaysay was killed in a plane crash, bringing to an end his populist political program. Carlos Garcia was elected president and embarked on a program of austerity and economic nationalism. | 5 |
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| 1963 |
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| Diplomatic tension flared between the Philippines and Malaysia over North Borneo, which the Philippines claimed as the former territory of Sulu. Ferdinand Marcos became leader of the Senate. | 6 |
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| 1964 |
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| Involvement in the retail trade was restricted to Philippine nationals, a move symptomatic of Philippine anxieties about foreign control of the economy. | 7 |
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| 1965, Nov. 9 |
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| Marcos was elected president, pledging to reform the “old order” by removing bureaucratic inefficiency and corruption. | 8 |
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| 1966 |
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| Amid great political controversy, Marcos sent troops to Vietnam. | 9 |
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| 1967 |
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| The Philippines joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (See Overview). | 10 |
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| 1968 |
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| The Moro National Liberation Front was established to fight for independence for Muslims in Mindanao. Muslim guerrilla activity reached its peak in the early 1970s. The insurgency has continued into the 1990s, but its intensity diminished during the 1980s, in part because of increased government spending in Mindanao and divisions in the movement about their goal: independence or autonomy. | 11 |
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| 1969 |
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| Marcos won the election, promising a policy of liberal government expenditure and initiating a period of authoritarian rule in the name of national rejuvenation. The Communist Party of the Philippines was reestablished. The Communist New People's Army (NPA) was set up. | 12 |
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