The 1965 Elections and the 3 Ms

The year 1965 was an interesting year. That was the year of three men whose family names all started with the letter “M” running against each other for the highest post of the land. Bitter political rivals to the end, what is even more interesting here is that many years and a generation or two later, the family of these bitter rivals would decide on a completely different path than these three men did, something that reshaped politics in the Philippines.

Today, the 1965 Philippine presidential and vice-presidential elections were held. Senate President Ferdinand E. Marcos challenged incumbent President Diosdado P. Macapagal. In the end, Senator Marcos, who ran under the Nacionalista ticket, defeated Macapagal, the nominee of the Liberal Party, by garnering 51.94% of the total votes. This, however, was not the first time a sitting president was replaced by someone who was not a chosen successor.

There were previous presidential upsets in the past, starting in 1946 when President Sergio Osmeña was defeated by Manuel Roxas; in 1953 when Ramon Magsaysay defeated incumbent Elpidio Quirino; and in 1961 when Diosdado Macapagal won over incumbent President Carlos P. Garcia. In a way, running against a sitting president seemed like a political pattern in the country, and Ferdinand E. Marcos’s winning against Macapagal in 1965 was just another example of this.

While the battle was centered on these two contenders, Raul Manglapus, a member of the Party for Philippine Progress, a split from the Nacionalista party, finished third. With Marcos, Macapagal, and Manglapus the leading three candidates, this made 1965 the election of the three M’s. Manglapus’ 5.17% was not impressive when compared with other third placers in previous elections, but his foray into this electoral contest catapulted him to national fame and he became one of the most popular opposition leaders against President Marcos.

What is even more intriguing here is that many years later, the progeny of Marcos, Macapagal, and Manglapus would do a complete 180 of what happened in 1965.  In 2017, Michael Ferdinand Marcos Manotoc, son of then Governor Imee R. Marcos and Tommy Manotoc and President Marcos’s grandson, tied the knot with Carina Amelia Manglapus, granddaughter of Raul Manglapus. Their marriage was hailed as something out of a fairy tale. Or, more appropriately considering their families, out of a Shakespearean opus.

As the grandson and granddaughter of bitter political rivals who both died probably hating each other, this marriage was even more interesting as they were second cousins. Michael's father, Tommy Manotoc, is the son of Ding Manotoc and Nena La'O. Meanwhile, Carina's father, Francis Xavier Manglapus, is the son of Raul Manglapus and Techie La'O, a sister of Nena La’O, making Tommy Manotoc and Francis Manglapus first cousins, and their children second cousins. Their marriage, then, brought an end to a decades-long feud between the Marcos and Manglapus families.

And then, in 2022, the son of former president Marcos, Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., ran for the presidency and was supported by former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the daughter of the very person defeated by Marcos in 1965. So, this again was another complete turnaround from the 1965 battles of the three M’s. Not only did former President Arroyo support Marcos Jr., but she also remains one of his staunchest allies today.

The 1965 presidential election is simply another reminder of how interesting and unpredictable politics is in the Philippines. From being bitterly against each other, who would have known that their own children and grandchildren would be supporting each other in later presidential elections as well as being united in holy matrimony years later?

Only in the Philippines.