Philippines Pavilion

Aug 23

In 1974, the Republic of the Philippines was in turmoil. Two years earlier, President Ferdinand Marcos had initiated a period of martial law and dictatorship that would last until 1986. It was an era marked by human rights abuses, extreme poverty, political and social unrest, and eventual economic collapse. The presidential welcome message alludes obliquely to the situation: “Our country struggles today against great odds to mold itself into a strong and progressive nation. Over the last few years, our efforts have met with some success; but, nonetheless, the work before us remains enormous.”

*World’s Fair welcome message from Ferdinand Marcos.*

Outside of this mention, the brochure generally portrays the Philippines of 1974 as a democratic, politically stable, and increasingly prosperous nation. The majority of the brochure focuses on Philippine national history and recent advances in its infrastructure, such as bridges and expressways. The economic story is central, and only a handful of photos and captions tie into the environmental theme of the fair. In some cases, it seems as though standard economic development/infrastructure photos were used and the environmental spin of the caption was added later. The results are not particularly instructive.

“The National Steel Corporation, just outside Iligan City, spews out factory waste from its furnace. More of these wastes would mean more pollution.”
“Industries such as the Mabuhay Vinyl Corporation need devices to control the toxic gases and other pollutants from their factories to maintain reasonable quality standards of atmosphere.”
“Population centers are especially vulnerable to pollution. Industry is awakening to the need of working hand-in-hand with the government and the community to prevent pollution’s serious threat to earthly existence born of full economic development. Shown here are [sic] the rapidly industrializing area of Marikina Valley, Rizal.”