First Quarter Storm

First Quarter Storm
January 26, 1970 demonstration
Date	1970
Location	Metro Manila
Causes	various local student uprisings leftist protests by students, labor unions, and 'radical' groups
Goals	remove internal issues in schools (e.g. tuition hikes) address poverty, economic crisis call for systemic change in the government (non-partisan constitutional convention)
Result	socio-political engagement of citizens (demonstrations)

The First Quarter Storm (Filipino: Sigwa ng Unang Kuwatro) was a period of leftist unrest in the Philippines, composed of a series of heavy demonstrations, protests, and marches against the government from January to March 1970, or the first quarter of 1970. Student activists played a large role in these demonstrations, expressing their condemnation of the country's economic crisis and rampant imperialism. These violent protests, along with the subsequent protests they inspired, were collectively a major factor that led to the declaration of Martial Law in 1972.

The nation was experiencing a crisis as the government was falling into debt, inflation was uncontrolled and the value of the peso continued to drop. The slight increase of the minimum wage was countered by continuous price price increases and unemployment.Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. remarked that the nation was turning into a 'garrison state' and President Marcos himself described the country as a 'social volcano.'

Kabataang Makabayan (KM) is a political organization founded by Jose Maria Sison on November 30, 1964, intended to be a nationwide “extension” of the Student Cultural Association of the University of the Philippines (SCAUP), which is also an organization of student activists founded by Sison in 1959 that moved towards “academic freedom in the University against the combined machinations of the state and the church.” The KM advocated for unity against and liberation from American imperialism, which "made the suffering of [the] people more complex and more severe." Their first demonstration, which took place at the U.S. Embassy on January 25, 1965, was held to this effect. The KM had since been active in various rallies and demonstrations such as those condemning the Laurel-Langley agreement, Parity Amendments, Mutual Defense treaty, the state visit of South Vietnam Premier Cao Ky in 1966, the state visit of President Marcos to the U.S., the Oct. 24, 1966 Manila Summit conference, the killings of Filipinos in American bases, and the visit of President Nixon—events which they believe contribute to the feudalistic nature of the country.