1978 in the Philippines

1978 in the Philippines details events of note that happened in the Philippines in the year 1978.

← 1977 1976 1975 1978 in the Philippines → 1979 1980 1981
Decades:	1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s
See also:	List of years in the Philippines films

Incumbents

Former President Ferdinand Marcos at the White House in 1966.

• President: Ferdinand Marcos (Nacionalista Party)
• Prime Minister: Ferdinand Marcos (Nacionalista Party) (post established on June 12)
• House Speaker: Vacant (until June 12), Querube Makalintal (starting June 12)
• Chief Justice: Fred Ruiz Castro

Events

• January 3 – Eleven worshipers died when fire broke out in a Buddhist temple in Manila.[1]
• April 7 – General elections were held for the election of the 166 (out of 208) regional representatives to the Interim Batasang Pambansa (the nation's first parliament). The elections were contested by the leading opposition party, the Lakas ng Bayan (LABAN) which had twenty-one candidates for the Metro Manila area and the leading candidate was the jailed opposition leader Ninoy Aquino while the regime's party known as the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) which was led by the then First Lady Imelda Marcos.
• April 27 – Parliamentary sectoral elections for the election of the Interim Batasang Pambansa sectoral representatives was held.
• July 9 – At least 11 persons were killed and 110 injured when fire broke out in a theater complex in Manila.[1]
• August 25 – Tropical Storms severely battered the northern Philippines and Manila, killing more than 50 persons.[1]
• September 14 – A Philippine Air Force plane, carrying members of President Ferdinand E. Marcos' security staff and journalists, crashed in Manila while trying to land in a thunderstorm. At least 32 persons were killed.[1]
• October 1–14 – The 1978 FIBA World Championship was hosted by Philippines from October 1 to 14, 1978. Rizal Memorial Coliseum at Manila and Araneta Coliseum at Quezon City, Metro Manila were the venues for the event.[2] The Philippines ranked seventh place in the event.
• October 27 – Typhoon Rita pummeled Manila with winds up to 94 miles per hour (150 kilometers per hour). At least 20 were killed and 70,000 left homeless in the floods that resulted.[1]
• December 9-20 – The Philippines participated in the 1978 Asian Games held in Bangkok, Thailand. It ranked ninth with 4 gold medals, 4 silver medals and 6 bronze medals with a total of 14 over-all medals.

Births

• January 4 – Lino Cayetano, politician and television director
• January 25 – Nyoy Volante, singer
• January 31 – Jessa Zaragoza, actress and singer
• February 3 – Miko Palanca, actor (d. 2019)
• February 8 – Francis Pasion, film and television director (d. 2016)
• March 1 – Brandon Cablay, basketball player
• March 6 – Archie Alemania, actor, host, and comedian
• March 18 – Juris Fernandez, singer-songwriter
• March 21 – Joyce Jimenez, actress
• March 26 – Gian Sotto, actor and politician
• April 17 – Jaypee de Guzman, actor
• April 21 – Cindy Kurleto, Austrian model and actress[3]
• May 11 – Judy Ann Santos, television and film actress
• June 8 – Mr. Fu, radio and television personality
• June 10 – Ricky Calimag, basketball player
• June 14 – G. Toengi, actress
• June 17 – KC Montero, host, radio and television presenter
• June 23 – Gladys Reyes, actress
• July 1 – Precious Hipolito, politician
• July 13 – Gary David, basketball player
• July 14 – Karl Kendrick Chua, economist and acting secretary of National Economic and Development Authority
• July 22 – Ryan Eigenmann, actor
• August 12 - Jan Marini, singer, actress, blogger former teen idol of ABS-CBN's Ang TV
• August 14 – Mark Villar, businessman and Secretary of Public Works and Highways
• August 24 – Tony dela Cruz, basketball player
• September 8 – Regine Tolentino, TV host, actress, and businesswoman
• September 17 – Jennifer Rosales, golfer
• November 6 – Jolina Magdangal, television film actress and former Teen idol.
• November 26 – Jamir Garcia, frontman of Slapshock (d. 2020)
• November 27 – Gem Ramos, actress
• December 8 – Pia Arcangel, television journalist
• December 10 – Jon Arigo, basketball player
• December 17 – Manny Pacquiao, boxer and politician

Television

Premieres

• The PBA on GTV (sports program)

References

1. The 1979 World Book Year Book. Chicago, IL: World Book-Childcraft International, Inc. 1979. ISBN 0-7166-0479-5.
2. GAME DETAILS
3. It is unknown on what year Cindy Kurleto was born. A 2020 Myra Ultimate commercial listed Kurleto's age as 42, thus therefore making her year of birth as 1978.