1978 in the Philippines

Incumbents

• President: Ferdinand Marcos
• Prime Minister: Ferdinand Marcos
• House Speaker: Vacant, Querube Makalintal
• Chief Justice: Fred Ruiz Castro

  Events

• January 3 – Eleven worshipers died when fire broke out in a Buddhist temple in Manila.
• April 7 – General elections were held for the election of the 166 regional representatives to the Interim Batasang Pambansa. The elections were contested by the leading opposition party, the Lakas ng Bayan 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 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.
• August 25 – Tropical Storms severely battered the northern Philippines and Manila, killing more than 50 persons.
• 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.
• 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. The Philippines ranked seventh place in the event.
• October 27 – Typhoon Rita pummeled Manila with winds up to 94 miles per hour. At least 20 were killed and 70,000 left homeless in the floods that resulted.
• 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

• May 11 – Judy Ann Santos, Filipina television and film actress
• September 17 – Jennifer Rosales, Filipina golfer
• November 6 – Jolina Magdangal, Filipina television film actress and former Teen idol.
• December 8 – Pia Arcangel, Filipina television journalist
• December 17 – Manny Pacquiao, Filipino boxer and politician

  Television

Premieres

• The PBA on GTV