What was going on when I was born?

The United States said today that the Philippines was headed toward ''civil war on a massive scale'' within a few years unless the Government made drastic internal changes. Officials of the State Department and the Defense Department, testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that while a Communist insurgency was not close to toppling the Government of President Ferdinand E. Marcos, trends pointed to a military stalemate in as few as three years. In the long run, the officials said, the unwillingness of President Marcos to clean up the political system, professionalize the military and break up business monopolies could lead to a collapse in the Philippines and deal a blow to Western interests. Most Dire Predictions by U.S. The assessments were made by Paul D. Wolfowitz, an Assistant Secretary of State, and Richard L. Armitage, an Assistant Secretary of Defense, both of whom have been involved in Philippine affairs. They gave the most dire estimates of the situation yet by the United States Government.

An article in Business Day on Tuesday about a drop in earnings at Merrill Lynch & Company for the third quarter omitted necessary information about the corresponding quarter last year. The company had a large one-time gain then; if that gain were set aside, earnings in the 1985 period would show an increase of 54 percent, to $38.4 million.

An article on Tuesday about the innovative curriculum of the Red Bank, N.J., elementary schools misstated the source of their workbooks and other educational materials. The materials are prepared by staff members, who draw on a variety of commercial sources. None of the material used is from Mastery Education Corporation.

Fluttering green pennants over the graves of men and the bones of camels and horses glistening in moonlight mark one of the most dangerous parts of an Afghan rebel trail used to bring military supplies to the country's northern provinces. The trail is the most important supply route for the insurgents fighting Soviet and Soviet-backed Afghan Army troops, according to rebel commanders, foreign medical workers and others who have traveled in Afghanistan. The Soviet and Afghan Government forces, these sources say, are well aware of the route's importance. For that reason, those who use it are subjected to almost daily air attacks and ambushes. Soviet Troops Put at 115,000 According to foreign military analysts in Pakistan, the supply route passes through areas with the largest concentration of Soviet troops, whose total number in Afghanistan is estimated at 115,000. The journey along the route seemed to indicate that the Russians were unable to stop the flow of rebel arms and ammunition, despite their control of the air and superiority in firepower.

Sweden, as a small nation, hardly ranks as a world leader in politics, armaments or commerce. But in finance, especially when it comes to raising money in the international capital markets, the Kingdom of Sweden has set a standard for ingenuity and innovation that few other borrowers can rival. Two weeks ago, for instance, Sweden retired $1 billion in floating-rate notes for new issues at better terms, even though the old issues would have been readjusted within the next few months. In a commentary on the subject last week, The Financial Times observed, ''Once gain Sweden has shown the way to other borrowers.''

The House of Representatives decisively approved a $276 billion military spending bill today, but not before the lawmakers sent shock waves through the Administration by voting to eliminate funds for 12 new MX missiles. The first vote on the missiles was 211 to 208, but the Administration and Republican leaders, working feverishly over the next few hours, succeeded in forcing a second vote that reversed the outcome, 214 to 210. The legislation freezes military spending at last year's level, and is a sharp rebuff to the Administration, which originally requested about $322 billion in military spending. Pressure to Cut Spending Many lawmakers said the day's events illustrated the growing pressure on Capitol Hill to cut Pentagon spending in light of Congressional efforts to require a balanced budget by 1991.

The Cuomo Administration yesterday offered its version of a proposal to curb hostile corporate takeovers. Governor Cuomo, who had vetoed a takeover bill in August that had been crafted by legislative leaders, said the new version would limit destructive takeovers but avoid interfering with the free-enterprise system. In contrast with the vetoed measure, the proposed bill focuses on the merger itself, a traditional area of state regulation, rather than on the purchase of stock. Governor Cuomo's counsel, Evan Davis, who drafted the bill, said it would let New York corporations operate ''with reduced fear of being subjected to abusive takeovers,'' thereby removing the incentives for ''abusive defensive tactics.''

The Reagan Administration catalogued for Congress today more than 200 foreign trade barriers that it said impede American exports, everything from soda ash to telecommunications equipment. It said it is seeking to eliminate all of these barriers by negotiations with other countries or by challenges under American law or through international organizations. The 241-page report, required under the 1984 Trade and Tariff Act, is the first Government listing of such barriers ever compiled, and it will be used both in fighting the practices and in setting priorities for a new round of multilateral trade talks. The United States trade representative, Clayton K. Yeutter, acknowledged in a transmittal letter to the Senate Finance Committee that many of the trade barriers are permitted under international law or practice and are therefore not ''unfair'' in a legal sense.

''Our patience is running out. I don't think President Marcos has got the word.''

The competition for tenants in office buildings has spawned a new weapon: elegant restaurants. From Manhattan's Equitable Tower and the new A.T.&T. headquarters to Chicago's One Financial Place and the 101 California Building in San Francisco, developers are adding high-priced restaurants to lure blue-chip tenants to new office towers, say real estate experts, food-service consultants and the developers. ''More developers have come to view restaurants as a building amenity,'' said Charles Shorter, a real estate consultant at the New York office of Laventhol & Horwath. Managers of some older buildings are following suit, adding the restaurants to the usual selection of coffee shops and fast-food outlets.

Shortly after word came that the cruise ship Achille Lauro had been hijacked, a meeting of family members and friends was convened at the Manhattan home of Leon and Marilyn Klinghoffer. At that time, the couple were two among 440 hostages. Even then, Letty H. Simon, who was among the close friends at that meeting, had an inkling of what might happen. ''I said to Ilsa and Lisa: 'Your parents are the only ones from New York City on board,' '' said Miss Simon, a public-relations consultant who became the family's spokesman and media adviser. 'I have a feeling we're going to be the subject of a lot of media attention.' By daylight it started.''

Mayor Koch said yesterday that New York City had begun to carry out the state's new rules to combat the spread of AIDS, just hours after complaining that the rules were so ''inadequate'' that they defied immediate enforcement. The Mayor, surrounded by lawyers and advisers at a hastily called news conference shortly after 5 P.M., declined to explain how the city would carry out a policy that he had the same day described as riddled with problems. Despite persistent questioning from reporters in his City Hall office, he would not be specific. In contrast to his normal conversational style, he spoke in a careful fashion that avoided statements of fact.