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The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular demonstrations in the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
, mostly in
Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...
, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of
civil resistance Civil resistance is political action that relies on the use of nonviolent resistance by ordinary people to challenge a particular power, force, policy or regime. Civil resistance operates through appeals to the adversary, pressure and coercion: i ...
against regime violence and electoral fraud. The
nonviolent revolution A nonviolent revolution is a revolution conducted primarily by unarmed civilians using tactics of civil resistance, including various forms of nonviolent protest, to bring about the departure of governments seen as entrenched and authoritarian ...
led to the departure of
Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...
, the end of his 20-year dictatorship and the restoration of
democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
in the Philippines. It is also referred to as the Yellow Revolution due to the presence of yellow ribbons during demonstrations (in reference to the
Tony Orlando and Dawn Tony Orlando and Dawn is an American pop music group that was popular in the 1970s, composed of singer Tony Orlando and the backing vocal group Dawn (Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson). Their signature hits include "Candida (song), Candida" ...
song "
Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" is a song recorded by Tony Orlando and Dawn. It was written by Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown and produced by Hank Medress and Dave Appell, with Motown/Stax backing vocalist Telma Hopkins, Joyce V ...
") as a symbol of protest following the assassination of Filipino senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. in August 1983 upon his return to the Philippines from exile. It was widely seen as a victory of the people against two decades of presidential rule by President Marcos, and made news headlines as "the revolution that surprised the world".. The majority of the demonstrations took place on a long stretch of
Epifanio de los Santos Avenue Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, commonly referred to by its acronym EDSA, is a limited-access circumferential highway around Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. It passes through 6 of Metro Manila's 17 local government units or cities, ...
, more commonly known by its acronym ''EDSA'', in
Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...
from February 22 to 25, 1986. They involved over two million Filipino civilians, as well as several political and military groups, and religious groups led by
Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
Jaime Sin Jaime Lachica Sin ( zh, t=辛海梅, 辛海棉, poj=Sin Hái-mûi, Sin Hái-mî; August 31, 1928 – June 21, 2005), commonly and formally known as Jaime Cardinal Sin, was the 30th Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila and the third cardinal from ...
, the
Archbishop of Manila The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila ( lat, Archidioecesis Manilensis; fil, Arkidiyosesis ng Maynilà; es, Arquidiócesis de Manila) is the archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Philippines, encompassing ...
, along with
Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines; ceb, Hugpong sa mga Obispo nga Katoliko sa Pilipinas; bcl, Komperensya kan mga Obispo Katoliko kan Pilipinas; hil, Komperensya sang mga Obispo Katoliko sang Pilipinas; ilo, Kumperensya ti ...
President Cardinal
Ricardo Vidal Ricardo Tito Jamin Vidal ( la, Ricardus Titus Vidal; es, Ricardo Tito Vidal y Jamín; (February 6, 1931 - October 18, 2017) was a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church. Made a cardinal in 1985, he was Archbishop of Cebu from 1982 to 2010. ...
, the Archbishop of Cebu. The protests, fueled by the resistance and opposition from years of governance by President Marcos and his cronies, culminated with the ruler and his family fleeing
Malacañang Palace Malacañang Palace ( fil, Palasyo ng Malakanyang, ; es, Palacio de Malacañán), officially known as Malacañan Palace, is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the Philippines. It is located in the Manila distric ...
to be forced exiled with the help of the US by flying the family away from the Philippines and to
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
. Ninoy Aquino's widow,
Corazon Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People P ...
, was immediately installed as the
eleventh In music or music theory, an eleventh is the note eleven scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the eleventh. The interval can be also described as a compound fourth, spanning an octave plus a f ...
president as a result of the revolution.


Background and history

President Ferdinand E. Marcos was elected president in 1965, defeating incumbent President Diosdado Macapagal by a margin of 52 to 43 percent. During this time, Marcos was very active in the initiation of public works projects and the intensification of tax collections. Marcos and his government claimed that they "built more roads than all his predecessors combined and more schools than any previous administration". Amidst charges from the opposition party of vote-buying and a fraudulent election, President Marcos was reelected in the
1969 Philippine presidential election The 1969 Philippine presidential and vice presidential elections were held on November 11, 1969. Incumbent President Ferdinand Marcos won a second full term as President of the Philippines. Marcos was the last president in the entire electoral ...
, this time defeating Sergio Osmeña, Jr. by 61 to 39 percent. President Marcos's second term for the presidency was marred by allegations by the opposition
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
of widespread graft and corruption. According to
leftists Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
who rioted during the
First Quarter Storm The First Quarter Storm ( fil, Sigwa ng Unang Sangkapat), often shortened into the acronym FQS, was a period of civil unrest in the Philippines which took place during the "first quarter of the year 1970". It included a series of demonstrations, ...
, the increasing disparity of wealth between the very wealthy and the very poor that made up the majority of the Philippines' population led to a rise in crime and civil unrest around the country. In March 1969, the
New People's Army The New People's Army ( fil, Bagong Hukbong Bayan), abbreviated NPA or BHB, is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), based primarily in the Philippine countryside. It acts as the CPP's principal organization, aimi ...
(NPA) was formed as the military wing of the
Communist Party of the Philippines The Communist Party of the Philippines ( fil, Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas) is a far-left, Marxist-Leninist-Maoist revolutionary organization and communist party in the Philippines, formed by Jose Maria Sison on 26 December 1968. It is desi ...
, initiating the still-ongoing CPP–NPA–NDF rebellion. Marcos quickly denounced the movement, hoping to gain monetary and political support from anti-Communist administrators in the United States. In 1972 the
Moro National Liberation Front The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF; ar, الجبهة الوطنية لتحرير مورو) is a political organization in the Philippines that was founded in 1972. It started as a splinter group of the Muslim Independence Movement. The M ...
, a militant Muslim separatist group, formed in the southern island of Mindanao. Marcos soon used the rise of militant and civil unrest as justification for declaring martial law.


Martial law

Barred from running for a third term as president in 1973, Marcos announced
Proclamation No. 1081 Proclamation No. 1081 was the document which contained Ordinance Power of the President of the Philippines#Proclamations, formal proclamation of martial law in the Philippines by President of the Philippines, President Ferdinand Marcos, as announ ...
on September 23, 1972, declaring
martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...
, using the
civil unrest Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, or social unrest is a situation arising from a mass act of civil disobedience (such as a demonstration, riot, strike, or unlawful assembly) in which law enforcement has difficulty m ...
that arose after the 1969 Philippine balance of payments crisis as a justification for the proclamation. Through this decree and through a controversial referendum in which citizen assemblies voted through a show of hands, Marcos seized emergency powers giving him full control of the Philippines' military and the authority to suppress and abolish the
freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
, the
freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...
, and many other
civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...
. President Marcos also dissolved the
Philippine Congress The Congress of the Philippines ( fil, Kongreso ng Pilipinas, italic=unset) is the legislature of the national government of the Philippines. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, although colloquially the ter ...
and shut down media establishments critical of the Marcos Administration. He also ordered the immediate arrest of his political opponents and critics. Among those arrested were Senate President
Jovito Salonga Jovito "Jovy" Reyes Salonga, KGCR (; June 22, 1920 – March 10, 2016) was a Filipino politician and lawyer, as well as a leading opposition leader during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos from the declaration of martial law in 1972 until the P ...
, and the leaders Senator Jose W. Diokno and Senator
Benigno Aquino Jr. Benigno "Ninoy" Simeon Aquino Jr., (; November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983) was a Filipino politician who served as a senator of the Philippines (1967–1972) and governor of the province of Tarlac. Aquino was the husband of Corazon Aquino ...
— whom Marcos sent to
Laur, Nueva Ecija Laur, officially the Municipality of Laur ( tl, Bayan ng Laur), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija in Central Luzon region of Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 38,263 people.. Laur is lo ...
— and the man who was groomed by the opposition to succeed President Marcos after the 1973 elections. A constitutional convention, which had been called for in 1970 to replace the Commonwealth-era 1935 Constitution, continued the work of framing a new constitution after the declaration of martial law. The new constitution went into effect in early 1973, changing the form of government from presidential to
parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...
and allowing President Marcos to stay in power beyond 1973. The constitution was approved by 95% of the voters in the Philippine constitutional plebiscite. The constitution was part of the landmark Javellana v. Executive Secretary case (G.R. No. 36142) that led to the resignation of Chief Justice
Roberto Concepcion Roberto Reyes Concepcion (June 7, 1903 – May 3, 1987) was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from June 17, 1966 until April 18, 1973. He is remembered in the history of the Philippine Supreme Court for protecting the in ...
. Part of the plot of the regime involved legitimizing the military rule through the new constitution providing legislative and executive powers to the president. Simultaneously Marcos conducted the 1973 plebiscite through the simple counting of hands raised by children and adults that involved questions such as the option for more rice in lieu of constitutional affirmation. With practically all of his political opponents arrested, out of office, and in exile, President Marcos's pre-emptive declaration of martial law in 1972 and the
ratification Ratification is a principal's approval of an act of its agent that lacked the authority to bind the principal legally. Ratification defines the international act in which a state indicates its consent to be bound to a treaty if the parties inten ...
of his new constitution by more than 95% of voters enabled Marcos to effectively legitimize his government and hold on to power for another 14 years beyond his first two terms as president. In a
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
context, Marcos retained the support of the United States through Marcos's promise to stamp out communism in the Philippines and by assuring the United States of its continued use of military and naval bases in the Philippines. On November 27, 1977, a military tribunal sentenced Aquino and two co-accused, NPA leaders
Bernabe Buscayno Bernabe Buscayno, also called Kumander Dante, is the founder of the New People's Army, the military wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. Early life Bernabé Buscayno was one of eight children born to impoverished tenant farmers under a ...
(Commander Dante) and Lt. Victor Corpuz, to death by firing squad. In 1978, while still the last opposition leader yet to be released from prison at Fort Bonifacio, Aquino founded his
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
, ''
Lakas ng Bayan Lakas ng Bayan ( en, Power of the People), abbreviated as Laban, was a political party in the Philippines formed by Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. for the 1978 Interim Batasang Pambansa regional elections. The party had 21 candidates for t ...
'' (abbreviated "LABAN"; English: ''People's Power'') to run for office in the
Interim Batasang Pambansa The Interim Batasang Pambansa (English: Interim National Assembly) was the legislature of the Republic of the Philippines from its inauguration on June 12, 1978 to June 5, 1984. It served as a transitional legislative body mandated by the 1973 ...
(Parliament). All LABAN candidates lost, including Aquino himself. He appeared in a television interview with
Ronnie Nathanielsz Ronald Fredrick William Nathanielsz (November 3, 1935 – November 11, 2016), was a Sri Lankan-born Filipino sports journalist, commentator and analyst. Early life Nathanielsz was born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1935. He was the eldest son of ...
to freely criticize the regime during the campaign. In 1980, he was later released to have a heart operation in the United States, being banned from repatriating back to the Philippines. Aquino had successful surgery in Dallas and then moved east. Aquino stayed with his wife Corazon, and children in
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
as a fellow for numerous American universities such as
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
.


1980s Economic collapse

Because the Marcos administration's spending had relied so heavily on debt since the Marcos family's first term in the 1960s, the Philippines was left vulnerable when the US economy went into recession in the third quarter of 1981, forcing the
Reagan administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over D ...
to increase interest rates. The Philippine government plunged further into debt and the economy began going into decline in 1981, continuing to do so by the time of the Benigno Aquino Jr. assassination in 1983. By the end of that year, the economy contracted by 6.8%. The economic and political instability combined to produce the worst recession in Philippine history in 1984 and 1985, with the economy contracting by 7.3% for two successive years.


Aquino Assassination

Despite warnings from the military and First Lady
Imelda Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitacion Trinidad Romualdez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who served as the First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power during the dictator ...
, Ninoy Aquino was determined to return home. Asked what he thought of the death threats, Aquino responded, "The Filipino is worth dying for." Ninoy's passport expired and the renewal was denied. Ninoy developed a plan to acquire a passport with the help of
Rashid Lucman Haroun al-Rashid Lucman (June 23, 1924 – July 21, 1984) was a Filipino legislator, journalist, World War II guerilla hero, and an early proponent of Moro independence or autonomy. As congressional representative of Lanao del Sur, he is best re ...
. The passport carried the alias ''Marcial Bonifacio'' (Marcial for martial law and Bonifacio for
Fort Bonifacio Fort Andres Bonifacio (formerly named Fort William McKinley) is the site of the national headquarters of the Philippine Army (Headquarters Philippine Army or HPA) located in Metro Manila, Philippines. It is located near the national headquarter ...
where he was imprisoned). On August 21, 1983, after three years, Aquino was
murdered Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...
by the military, as he disembarked from a
plane Plane(s) most often refers to: * Aero- or airplane, a powered, fixed-wing aircraft * Plane (geometry), a flat, 2-dimensional surface Plane or planes may also refer to: Biology * Plane (tree) or ''Platanus'', wetland native plant * Planes (gen ...
at the
Manila International Airport Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA , ; fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Ninoy Aquino or ''Pandaigdigang Paliparan ng Ninoy Aquino''; ), originally known and still commonly referred to as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main ...
(later renamed in Aquino's honor). His assassination shocked and outraged most Filipinos, who had lost confidence in the Marcoses. The event led to more suspicions about the government, triggering non-cooperation among Filipinos that eventually led to outright
civil disobedience Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". Hen ...
. It also shook the Marcos Administration, which was by then deteriorating due in part to Marcos's blatant illness (turned out to be the fatal
lupus erythematosus Lupus erythematosus is a collection of autoimmune diseases in which the human immune system becomes hyperactive and attacks healthy tissues. Symptoms of these diseases can affect many different body systems, including joints, skin, kidneys, blo ...
). In 1984, Marcos appointed a commission, first led by Chief Justice Enrique Fernando and later Corazon Agrava, to launch an investigation into Aquino's assassination. Despite the commission's conclusions, Cardinal
Jaime Sin Jaime Lachica Sin ( zh, t=辛海梅, 辛海棉, poj=Sin Hái-mûi, Sin Hái-mî; August 31, 1928 – June 21, 2005), commonly and formally known as Jaime Cardinal Sin, was the 30th Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila and the third cardinal from ...
, the Archbishop of Manila, declined an offer to join the commission and rejected the government's views on the assassination.


Formation of coalesced opposition

This began a period of coalitions, first led by the nationalist liberal democrats under Jose W. Diokno called ''Kilusan sa Kapangyarihan at Karapatan ng Bayan'' or KAAKBAY, an umbrella organization founded in 1983, which headed the first grand liberal coalition called JAJA, or the Justice for Aquino, Justice for All movement. JAJA consisted of organizations such as the
social democrat Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
-based August Twenty One Movement (ATOM) led by
Butz Aquino Agapito "Butz" Aquino (May 20, 1939 – August 17, 2015) was a Senator of the Philippines from 1987 to 1995, congressman from Makati and a part-time film and television actor. He was born to former senator Benigno S. Aquino Sr. and Aurora Aqu ...
, KAAKBAY, MABINI, the Makati-based Alliance of Makati Associations or AMA, and others. Parliamentarians of the streets, as it was called applied pressure politics, and soon other coalitions were formed, culminating in the first call for elections for the opposition in the ''Kongreso ng Mamamayang Pilipino'' or KOMPIL. KOMPIL was organized by Aquino's ATOM from the JAJA coalition, as a means to unite the businessmen, communists, and other groups. Most of the KOMPIL members were led by the AMA leaders. Meanwhile Diokno,
Lorenzo M. Tañada Lorenzo may refer to: People * Lorenzo (name) Places Peru * San Lorenzo Island (Peru), sometimes referred to as the island of Lorenzo United States * Lorenzo, Illinois * Lorenzo, Texas * San Lorenzo, California, formerly Lorenzo * Lorenzo State ...
of MABINI, Butz and Corazon Aquino, and a few others were elected the overall presiding leaders in a search to find the opposition candidate. The main issue was whether to accept the CAMEL or Call for Meaningful Elections or, as Diokno and the more liberal JAJA members preferred, to boycott the event which might be another fixed election. JAJA was later replaced by the Coalition of Organizations for the Restoration of Democracy (CORD) in the middle of 1984, which retained most of JAJA’s features and membership. A year later CORD was replaced by
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan () or Bayan is an alliance of left-wing Philippine organizations. It was founded on International Workers' Day, May 1, 1985 as part of the opposition during the Marcos dictatorship. Politics Ideology The princ ...
or BAYAN, which was to be a platform for Diokno should he run for president, and was led by Tañada and student leader
Lean Alejandro Leandro Legara Alejandro (July 10, 1960 – September 19, 1987) was a student leader and left-wing nationalist political activist in the Philippines. Early life and education Alejandro was born in 1960 in Navotas, the eldest son of Rosendo ...
of the
University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...
. However the socialists/national democrats took control of the coalition so Diokno,
Ambrosio Padilla Ambrosio Bibby Padilla (December 7, 1910 – August 11, 1996The Philippine Daily Inquirer, In Loving Memory on the 7th Death Anniversary of Ambrosio Padilla', The Philippine Daily Inquirer, B.14 (11 augustus 2003)) was a Filipino basketball ...
, and the liberal democrats as well as Butz Aquino, ATOM, and the
social democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...
left BAYAN to the present national democratic coalition that it has become in the 21st century. Before the division of the center-left and
national democratic This article presents the historical development and role of political parties in Ukrainian politics, and outlines more extensively the significant modern political parties since Ukraine gained independence in 1991. Overview Ukraine has a mult ...
/Marxist left, the coalitions tended to pursue Diokno's philosophy of
pressure politics Pressure politics generally refers to political action which relies heavily on the use of mass media and mass communications to persuade politicians that the public wants or demands a particular action. However, it can also refer to intimidation, t ...
or mass actions to influence and sway the Marcos dictatorship.


Call for Meaningful Elections

Eventually the top leaders decided to convene to select a candidate in case of contingencies or any sudden announcements of changes. It was then on November 3, 1985, after pressure from the US government, that Marcos suddenly announced a snap presidential election would take place the following year, one year ahead of the regular presidential election schedule, to legitimize his control over the country. The snap election was legalized with the passage of Batas Pambansa Blg. 883 (National Law No. 883) by the Marcos-controlled unicameral congress called the
Regular Batasang Pambansa The Regular Batasang Pambansa (English: Regular National Assembly), or the First Batasang Pambansa, was the meeting of the Batasang Pambansa from the beginning of its session on July 23, 1984 until it was abolished by President Corazon Aquino on ...
. To select a leader, the convenor's group of opposition leaders formed underlying principles. These principles, mainly proposed and edited by Diokno, discussed matters that involved anti-foreign domination in the economy, especially American intervention and military bases. After the principles were agreed upon by the opposition leaders, as
Lorenzo M. Tañada Lorenzo may refer to: People * Lorenzo (name) Places Peru * San Lorenzo Island (Peru), sometimes referred to as the island of Lorenzo United States * Lorenzo, Illinois * Lorenzo, Texas * San Lorenzo, California, formerly Lorenzo * Lorenzo State ...
quipped, it became almost automatic and completely expeditious in agreeing unanimously on one candidate to face Marcos. For the initial step in nominating a candidate, the selection process started out with a pooled list among the opposition leaders themselves. The list of candidates for president were mostly including former senators: Jose W. Diokno, Butz Aquino,
Jovito Salonga Jovito "Jovy" Reyes Salonga, KGCR (; June 22, 1920 – March 10, 2016) was a Filipino politician and lawyer, as well as a leading opposition leader during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos from the declaration of martial law in 1972 until the P ...
,
Eva Estrada-Kalaw Eva Kalaw ( Evangelina Reynada Estrada; June 16, 1920 – May 25, 2017) was a Filipina politician who served as a senator in the Senate of the Philippines from 1965 to 1972 during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos. She was one of the key opp ...
, Salvador "Doy" Laurel,
Ambrosio Padilla Ambrosio Bibby Padilla (December 7, 1910 – August 11, 1996The Philippine Daily Inquirer, In Loving Memory on the 7th Death Anniversary of Ambrosio Padilla', The Philippine Daily Inquirer, B.14 (11 augustus 2003)) was a Filipino basketball ...
, Aquilino Pimentel,
Raul Manglapus Raul Sevilla Manglapus (October 20, 1918 – July 25, 1999) was a prominent post–World War II Filipino politician and songwriter. He co-founded the reformist Progressive Party of the Philippines and the Christian Democratic Socialist Movement i ...
, and
Ramon Mitra Ramon Villarosa Mitra Jr. (February 4, 1928 – March 20, 2000) was a Filipino statesman, diplomat, and pro-democracy activist. He served as Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from 1987 to 1992. Prior to that, he was ...
, as well as a future senator in
Teofisto Guingona Jr. Teofisto "Tito" Tayko Guingona Jr. (born July 4, 1928) is a Filipino politician and diplomat who served as the 11th vice president of the Philippines from 2001 to 2004, during the first term of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Born in San ...
, and a technocrat who once served as Marcos's executive secretary named
Rafael Salas Rafael Montinola Salas (August 7, 1928 – March 4, 1987) was the first head of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). His tenure started at the agency's inception in 1969 and ended with his sudden death in 1987. Prior to accepting the UN ...
. After the vetting of nominees, as men such as Sen. Diokno vehemently opposed to run for president, the remaining potential candidates who openly wished to earn the opposition's nomination were Salonga, Laurel, and Estrada-Kalaw. United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO) members Estrada-Kalaw and Laurel were the only two not to sign the declaration of unity or the underlying principles. Eventually Estrada-Kalaw withdrew after being overwhelmed by the multiple candidates in the selection process and campaigned to become the vice-presidential candidate. Between 64 year old Salonga, who with 64 year old Estrada-Kalaw represented the two largest
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
factions, and Laurel, who was son of former president
Jose P. Laurel José Paciano Laurel y García (; March 9, 1891 – November 6, 1959) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, and judge, who served as the president of the Japanese-occupied Second Philippine Republic, a puppet state during World War II, from 1943 ...
, it was decided by men such as
Chino Roces Joaquin "Chino" Roces (June 29, 1913 – September 30, 1988) was the founder of Associated Broadcasting Corporation (now known as TV5) and a former owner of ''The Manila Times''. Early life Roces was born on June 29, 1913, to Alejandro "Moy" ...
that both candidates might lack the popularity needed to win. This was because Salonga had spent much time in exile in the United States while Laurel, the founder and main head of UNIDO, was deemed "too lightweight". UNIDO and the other coalitions agreed to choose Aquino's wife Cory Aquino instead of Luarel or Estrada-Kalaw and began the Cory Aquino for President Movement or CAPM, led by Roces, et al. Only Laurel, a friend of Ninoy Aquino, did not agree with this choice and wanted to run against Aquino and Marcos. UNIDO overwhelmed Laurel's vote and encouraged him to become Cory Aquino's vice-president instead. Once Cory Aquino became the main candidate, Laurel eventually ran as Cory Aquino's running mate for vice-president under the United Opposition (UNIDO) party. Marcos ran for re-election, with
Arturo Tolentino Arturo "Ka Turing" Modesto Tolentino (September 19, 1910 – August 2, 2004) was a Filipino politician and diplomat who served as the Senate president and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs. He ran as the vice-presidential running mate of Ferdina ...
as his running mate under the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) party. Thus within a matter of only a few weeks the candidates were fixed and the campaign period was set for the 1986 snap election.


1986 election

The election was held on February 7, 1986. The official election canvasser, the
Commission on Elections An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
(COMELEC), declared that Marcos was the winner. The final tally of the COMELEC had Marcos winning with 10,807,197 votes against Aquino's 9,291,761 votes. On the other hand, based on returns of 70% of the precincts of the
National Movement for Free Elections The National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections or NAMFREL is an election watchdog in the Philippines. It was the first and one of the most famous election watch campaigns. It is known to have introduced non-partisan national election monitor ...
(NAMFREL), an accredited poll watcher, had Aquino winning with 7,835,070 votes against Marcos's 7,053,068 votes. This electoral exercise was marred by widespread reports of violence and tampering of election results, culminating in the walkout of 30 COMELEC computer technicians to protest the deliberate manipulation of the official election results to favor Ferdinand Marcos. The walkout was considered one of the early "sparks" of the People Power Revolution. The walkout also served as an affirmation to allegations of vote-buying, fraud, and tampering of election results by the KBL. Because of reports of alleged fraud, the
Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines; ceb, Hugpong sa mga Obispo nga Katoliko sa Pilipinas; bcl, Komperensya kan mga Obispo Katoliko kan Pilipinas; hil, Komperensya sang mga Obispo Katoliko sang Pilipinas; ilo, Kumperensya ti ...
(CBCP) through Cardinal
Ricardo Vidal Ricardo Tito Jamin Vidal ( la, Ricardus Titus Vidal; es, Ricardo Tito Vidal y Jamín; (February 6, 1931 - October 18, 2017) was a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church. Made a cardinal in 1985, he was Archbishop of Cebu from 1982 to 2010. ...
issued a statement condemning the elections. The United States Senate also passed a resolution stating the same condemnation. US president Ronald Reagan issued a statement calling the fraud reports as "disturbing" but he said that there was fraud "on both sides" of the Philippine election. In response to the protests, COMELEC claimed that Marcos with 53 percent won over Aquino. However, NAMFREL countered that the latter won over Marcos with 52 percent of votes. On February 15, Marcos was proclaimed by COMELEC and Batasang Pambansa as the winner amid the controversy. All 50 opposition members of the Parliament walked out in protest. The Filipino people repudiated the results, asserting that Aquino was the real victor. Both "winners" took their oath of office in two different places, with Aquino gaining greater mass support. Aquino also called for coordinated strikes and mass boycott of the media and businesses owned by Marcos's cronies. As a result, the crony banks, corporations, and media were hit hard, and their shares in the stock market plummeted to record levels.


Vidal's declaration

On February 13, Cebu Archbishop Cardinal Ricardo Vidal issued a declaration on behalf of the Philippine Church hierarchy stating that when "a government does not of itself freely correct the evil it has inflicted on the people then it is our serious moral obligation as a people to make it do so." The declaration also asked "every loyal member of the Church, every community of the faithful, to form their judgment about the February 7 polls" and told all the Filipinos, "Now is the time to speak up. Now is the time to repair the wrong. The wrong was systematically organized. So must its correction be. But as in the election itself, that depends fully on the people; on what they are willing and ready to do."


Events


Civil disobedience and boycott campaign launch (February 16)

On February 16, 1986, Corazon Aquino held the "Tagumpay ng Bayan" (People's Victory) rally at Luneta Park, announcing a civil disobedience campaign and calling for her supporters to boycott publications and companies which were associated with Marcos or any of his cronies. The event was attended by a crowd of about two million people. Aquino's camp began making preparations for more rallies, and Aquino herself went to Cebu to rally more people to their cause.


Aborted military coup (February 22)

In the aftermath of the election and the revelations of irregularities, the
Reform the Armed Forces Movement The Reform the Armed Forces Movement, also referred to by the acronym RAM, was a cabal of officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) known for several attempts to seize power in the Philippines during the 1980s and 1990s. In 1986, som ...
(RAM) - a cabal of officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) disgruntled by the
patronage politics Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
and
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
in the AFP, formed in 1982 - set into motion a coup attempt against the Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. RAM's initial plan was for a team to assault Malacañang Palace and arrest Ferdinand Marcos. RAM founder Col.
Gringo Honasan Gregorio "Gringo" Ballesteros Honasan II (, born March 14, 1948), is a Filipino politician and a cashiered Philippine Army The Philippine Army (PA) (Tagalog: ''Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas''; in literal English: ''Army of the Ground of th ...
formulated a plan to attack the palace and "neutralize" the Marcos couple. Other military units would take over key strategic facilities, such as the
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
, military bases, the GHQAFP in
Camp Aguinaldo Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo (CGEA), also known as Camp Aguinaldo, is the site of the general headquarters (GHQ) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) located in eastern Metro Manila, the Philippines. It is located in Quezon City along E ...
, and major highway junctions to restrict counteroffensive by Marcos-loyal troops. However, after Marcos learned about the plot, he ordered their leaders' arrest, and presented to the international and local press some of the captured plotters, Maj. Saulito Aromin and Maj. Edgardo Doromal. Threatened with their impending imprisonment, Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and his fellow coup plotters decided to ask for help from then-AFP Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen
Fidel Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military ...
, who was also the chief of the
Philippine Constabulary The Philippine Constabulary (PC; tl, Hukbóng Pamayapà ng Pilipinas, ''HPP''; es, Policía de Filipinas, ''PF'') was a gendarmerie-type police force of the Philippines from 1901 to 1991, and the predecessor to the Philippine National Po ...
(now the Philippine National Police). Ramos agreed to resign from his position and support the plotters. Ramos also contacted the highly influential Cardinal Archbishop of Manila
Jaime Sin Jaime Lachica Sin ( zh, t=辛海梅, 辛海棉, poj=Sin Hái-mûi, Sin Hái-mî; August 31, 1928 – June 21, 2005), commonly and formally known as Jaime Cardinal Sin, was the 30th Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila and the third cardinal from ...
for his support. Despite Ramos' defection, however, the coup plotters were essentially trapped in Camp Crame, and in the words of historian
Vicente L. Rafael Vicente L. Rafael is a professor of Southeast Asian history at the University of Washington, Seattle. He received his B.A. in history and philosophy from Ateneo de Manila University in 1977 and his Ph.D. in history at Cornell University in 1984. ...
, "became sitting ducks for Ferdinand Marcos’ loyalist forces." At about 6:30 p.m. on February 22, Enrile and Ramos held a press conference at the Ministry of National Defense building in Camp Aguinaldo, the AFP headquarters, where they announced that they had resigned from their positions in Marcos' cabinet and were withdrawing support from his government. Marcos himself later conducted a news conference calling on Enrile and Ramos to surrender, urging them to "stop this stupidity". Marcos tried to call Enrile, but Enrile refused to play Marcos's game. Eventually out of desperation Marcos televised his sickly appearance, and announced that he promises to crush every Filipino who stands in his way in order to capture Enrile and Ramos.


Cardinal Sin's appeal (February 22)

After Cardinal Vidal's February 13 condemnation of the snap election's fraudulent result, Cardinal Sin went on
Radio Veritas Radio Veritas Asia was the non-commercial Catholic shortwave station broadcasting to Asia. It is based in Quezon City, Philippines, and is owned by the Philippine Radio Educational and Information Center, which previously owned the original Rad ...
at around 9 p.m. on February 22 and exhorted Filipinos in the capital to aid rebel leaders by going to the section of EDSA between
Camp Crame Camp General Rafael T. Crame () is the national headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP) located along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) in Quezon City. It is situated across EDSA from Camp Aguinaldo, the national headquarters of ...
and
Aguinaldo A thirteenth salary, or end-of-year bonus, is an extra payment given to employees at the end of December. Although the amount of the payment depends on a number of factors, it usually matches an employee's monthly salary and can be paid in o ...
and giving emotional support, food and other supplies. For many, this seemed an unwise decision since civilians would not stand a chance against a dispersal by government troops. Many people, especially priests and nuns, still trooped to EDSA. Radio Veritas played a critical role during the mass uprising. Former
University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...
president Francisco Nemenzo stated that: "''Without Radio Veritas, it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to mobilize millions of people in a matter of hours.''" Similarly, a certain account in the event said that: "''Radio Veritas, in fact, was our umbilical cord to whatever else was going on''."


Rising mass support (February 23)

At dawn, Sunday, government troops arrived to knock down the main 50-kilowatt transmitter of Radio Veritas, cutting off broadcasts to people in the nearby provinces. The station switched to a 10-kilowatt standby transmitter with a limited range of broadcast. The station was targeted because it had proven to be a valuable communications tool for the people supporting the rebels, keeping them informed of government troop movements and relaying requests for food, medicine, and supplies. Still, people came to EDSA until it swelled to hundreds of thousands of unarmed civilians. The mood in the street was very festive, with many bringing whole families. Performers entertained the crowds, nuns and priests led prayer vigils, and people set up barricades and makeshift sandbags, trees, and vehicles in several places along EDSA and intersecting streets such as Santolan and Ortigas Avenue. Everywhere, people listened to Radio Veritas on their radios. A photo taken by Pete Reyes of Srs. Porferia Ocariza and Teresita Burias leading the rosary in front of soldiers has since become an iconic picture of the revolution. Several groups sang ''
Bayan Ko "Bayan Ko" (usually translated as "My Country"; es, Nuestra patria, lit=Our Fatherland) is one of the most recognizable patriotic songs of the Philippines. It was written in Spanish by the Revolutionary general José Alejandrino in light of the ...
'' (My Homeland), which, since 1980, had become a patriotic anthem of the opposition. People frequently flashed the 'LABAN' sign, which is an "L" formed with their thumb and index finger. 'laban' is the Filipino word for 'fight', but also the abbreviation of
Lakas ng Bayan Lakas ng Bayan ( en, Power of the People), abbreviated as Laban, was a political party in the Philippines formed by Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. for the 1978 Interim Batasang Pambansa regional elections. The party had 21 candidates for t ...
, Ninoy Aquino's party. After lunch on February 23, Enrile and Ramos decided to consolidate their positions. Enrile crossed EDSA from
Camp Aguinaldo Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo (CGEA), also known as Camp Aguinaldo, is the site of the general headquarters (GHQ) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) located in eastern Metro Manila, the Philippines. It is located in Quezon City along E ...
to
Camp Crame Camp General Rafael T. Crame () is the national headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP) located along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) in Quezon City. It is situated across EDSA from Camp Aguinaldo, the national headquarters of ...
amidst cheers from the crowd. In the mid-afternoon,
Radio Veritas Radio Veritas Asia was the non-commercial Catholic shortwave station broadcasting to Asia. It is based in Quezon City, Philippines, and is owned by the Philippine Radio Educational and Information Center, which previously owned the original Rad ...
relayed reports of
Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
massing near the camps in the east and
LVT-5 The LVTP-5 (landing vehicle, tracked, personnel 5) is a family of amphibious armored fighting vehicles used by the Philippine Marine Corps and, formerly, the United States Marine Corps. It was designed by the BorgWarner company and built by FMC ( ...
tanks approaching from the north and south. A contingent of Marines with tanks and armored vans, led by Brigadier General Artemio Tadiar, was stopped along Ortigas Avenue, about two kilometers from the camps, by tens of thousands of people. Nuns holding rosaries knelt in front of the tanks and men and women linked arms together to block the troops. Tadiar asked the crowds to make a clearing for them, but they did not budge. In the end, the troops retreated with no shots fired. By evening, the standby transmitter of Radio Veritas failed, although the stations of the
Far East Broadcasting Company Far East Broadcasting Company is an international Christian radio network. From 1960 to 1994, FEBC owned and operated shortwave radio station KGEI in San Francisco, California. Philippines The Philippines is where FEBC began its initial broad ...
also took up the task of broadcasting information to the crowds, calling them in particular to protect Gate 2 of Camp Aguinaldo. Shortly after midnight, the Radio Veritas staff led by Father
James Reuter James Bertram Reuter ( ; May 21, 1916 – December 31, 2012) was an American Jesuit Catholic priest who lived in the Philippines since he was 22 and taught at Ateneo de Manila University. He was a well-known public figure who was a writer ...
were able to move to the transmitter of
DZRJ-AM DZRJ (810 AM) Radyo Bandido is a radio station owned and operated by Rajah Broadcasting Network through its licensee Free Air Broadcasting Network, Inc. Its studio is located at the 2nd Floor, Ventures Building 1, General Luna St. cor. Makati ...
so they could begin broadcasting again. To help keep their location a secret, they took up the moniker "Radyo Bandido" (Outlaw Radio ) as a callsign.
June Keithley June Keithley-Castro (10 March 1947 – 24 November 2013) was a Filipina actress and broadcast journalist. Early life Castro was born to a Cebuano mother and an American father. She studied at St. Paul College, where she was mentored by James ...
, with her husband Angelo Castro, Jr., was the radio broadcaster who continued Radio Veritas' program throughout the night and in the ensuing days.


The Sotelo landing (February 24)

In the early morning hours of February 24, helicopters manned by the 15th Strike Wing of the
Philippine Air Force The Philippine Air Force (PAF) ( tgl, Hukbong Himpapawid ng Pilipinas, , Army of the Air of the Philippines) ( es, Ejército Aérea del Filipinas, , Ejército de la Aérea de la Filipinas) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Armed Forc ...
, led by Colonel Antonio Sotelo, were ordered from Sangley Point in Cavite, south of Manila, to head to Camp Crame.. Secretly, the squadron had already defected and instead of attacking Camp Crame, landed in it with the crowds cheering and hugging the pilots and crew members in response to what has been referred to as the "Sotelo landing," considered a key turning point where the military circumstances turned against Marcos. A
Bell 214 The Bell 214 is a medium-lift helicopter derived from Bell Helicopter's ubiquitous UH-1 Huey series. The Bell 214ST shares the same model number, but is a larger, much-modified twin-engine derivative. Design and development The original deve ...
helicopter piloted by Major Deo Cruz of the 205th Helicopter Wing and
Sikorsky S-76 The Sikorsky S-76 is a medium-size commercial utility helicopter designed and produced by the American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. It is the company's first helicopter specifically developed for the civilian market. The S-76 w ...
gunships piloted by Colonel Charles Hotchkiss of the 20th Air Commando Squadron joined the rebel squadron earlier in the air. The presence of the helicopters boosted the morale of Enrile and Ramos who had been continually encouraging their fellow soldiers to join the opposition movement. In the afternoon, Aquino arrived at the base where Enrile, Ramos, Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) officers, and a throng were waiting.


Marcos departure rumor (February 24)

At around that 6:30,
June Keithley June Keithley-Castro (10 March 1947 – 24 November 2013) was a Filipina actress and broadcast journalist. Early life Castro was born to a Cebuano mother and an American father. She studied at St. Paul College, where she was mentored by James ...
received reports that Marcos had left Malacañang Palace and broadcast this to the people at EDSA. The crowd celebrated and even Ramos and Enrile came out from Crame to appear to the crowds.. This would be disproven when Marcos went on MBS 4 a few hours later, so it was later speculated that the false report was a calculated move against Marcos to encourage more defections.


Fourth Marine brigade refusal of "Kill Order" (February 24)

At dawn on Monday, February 24, Marines marching from Libis towards the east of Camp Aguinaldo lobbed tear gas at the demonstrators, who quickly dispersed. By 8:30 a.m., some 3,000 Marines entered and held the east side of Camp Aguinaldo, and the Fourth Marine brigade under the command of Colonel Braulio Balbas positioned howitzers and mortars to strike against Camp Crame. Despite the fact that civilians would be killed in such an attack, General Josephus Ramas gave the "kill order" against Camp Crame at around 9 AM. Although the artillery was ready to fire, Balbas stalled, telling Ramas that they were "still looking for maps." Ramas then told Balbas that "The President is on the other line waiting for compliance!" Ramas repeated his orders to Balbas at 9:20, to which Balbas replied they were “still positioning the cannons.” Balbas would eventually refuse to follow Ramas' orders each of the four times he was ordered to fire on Camp Crame, leading historians to point to this moment as the point at which Marcos lost control of the
Philippine Marine Corps The Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) ( fil, Hukbong Kawal Pandagat ng Pilipinas) is the marine corps of the Philippines, a naval infantry force under the command of the Philippine Navy. The PMC conducts amphibious, expeditionary, and special ope ...
.


Marcos TV Appearance on MBS 4 (February 24)

The jubilation resulting from the rumor that Marcos had fled was short-lived, as Marcos appeared on television on the government-controlled MBS-4 at around 9:00, (using the foreclosed
ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...
facilities, transmitter and compound in Broadcast Plaza, now
ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center The ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center (also called ABS-CBN Broadcast Center; formerly known as Broadcast Plaza from 1974 to 1979 and current edifice formerly spelled officially as ABS-CBN Broadcasting Centre) in Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines is th ...
) declaring that he would not step down.


Lifting of Maximum Tolerance policy

During the broadcast, Marcos announced that he had lifted the policy of “Maximum Tolerance” which that government had previously put in place. This gave armed forces permission to use force to defend government installations, as well as communications facilities, from Enrile and Ramos' forces. In addition, he told radio and TV stations not to broadcast news about military movements without permission - which was exactly what Radyo Bandido had been doing.


Marcos orders not to attack via airstrike

At one point during the broadcast, General Ver approached Marcos and informed him that the AFP was ready to mount an airstrike on Camp Crame, but Marcos ordered them to halt. The actual dialogue on TV between Marcos and then AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Ver went as follows:


Capture of MBS-4 (February 24)

At about 9:50 a.m. MBS-4 suddenly went off the air during Marcos' broadcast. A contingent of rebels, under Colonel Mariano Santiago, had captured the station. MBS-4 was put back on the air shortly after noon, with
Orly Punzalan Orly J. Punzalan (September 9, 1935 – January 6, 2005) was a Filipino radio-TV personality in the Philippines. Personal life In 1967, he was married to actress and broadcaster, Helen Vela (1946–1992). They had four children, including Past ...
announcing on live television, "Channel 4 is on the air again to serve the people." By this time, the crowds at EDSA had grown to over a million, but some estimates place the crowd number up to 2 million people. On September 14, 1986, this broadcast was considered the "return" of ABS-CBN on air because this was the time when former employees of the network were inside the complex on after 14 years of closure since Marcos took it over during the Martial Law of 1972. " Radyo Bandido" ended broadcasting that afternoon, while Radio Veritas resumed transmissions, this time from the Broadcast Plaza's radio studios.


Attack on Villamor Airbase, and further defections (February 24)

In the late afternoon of February 24, helicopters of the 15th Strike Wing, commanded by Sotelo, attacked
Villamor Airbase Colonel Jesus Villamor Air Base, known simply as Villamor Air Base , is the headquarters of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) and shares runways with Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). It was formerly known as Nichols Field or Nichols Air ...
, destroying presidential air assets. Sotelo had radioed ahead to the pilots and crews of the air assets, telling them to stay away from the aircraft. As a result, the assets were disabled without any human casualties. Sotelo had sent another helicopter to Malacañang, where it fired a rocket on the palace grounds and caused minor damage. Later, most of the officers who had graduated from the
Philippine Military Academy The Philippine Military Academy ( fil, Akademiyang Militar ng Pilipinas / es, Academia Militar de Filipinas) also referred to by its acronym PMA is the premier military academy for Filipinos aspiring for a commission as a military officer of ...
(PMA) defected. The majority of the Armed Forces had already changed sides.


Two inaugurations (February 25)

On the morning of Tuesday, February 25, at around 7 a.m., a minor clash occurred between loyal government troops and the reformists. Snipers stationed atop the crony-owned RPN-9 transmitter in Panay Avenue, near MBS-4, began shooting at the reformists. Many rebel soldiers surged to the station, and a rebel S-76 helicopter later shot the snipers at the broadcast tower. The troops later left after a V-150 was blocked by the crowd assembled. Later in the morning,
Corazon Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People P ...
was inaugurated as President of the Philippines in a simple ceremony at
Club Filipino Club Filipino (pronounced ''klub'') was the first exclusive social club in the Philippines, founded on November 6, 1898 by Filipino high society, including Spanish ''mestizos'' and members of the native aristocracy. It is located between North Gr ...
in Greenhills, about a kilometer from Camp Crame. She was sworn in as president by Senior Associate Justice
Claudio Teehankee Claudio Teehankee, CCLH (April 18, 1918 – November 27, 1989) was the 16th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from 1987 to 1988. He was also the most senior associate justice and chairman of the First Division of the Supr ...
, and Laurel as vice-president by Justice Vicente Abad Santos. The Bible on which Aquino swore her oath was held by her mother-in-law Aurora Aquino, the mother of
Ninoy Aquino Benigno "Ninoy" Simeon Aquino Jr., (; November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983) was a Filipino politician who served as a senator of the Philippines (1967–1972) and governor of the province of Tarlac. Aquino was the husband of Corazon Aquino ...
. Attending the ceremonies were Ramos, who was then promoted to General, Enrile, and many politicians. Outside Club Filipino, all the way to EDSA, hundreds of people cheered and celebrated. ''
Bayan Ko "Bayan Ko" (usually translated as "My Country"; es, Nuestra patria, lit=Our Fatherland) is one of the most recognizable patriotic songs of the Philippines. It was written in Spanish by the Revolutionary general José Alejandrino in light of the ...
'' (''My Country'', a popular folk song and the unofficial National Anthem of protest) was sung after Aquino's oath-taking. Many people wore yellow, the color of Aquino's presidential campaign. An hour later, Marcos held the inauguration at
Malacañang Palace Malacañang Palace ( fil, Palasyo ng Malakanyang, ; es, Palacio de Malacañán), officially known as Malacañan Palace, is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the Philippines. It is located in the Manila distric ...
. Loyalist civilians attended the ceremony, shouting "''Marcos, Marcos, Marcos pa rin!'' (Marcos, Marcos, still Marcos!)". On the Palace balcony, Marcos took the Oath of Office, aired on
IBC-13 DZTV-TV, Channel 13 (analog) and Channel 17 (digital), is the flagship VHF station of Philippine television network, IBC. The station is owned and operated by Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation with its studios and broadcast facilit ...
and RPN-9 (RPN-9 was going off-the-air during the broadcast of the inauguration, as its transmitter was captured by reformist soldiers) None of the invited foreign dignitaries attended the ceremony, for security reasons. The couple finally emerged on the balcony of the Palace before 3,000 KBL loyalists who were shouting, "Capture the snakes!". Rather tearfully, First Lady Imelda Marcos gave a farewell rendition of the couple's theme song – the 1938 ''
kundiman Kundiman is a genre of traditional Filipino love songs. The lyrics of the kundiman are written in Tagalog. The melody is characterized by a smooth, flowing and gentle rhythm with dramatic intervals. Kundiman was the traditional means of sere ...
'' ''"
Dahil Sa Iyo "Dahil Sa Iyo" is a song by Mike Velarde, Jr., written in 1938 for the movie, ''Bituing Marikit'' and sung by Rogelio de la Rosa. A version with English-Tagalog lyrics, recorded in 1964, was a hit in the United States and continues to be popular ...
"'' (Because of You) – chanting the song's entreaties in Tagalog:
Because of you, I became happy
Loving I shall offer you
If it is true I shall be enslaved by you
All of this because of you.
The broadcast of the event was interrupted as rebel troops successfully captured the other stations. It was the last time Marcos was seen in the Philippines. By this time, hundreds of people had amassed at the barricades along
Mendiola Mendiola Street (simply known as "Mendiola") is a short thoroughfare in Manila, Philippines. The street is named after Enrique Mendiola, an educator, textbook author, and member of the first Board of Regents of the University of the Philippi ...
, only a hundred meters away from Malacañang. They were prevented from storming the Palace by loyal government troops securing the area. The angry demonstrators were pacified by priests who warned them not to be violent.


Marcos' departure (February 26)

Despite holding an inauguration, Marcos and his family were already preparing to flee the country. At 5:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning, Marcos phoned
United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...
Paul Laxalt Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
, asking for advice from the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
. Laxalt advised him to "cut and cut clean", to which Marcos expressed his disappointment after a short pause. In the afternoon, Marcos talked to Minister Enrile, asking for safe passage for him, his family, and close allies such as General Ver. He also asked Enrile if United States Ambassador
Stephen Bosworth Stephen Warren Bosworth (December 4, 1939 – January 4, 2016) was an American academic and diplomat. He served as Dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University and served as United States Special Representative for North Korea Policy from March ...
could assign a security escort for the Marcos family's departure. Around midnight, the Marcos family boarded a
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
HH-3E Rescue
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
. and flew to
Clark Air Base Clark Air Base is a Philippine Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located west of Angeles City, about northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was previously a United States military facility, operated by the U.S. Air Forc ...
in
Angeles City , anthem = Himno ning Angeles (Angeles Hymn) , subdivision_type3 = District , subdivision_name3 = , established_title = Settled , established_date = 1796 , established_title1 = Chartere ...
83 kilometers north of Manila. At Clark Air Base, Marcos asked to spend a couple of days with his family in Ilocos Norte, his native province. Aquino vetoed the request. President Reagan privately derided Aquino for denying Marcos a last look at his home province. The deposed First Family and their servants then rode US Air Force DC-9 Medivac and C-141B planes to
Andersen Air Force Base Andersen Air Force Base (Andersen AFB, AAFB) is a United States Air Force base located primarily within the village of Yigo in the United States territory of Guam. The host unit at Andersen AFB is the 36th Wing (36 WG), assigned to the Pacific ...
in the north of the United States territory of
Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
, then flying to Hickam Air Force Base in
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
where Marcos finally arrived on February 26. The United States Government documented that they entered the United States with millions of dollars in jewelry, gold, stocks, and cash. When news of the Marcos family's departure reached civilians, many rejoiced and danced in the streets. Over at
Mendiola Mendiola Street (simply known as "Mendiola") is a short thoroughfare in Manila, Philippines. The street is named after Enrique Mendiola, an educator, textbook author, and member of the first Board of Regents of the University of the Philippi ...
, the demonstrators stormed the Palace, which was closed to ordinary people for around a decade. Despite looting by some angry protesters, the majority wandered about inside through rooms where national history was shaped, looking at objects extravagant and mundane that the Marcos clan and its court had abandoned in their flight. Shortly after midnight on February 26, five army trucks of troops under the command of Fidel Ramos arrived in Malacañang Palace to secure it after Ferdinand Marcos had left - marking the end of the Marcos dictatorship, and placing the palace under the control of the Provisional Government of the Philippines until a new constitution could be enacted a year later, in 1987. In other countries, people also rejoiced and congratulated Filipinos they knew.
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
anchorman
Bob Simon Robert David Simon (May 29, 1941 – February 11, 2015) was an American television correspondent for CBS News. He covered crises, war, and unrest in 67 countries during his career.Gottlieb, Hooper. Shearer, Benjamin F. ed., ''Home Front Her ...
reported: "We Americans like to think we taught the Filipinos democracy. Well, tonight they are teaching the world."


Events outside the capital

While much of the historical focus regarding the People Power Revolution has been on events arount the two camps and the presidential palace, Filipinos from all over the archipelago also participated in the revolution, with large protests happening in
Baguio City Baguio ( , ), officially the City of Baguio ( ilo, Siudad ti Baguio; fil, Lungsod ng Baguio), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines" ...
,
Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas Regions of the P ...
,
Cagayan de Oro City Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan ( ilo, Probinsia ti Cagayan; ibg, Provinsiya na Cagayan; itv, Provinsiya ya Cagayan; fil, Lalawigan ng Cagayan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Cagayan Valley region, covering ...
, and
Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dabaw; ), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the largest city in the Philippines in terms of lan ...
, as well as prominent municipalities such as
Los Baños, Laguna Los Baños, officially the Municipality of Los Baños ( tgl, Bayan ng Los Baños), colloquialy 'elbi' or simply LB, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 115,353 ...
. Cebu played a particularly important part because Corazon Aquino was there at the time the EDSA protests began, speaking at a rally at Fuente Osmeña Circle which was a protest against cheating during the Presidential elections earlier that month.


Aftermath

Immediately after her accession, Aquino issued Proclamation No. 3, a
provisional constitution A provisional constitution, interim constitution or transitional constitution is a constitution intended to serve during a transitional period until a permanent constitution is adopted. The following countries currently have,had in the past,such a c ...
which established a revolutionary government. The edict promulgated the 1986 Freedom Constitution, which retained or superseded various provisions of the 1973 Constitution that were in force up to that point. This allowed Aquino to wield both executive and legislative powers; among her first acts was to unilaterally abolish the
Batasang Pambansa The Batasang Pambansa Complex, or simply the Batasan (), is the seat of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. It is located along the Batasan Road in Batasan Hills, Quezon City. The complex was initially the home of the Batasang Pa ...
(the unicameral legislature duly elected in 1984), pending a plebiscite for a more permanent Constitution and the establishment of a new Congress by 1987. Despite the success of the People Power Revolution, there were elements which were dissatisfied by Aquino's rise to power, including the leaders
Reform the Armed Forces Movement The Reform the Armed Forces Movement, also referred to by the acronym RAM, was a cabal of officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) known for several attempts to seize power in the Philippines during the 1980s and 1990s. In 1986, som ...
which had launched the failed coup against Marcos and had been saved by the arrival of the Civilians at EDSA. As a result, these groups launched a number of coup d'état attempts throughout Aquino's term. The revolution had an effect on
democratization Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a ful ...
movements in such countries as
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
and
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
; other effects include the restoration of the freedom of the press, abolition of repressive laws enforced by the previous regime, the adoption of the
1987 Constitution The Constitution of the Philippines (Filipino: ''Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas'' or ''Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas'', Spanish: ''Constitución de la República de Filipinas'') is the constitution or the supreme law of the Republic of the Philippines ...
, and the subordination of the military to civilian rule, despite several coup attempts during Aquino's rule. The revolution provided for the restoration of democratic institutions after 13 years of totalitarian rule and these institutions has been used by various groups to challenge the entrenched
political families Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
and to strengthen Philippine democracy.


Legacy

The People Power Revolution has inspired a call for a change of government through peaceful protests rather than bloodshed. Many similar revolutions have followed since then, taking the Philippine example of nonviolent regime change, such as that in
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
and many other former Soviet Bloc countries, most of which had direct relation to the end of the Cold War in 1989. Rampant corruption during the term of President
Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice preside ...
led to the similar
2001 EDSA Revolution The Second EDSA Revolution, also known as the Second People Power Revolution, EDSA 2001, or EDSA II (pronounced ''EDSA Two'' or ''EDSA Dos''), was a political protest from January 17–20, 2001, which peacefully overthrew the government of Jose ...
leading to his resignation from the presidency. In spite of the revolution's repudiation of Marcos' dictatorial regime, the Marcos family slowly regained a political presence in the Philippines mostly through what researchers attribute to a systematic spread of lies and disinformation, with Imelda and her children Bongbong and Imee reacquiring positions in government by the 1990s. Bongbong himself was defeated as runner-up to
Leni Robredo Maria Leonor "Leni" Gerona Robredo (; born Maria Leonor Santo Tomas Gerona; April 23, 1965) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 14th vice president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. She was the wife of the late Jesse ...
as a candidate for the Philippine vice presidency during the
2016 presidential elections This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kir ...
. He protested in the Supreme Court and was denied multiple times, with the official gap getting even significantly larger from the original results. In 2021, Bongbong announced his bid for the Philippine presidency in the
2022 Philippine presidential election The 2022 Philippine presidential and vice presidential elections were held on May 9, 2022, as part of the 2022 general election. This was the 17th direct presidential election and 16th vice presidential election in the Philippines since 1935, ...
. He was elected president, marking the
Marcos family The Marcos family ( , , ) is a political family in the Philippines. They have established themselves in the country's politics, having established a political dynasty that traces its beginnings to the 1925 election of Mariano Marcos to the Philip ...
's return to Malacañang after 36 years.


Commemoration

The EDSA Revolution Anniversary is a special
public holiday in the Philippines Public holidays in the Philippines are of two types, regular holidays and special non-working days. History On July 25, 1987, President Corazon Aquino promulgated the Administrative Code of the Philippines. Chapter 7 of this code specified a ...
. Since 2002, the holiday has been declared a special non-working holiday.Proclamation No. 295: Declaring 2012 National Holidays
, December 12, 2011, Official Gazette of the Philippines
Three commemorative sites along EDSA memorialize the People Power Revolution, put up by different organizations to commemorate different aspects of the People Power Revolution. * The Shrine of Mary, Queen of Peace, Our Lady of EDSA, better known as the EDSA Shrine is a small church put up in 1989 by the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila ( lat, Archidioecesis Manilensis; fil, Arkidiyosesis ng Maynilà; es, Arquidiócesis de Manila) is the archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Philippines, encompassing ...
in the
Ortigas Center Ortigas Center is a central business district located within the joint boundaries of Pasig, Mandaluyong and Quezon City, within the Metro Manila region in the Philippines. With an area of more than , it is Metro Manila's second most important bu ...
at the corner of EDSA with Ortigas Avenue. Priminently featuring the 35-foot Our Lady of EDSA sculpture by
Virginia Ty-Navarro Virginia Ty-Navarro (5 July 1924 – 1996) was a Filipina sculptor, known nationwide for her sculpture "Statue of Our Lady Queen of Peace", which she completed in sixteen months on a 12 million peso budget. The sculpture is alternatively called "Our ...
and containing numerous other artworks throughout the church, it commemorates the "miraculously" peaceful nature of the People Power protests, as well as the role of the Catholic Church in the revolution. * The
Bantayog ng mga Bayani The Bantayog ng mga Bayani (), sometimes simply referred to as the Bantayog, is a monument, museum, and historical research center in Quezon City, Philippines, which honors the martyrs and heroes of the struggle against the dictatorship of for ...
was put up by civil society groups and inaugurated in 1992 to commemorate the struggle against the Marcos dictatorship, and the People Power Revolution as a key turning point in the struggle. The site's Wall of Remembrance has an extensively researched list of the martyrs and heroes who fought the authoritarian regime. The site, designed by National Artist for landscape architecture I.P. Santos, also features the "Inang Bayan" sculpture by
Eduardo Castrillo Eduardo de los Santos Castrillo (October 31, 1942 – May 18, 2016) was a renowned Filipino sculptor. Early life Eduardo (commonly known as 'Ed') Castrillo was born in Santa Ana, Manila, Philippines, on October 31, 1942, the youngest of five ch ...
, as well as a specialty library and a museum commemorating the martyrs and heroes honored on the Wall of Remembrance. * The People's Park put up in 1993 by the Philippine Government on the southwest corner of Camp Aguinaldo at the intersection of EDSA and White Plains Avenue contains the 30-figure
People Power Monument The People Power Monument is a monument built to commemorate the events of the 1986 People Power Revolution. The monument is located on the corner of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue and White Plains Avenue in Barangay Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City ...
sculpture by Eduardo Castrillo as well as a 1983 statue of Ninoy Aquino sculpted by artist Tomas Concepcion.


In Culture and the Arts

In 1986 a few months after February a music video starring various artists was released called, "''Handog ng Pilipino Sa Mundo''". It was written by
Apo Hiking Society The Apolinario Mabini Hiking Society, later popularly known as APO Hiking Society, or simply APO, was a Filipino musical group and one of the pillars of Original Pilipino Music (Original Pilipino Music, OPM) composed of Danny Javier†, Jim Pa ...
singer
Jim Paredes Jaime Ramon Misa Paredes, better known simply as Jim Paredes (), is a Filipino singer, composer, television host, writer and actor. He is known as one of the members of popular musical trio APO Hiking Society (along with Danny Javier and Boboy G ...
and performed by numerous artists, and showed martial law heroes Jose W. Diokno,
Lorenzo M. Tañada Lorenzo may refer to: People * Lorenzo (name) Places Peru * San Lorenzo Island (Peru), sometimes referred to as the island of Lorenzo United States * Lorenzo, Illinois * Lorenzo, Texas * San Lorenzo, California, formerly Lorenzo * Lorenzo State ...
,
Rene Saguisag Renito Augusto Verceluz Saguisag (, born August 14, 1939 in Mauban, Quezon, Philippines) is a Filipino lawyer and politician. He served as a Filipino Senator from 1987 until 1992. Early life Rene A.V. Saguisag was born on August 14, 1939 in ...
,
Butz Aquino Agapito "Butz" Aquino (May 20, 1939 – August 17, 2015) was a Senator of the Philippines from 1987 to 1995, congressman from Makati and a part-time film and television actor. He was born to former senator Benigno S. Aquino Sr. and Aurora Aqu ...
, Joe Burgos, and Pres. Aquino with Vice-President Doy Laurel during their campaign. In 2003, the ''Radio Broadcast of the Philippine People Power Revolution'' was inscribed in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Memory of the World Register Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...
, which is the official documentary heritage list of the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
(UN)'s educational and scientific body.


See also

*
Proclamation No. 1081 Proclamation No. 1081 was the document which contained Ordinance Power of the President of the Philippines#Proclamations, formal proclamation of martial law in the Philippines by President of the Philippines, President Ferdinand Marcos, as announ ...
* 1972 Philippines Martial law under Ferdinand Marcos * 1986 Philippine general election *
Epifanio de los Santos Avenue Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, commonly referred to by its acronym EDSA, is a limited-access circumferential highway around Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. It passes through 6 of Metro Manila's 17 local government units or cities, ...
*"
Bayan Ko "Bayan Ko" (usually translated as "My Country"; es, Nuestra patria, lit=Our Fatherland) is one of the most recognizable patriotic songs of the Philippines. It was written in Spanish by the Revolutionary general José Alejandrino in light of the ...
" *"
Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo "Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo" (), released in English as "A New and Better Way—The People's Anthem," is a 1986 song recorded in Filipino by a supergroup composed of 15 Filipino artists. The song serves to commemorate the bloodless People Power ...
" *" Magkaisa" *
EDSA Shrine The Shrine of Mary, Queen of Peace, Our Lady of EDSA, or more popularly, the EDSA Shrine is a small church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila located at the intersection of Ortigas Avenue and Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) in Bara ...
*
People Power Monument The People Power Monument is a monument built to commemorate the events of the 1986 People Power Revolution. The monument is located on the corner of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue and White Plains Avenue in Barangay Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City ...
*
Bantayog ng mga Bayani The Bantayog ng mga Bayani (), sometimes simply referred to as the Bantayog, is a monument, museum, and historical research center in Quezon City, Philippines, which honors the martyrs and heroes of the struggle against the dictatorship of for ...
General: *
Timeline of the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos This timeline of the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines covers three periods of Philippine history in which Marcos Marcos may refer to: People with the given name ''Marcos'' *Marcos (given name) Sports ;Surnamed * Dayton Marcos, ...
Similar events: *
EDSA II The Second EDSA Revolution, also known as the Second People Power Revolution, EDSA 2001, or EDSA II (pronounced ''EDSA Two'' or ''EDSA Dos''), was a political protest from January 17–20, 2001, which peacefully overthrew the government of Jose ...
*
EDSA III The May 1 riots, or EDSA III (pronounced as ''EDSA Three'' or ''EDSA Tres'', the Spanish word for "three"), were protests sparked by the arrest of newly deposed president Joseph Estrada of the Philippines from April 25 to May 1, 2001. The pr ...
*
June Struggle The June Democratic Struggle (), also known as the June Democracy Movement and June Democratic Uprising, was a nationwide pro-democracy movement in South Korea that generated mass protests from June 10 to June 29, 1987. The demonstrations force ...
, in the
Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its east ...
*
Gdańsk Agreement The Gdańsk Agreement (or ''Gdańsk Social Accord(s)'' or ''August Agreement(s)'', pl, Porozumienia sierpniowe) was an accord reached as a direct result of the strikes that took place in Gdańsk, Poland. Workers along the Baltic went on strike in ...
of 1980 and Round Table Agreement of 1989, both induced by peaceful protests in Poland by
Solidarity ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...
*
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...
*
Fall of the Berlin Wall The fall of the Berlin Wall (german: Mauerfall) on 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, was a pivotal event in world history which marked the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain and one of the series of eve ...
, in Germany *
Romanian Revolution The Romanian Revolution ( ro, Revoluția Română), also known as the Christmas Revolution ( ro, Revoluția de Crăciun), was a period of violent civil unrest in Romania during December 1989 as a part of the Revolutions of 1989 that occurred i ...
*
Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...
, in Czechoslovakia *
8888 Uprising The 8888 Uprising ( my, ၈၈၈၈ အရေးအခင်း), also known as the People Power UprisingYawnghwe (1995), pp. 170 and the 1988 Uprising, was a series of nationwide protests, marches, and riots in Burma (present-day Myanmar) th ...
, in Burma (now Myanmar) *
May 1998 riots of Indonesia The May 1998 riots of Indonesia ( id, Kerusuhan Mei 1998), also known as the 1998 tragedy (''Tragedi 1998'') or simply the 1998 event (''Peristiwa 1998''), were incidents of mass violence, demonstrations, and civil unrest that occurred thro ...
*
Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
*
Tunisian Revolution The Tunisian Revolution, also called the Jasmine Revolution, was an intensive 28-day campaign of civil resistance. It included a series of street demonstrations which took place in Tunisia, and led to the ousting of longtime president Zine El ...
*
Egyptian Revolution of 2011 The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January revolution ( ar, ثورة ٢٥ يناير; ), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police ho ...
*
1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt The 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, also known as the August Coup,, "August Putsch". was a failed attempt by hardliners of the Soviet Union's Communist Party to forcibly seize control of the country from Mikhail Gorbachev, who was Soviet ...
*
2013–2014 Cambodian protests Anti-government protests ( km, បាតុកម្មប្រឆាំងរាជរដ្ឋាភិបាល) were a series of protests in Cambodia from July 2013 to July 2014. Popular demonstrations in Phnom Penh took place against the g ...
*
2021 Myanmar protests 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
*
Revolutions of 1989 The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...


Notes


References


Bibliography

*Baron, Cynthia S. and Suazo, Melba M. ''Nine Letters: The Story of the 1986 Filipino Revolution.'' Quezon City, Philippines. Gerardo P. Baron Books. 1986. * Bello, Walden. "From the ashes: The rebirth of the Philippine revolution—a review essay." ''Third World Quarterly'' 8.1 (1986): 258-276
online
*Johnson, Brian. ''The Four Days of Courage: The Untold Story of the People Who Brought Marcos Down.'' Toronto, Canada. McClelland and Stewart, 1987. * *Mendoza, Amado, '"People Power" in the Philippines, 1983–86', in Adam Roberts and
Timothy Garton Ash Timothy Garton Ash CMG FRSA (born 12 July 1955) is a British historian, author and commentator. He is Professor of European Studies at Oxford University. Most of his work has been concerned with the contemporary history of Europe, with a speci ...
(eds.)
''Civil Resistance and Power Politics: The Experience of Non-violent Action from Gandhi to the Present''
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
''US edition''''On Google''
*Mercado, Paul Sagmayao, and Tatad, Francisco S. ''People Power: The Philippine Revolution of 1986: An eyewitness history.'' Manila, Philippines. The James B. Reuter, S.J., Foundation. 1986. *Schock, Kurt. ''Unarmed Insurrections: People Power Movements in Nondemocracies.'' Minneapolis, USA. University of Minnesota Press. 2005.


External links

* * * {{Philippine national holidays 1986 in the Philippines 1980s coups d'état and coup attempts 20th-century revolutions Armed Forces of the Philippines Battles and conflicts without fatalities Colour revolutions February 1986 events in Asia History of Metro Manila History of the Philippines (1965–1986) Imelda Marcos Military history of the Philippines Nonviolent revolutions Anti-fascism Presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Protests against results of elections Protests in the Philippines Rebellions in the Philippines