Everything about People Power totally explained
The
People Power Revolution (also known as the
EDSA Revolution and the
Philippine Revolution of 1986) was a series of
nonviolent and prayerful mass street
demonstrations in the
Philippines that occurred in 1986. It is sometimes referred to as the
Yellow Revolution due to presence of yellow ribbons during the arrival of
Ninoy Aquino. These protests were the culmination of a long resistance by the people against the 20-year running
authoritarian regime of then current president
Ferdinand Marcos and made news headlines as "the revolution that surprised the world". The majority of the demonstrations took place at
Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, known more commonly by its acronym
EDSA, in
Quezon City,
Metropolitan Manila and involved over 200,000 Filipino civilians as well as several political, military, and religious figures, such as
Jaime Cardinal Sin. The protests, fueled by a resistance and opposition of years of corrupt governance by Marcos, occurred from
February 22 to 25 in 1986, when Marcos fled
Malacañang Palace to the
United States and conceded
to
Corazon Aquino as
President of the Philippines.
Background and History
The Marcos regime
Throughout his presidency,
Ferdinand Marcos had set up a regime in the Philippines that would give him ultimate power over the military and the national treasury. Following his declaration of martial law on
September 21,
1972, Marcos immediately began to
embezzle money from the government and order the military to kill any political competition against him. As a result, the
Philippine economy began to tumble greatly, and the nation lost its competitive edge in Southeast Asia.
Several groups of people, however, even within the government, conspired throughout the term of the Marcos regime to overthrow him. They were led by the popular public figure, opposition senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr, said to be leaning to a
left-wing solution. While gaining popularity amongst the Filipino people for his stance against Marcos, Aquino was eventually forced to seek exile in the
United States for his beliefs after several groups threatened to assassinate him. However, in 1983, despite being warned not to return to the Philippines, Aquino announced that he'd fly back to fight for his people.
Assassination of Ninoy Aquino
Despite warnings from the military and other pro-Marcos groups not to return to the Philippines, Ninoy Aquino announced that he'd return. On
August 21,
1983, after a three-year exile in the
United States, as he disembarked from his aircraft at the then-
Manila International Airport (now named after him), Aquino was
assassinated. His assassination shocked and outraged many Filipinos, most of whom by then had lost confidence in the Marcos administration. The event led to more suspicions on the government, triggered non-cooperation among Filipinos that eventually caused more
civil disobedience. It also shook the Marcos government, which was by then deteriorating, in part due to Marcos' worsening condition and eventual fatal illness.
The assassination of Ninoy Aquino in 1983 caused the economic problems of the country to deteriorate even further, and the government plunged further into debt. By the end of 1983, the country was bankrupt, and the economy contracted by 6.8%.
In 1984, Marcos appointed a commission, led by Chief Justice Fernando, to launch an inquiry and investigation into Aquino's assassination. Despite the commission's conclusions, Cardinal
Jaime Sin, the Archbishop of Manila at the time, declined an offer to join the commission, rejecting the government's views on the assassination. In October of that year, Marcos appointed a second commission to investigate. The commission's final report accused the military of staging a conspiracy to assassinate Aquino, dealing another major blow to the already collapsing government.
Calls for election
On
November 23,
1985, after pressures from
Washington, Marcos suddenly announced that a presidential snap elections would take place the following year, one year ahead of the regular presidential election schedule, to legitimize his control over the country. 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.
Marcos was still proclaimed the winner amidst the controversy. The Filipino people refused to accept the results, however, asserting that Aquino was the real victor. Both "winners" took their oath of office in two different places, with Aquino gaining greater mass support. Appalled by the apparent election irregularities, Juan Ponce Enrile, then secretary of National Defense, and some military officials tried to set in motion a coup attempt against Marcos that they've been planning for some time. However, after Marcos learned about the plot, he ordered their leaders' arrest.
Events of the Revolution
The Defection
The events of the revolution started when two key leaders of the military withdrew their support for Marcos. At 6:45 p.m. on Friday,
February 22,
1986, the Minister of Defense
Juan Ponce Enrile and the Vice Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Lt. Gen. (later president) Fidel Ramos announced at a press conference that they felt Marcos had stolen the election. Therefore, they declared that they could no longer support Marcos and that Aquino was the rightful president. Subsequently, they barricaded themselves in two military camps: Ramos at
Camp Crame, Headquarters of the Philippine Constabulary-Integrated National Police and Enrile at the Ministry of National Defense in
Camp Aguinaldo. Both camps faced each other across EDSA in
Quezon City,
Metro Manila. Supported by only a few hundred fellow soldiers, Enrile and Ramos prepared for the inevitable attack by Marcos-loyal troops led by
Gen. Fabian Ver, the Armed Forces Chief of Staff.—replayed the press conference nationwide. Marcos himself later conducted his own news conference calling on Enrile and Ramos to surrender, urging them to "stop this stupidity." which, since 1980, had become a patriotic anthem of the opposition. People frequently flashed the
LABAN (fight) sign, which is an "L" formed with their thumb and index finger.
Shortly after lunch on
February 23, Enrile and Ramos decided to consolidate their positions. Enrile crossed EDSA from
Camp Aguinaldo to
Camp Crame amidst cheers from the crowd. Nuns holding rosaries knelt in front of the tanks and men and women linked arms together to block the troops. Tadiar threatened the crowds but they didn't budge. In the end, the troops were forced to retreat with no shots fired. Secretly, the squadron had already defected and instead of attacking Camp Crame, landed in it, with the crowds cheering and hugging the soldiers who came out. 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. declaring that he wouldn't step down. It was thereafter speculated that the false report was a calculated move against Marcos to encourage more defections. in Greenhills, about a kilometer from Camp Crame. She was sworn in as President by Senior Associate Justice
Claudio Teehankee, and Laurel as Vice-President by Justice Vicente Abad Santos. The Bible on which Aquino swore her oath was held by Aurora Aquino, the mother of
Ninoy Aquino. Attending the ceremonies were Ramos, who was then promoted to General, Enrile, and many politicians. First Lady Imelda Marcos sang one more rendition of
"Dahil Sa Iyo" (Because of You), the couple's theme song, rather tearfully,
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