CORAZON AQUINO

Maria Corazon Aquino was born January 25, 1933, in Tarlac, Philippines. Her husband had
been an opponent of Ferdinand Marcos and was assassinated upon returning from exile. When
Marcos unexpectedly called for elections in 1986, Corazon Aquino became the unified
opposition's presidential candidate.

People Power Revolution

The People Power Revolution (also known as the EDSA Revolution and the Philippine
Revolution of 1986) was a series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in the capital
city of Manila from February 22–25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of civil
resistance against regime violence and alleged electoral fraud. The nonviolent revolution led to the
departure of President Ferdinand Marcos along with his totalitarian regime and the restoration
of democracy in the Philippines.[4][5]
It is also referred to as the Yellow Revolution due to the presence of yellow ribbons during the
demonstrations following the assassination of Filipino senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr.[4][5] in
1983. It was widely seen as a victory of the people against the 20-year running authoritarian,
repressive[6] regime of then president Ferdinand Marcos, and made news headlines as "the
revolution that surprised the world".[7]
The majority of the demonstrations took place on a long stretch of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue,
more commonly known by its acronym EDSA, in Metro Manila from February 22–25, 1986. They
involved over two million Filipino civilians, as well as several political and military groups, and
religious groups led by Cardinal Jaime Sin, the Archbishop of Manila and
the CBCP President Cardinal Ricardo Vidal, the Archbishop of Cebu. The protests, fueled by the
resistance and opposition from years of corrupt governance by Marcos, culminated with the
departure of the dictator from Malacañang Palace to Hawaii. Corazon Aquino was proclaimed as
the President of the Philippines after the revolution
The Philippines was praised worldwide in 1986, when the so-called bloodless revolution erupted,
called EDSA People Power’s Revolution. February 25, 1986 marked a significant national event that
has been engraved in the hearts and minds of every Filipino. This part of Philippine history gives us
a strong sense of pride especially that other nations had attempted to emulate what we have shown
the world of the true power of democracy. The true empowerment of democracy was exhibited in
EDSA by its successful efforts to oust a tyrant by a demonstration without tolerance for violence
and bloodshed. Prayers and rosaries strengthened by faith were the only weapons that the Filipinos
used to recover their freedom from President Ferdinand Marcos’s iron hands. The Epifanio de los
Santos Avenue (EDSA) stretches 54 kilometers, where the peaceful demonstration was held on that
fateful day. It was a day that gathered all Filipinos in unity with courage and faith to prevail
democracy in the country. It was the power of the people, who assembled in EDSA, that restored the
democratic Philippines, ending the oppressive Marcos regime. Hence, it came to be known as the
EDSA People Power’s Revolution.

The revolution was a result of the long oppressed freedom and the life threatening abuses executed
by the Marcos government to cite several events like human rights violation since the
tyrannical Martial Law Proclamation in 1972. In the years that followed Martial Law started the
suppressive and abusive years–incidents of assassination were rampant, particularly those who
opposed the government, individuals and companies alike were subdued. The Filipinos reached the
height of their patience when former Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Sr. was shot and killed at the
airport in August 21, 1983, upon his return to the Philippines from exile in the United States.
Aquino’s death marked the day that Filipinos learned to fight. His grieving wife, Corazon Cojuangco-
Aquino showed the Filipinos and the world the strength and courage to claim back the democracy
that Ferdinand Marcos arrested for his personal caprice. Considering the depressing economy of
the country, Ninoy’s death further intensified the contained resentment of the Filipinos. In the
efforts to win back his popularity among the people, Marcos held a snap presidential election in
February 7, 1986, where he was confronted with a strong and potent opposition, Corazon Aquino. It
was the most corrupt and deceitful election held in the Philippine history. There was an evident
trace of electoral fraud as the tally of votes were declared with discrepancy between the official
count by the COMELEC (Commission on Elections) and the count of NAMFREL (National Movement
for Free Elections). Such blatant corruption in that election was the final straw of tolerance by the
Filipinos of the Marcos regime. Thedemonstration started to break in the cry for democracy and the
demand to oust Marcos from his seat at Malacañang Palace. The revolt commenced when Marcos'
Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and the Armed Forces Vice-Chief of Staff command of Fidel V.
Ramos, both withdrew their support from the government and called upon the resignation of then
President Marcos. They responsibly barricaded Camp Crame and Camp Aguinaldo and had their
troops ready to combat against possible armed attack organized by Marcos and his troops. The
Catholic Church represented by Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin along with the priests and nuns
called for the support of all Filipinos who believed in democracy. Radyo Veritas aired the message
of Cardinal Sin that summoned thousands of Filipinos to march the street of EDSA. It was an
empowering demonstration that aimed to succeed peacefully with the intervention of faith. Nuns
kneeled in front of tanks with rosaries in their hands and uttering their prayers.

With the power of prayers, the armed marine troops under the command of Marcos withdrew from
the site. Celebrities expressed their support putting up a presentation to showcase
the injustices and the anomalies carried out by the Marcos administration. Finally, in the morning of
February 25, 1986, Corazon Aquino took the presidential oath of office, administered by
the Supreme Court Associate Justice Claudio Teehankee at Club Filipino located in San Juan. Aquino
was proclaimed as the 11th President of the Republic of the Philippines. She was the first lady
president of the country. People rejoiced over their victory proving the success of the EDSA
People’s Power Revolution, the historic peaceful demonstration. Although in 2001, there was an
attempt to revive People Power in the efforts to oust then President Joseph Estrada, it was not as
strong as the glorifying demonstration in 1986. The bloodless, People Power Revolution in EDSA
renewed the power of the people, strengthened the meaning of democracy and restored the
democratic institutions of government.Continue to the 5th Republic (1986) up to the Present Time.

MANILA, Philippines – Did you know that yellow is not really the favorite color of the late President
Corazon Aquino? According to her interview in TIME, her favorite color was actually red. It was only when
some friends suggested the song “Tie A Yellow Ribbon” for Ninoy’s homecoming that she developed a
fancy for the color.

In line with the 29th anniversary of the historical EDSA revolution, here are 29 EDSA-related facts:
1. “People Power Revolution” is also tagged as the “EDSA Revolution,” “Yellow
Revolution,” “Bloodless Revolution” and “1986 Philippine Revolution.”
2. Despite the presence of tank-riding soldiers and big guns, not a single shot was fired. Thus,
People Power Revolution was the first nonviolent, bloodless revolution that ever took place.
3. It was not only in 1986 that there had been a mass gathering on EDSA. There was another
massive gathering in which media commonly tags as EDSA 2 (EDSA Dos) on January 2001,
which ousted then-President Joseph Estrada.
4. Since Ninoy’s assassination, yellow has been the color of the revolution.
5. “Tie a Yellow Ribbon” was Ninoy’s comeback song. Because he was assassinated upon
walking off the plane, the Filipinos took their cue from the song and since then used color yellow
as their symbol of rebellion.
6. Corazon Aquino was hesitant to go against Ferdinand Marcos for the snap elections. To
encourage her make the decision, 1 million signatures of Filipinos urging her to plunge into the
political arena was presented to her.
7. The official tally of the votes did not come together during the snap elections. To be exact, the
official election canvasser, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), declared Marcos the
winner with 10,807,197 votes against Aquino's 9,291,761 votes while National Movement for
Free Elections’s (NAMFREL) had Aquino winning with 7,835,070 votes against Marcos'
7,053,068 points.
8. Ninoy’s widow Cory Aquino was not in EDSA during the entire revolution. She was in Cebu,
conducting her own protests.
9. Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile’s move on February 22 to take over the Defense Ministry at
Camp Aguinaldo with hundreds of pro-Aquino protesters was seen as the first action of the
People Power revolution.
10. Fidel Ramos, after being contacted by Enrile joined him in a press conference in Camp
Aguinaldo and announced their resignations and defection to the opposition. They also
announced that blatant fraud took place during the elections. “I would like to appeal to the fair
and to the dedicated and people-oriented members of the AFP and the INP to join us in this
crusade for better government, “ he said during the conference.
11. Cardinal Sin was the one who led the Catholic Church’s participation in the revolution.
12. It was only after Cardinal Sin’s announcement in Radio Veritas that thousands of people,
responding to the Cardinal’s appeal, began gathering outside rebel camps, bringing supplies
and food for the soldiers.
13. Radio Veritas was the only radio station which covered events that government-owned stations
didn't.
14. Armed soldiers destroyed Radio Veritas’ transmission tower, cutting off all news of the rebellion.
15. When General Artemio Tadiar warned the crowd that he would open fire if they don’t disperse,
people responded by singing, "Bayan Ko," praying and offering soldiers cigarettes and bread.
16. The L hand symbol (done by extending the thumb and the index finger pointing up) means
"laban" (to fight). It was the eminent hand gesture of protesters during the revolution.
17. Aside from wearing yellow clothes and tying yellow ribbons on trees and posts, phone
directories (which is color yellow) were ripped apart on demonstrations and were used as
confetti.
18. Performers like the APO Hiking Society staged mini-concerts during the revolution.
19. “Bayan Ko” and “Magkaisa” are among the iconic songs during EDSA Revolution. The latter
was composed by now senator Vicente Sotto and was sung by Virna Lisa Loberiza. Other than
during the EDSA revolution, the song was also sung during the funeral of senator Aquino.
20. There were two inaugurations held on Feb. 25, 1986. Marcos held his in Malacañang while
Aquino held hers in Club Filipino.
21. After hearing the news that Marcos had already abandoned the palace, Fidel Ramos was the
one who announced to the thick crowd the good news, while jumping with joy. Up to now, the
jumping he did is still symbolic in EDSA celebrations.
22. After Marcos and his family left the country, people marched inside the palace. People
wandered around and saw the luxury of Marcos. Some reports claim that there have been
looting occurrences, too.
23. The whole world rejoiced with the Filipinos. In fact, Bob Simon, an anchorman at CBS said, "We
Americans like to think we taught the Filipinos democracy. Well, tonight they are teaching the
world."
24. On the day Marcos and his family departed the country for exile in Hawaii, Corazon Aquino was
inaugurated as the 11th and the first female president of the Philippines.
25. One of Aquino's first and boldest moves was the creation of the Presidential Commission on
Good Government (PCGG), which was tasked to go after the Marcos ill-gotten wealth.
26. "Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo" was composed by songwriter Jim Paredes two months after the
revolution.
27. Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), where the EDSA revolution took place previous names
include North-South Circumferential Road, Avenida 19 de Junio (June 19 Avenue), Highway 54.
Contrary to what most people believe, EDSA is not 54 kilometers long, but only 24.
28. EDSA Shrine or the Mary Queen of Peace Shrine was constructed in honor of the Virgin Mary to
give thanks for the peaceful EDSA revolution. It was completed three years after the revolution.
29. People Power Monument, which was also built to commemorate the event was then built seven
years after the revolution, on 1993. It is located at the corner of EDSA and White Plains Avenue,
less than a kilometer away from the EDSA Shrine.

The Significance of the EDSA Revolution: It brought back a democratic government. The courage,
sacrifices, and faith of the Filipinos won the admiration of the World Our country served as an
inspiration to other Asian Countries It showed that God answers the United Prayers of Christians and
made a miracle in the country.

EDSA revolution plays a very important role to the present bureaucracy and political system of the
country.It is actually a manifestation of freedom,unity and nationalism of every Filipino to the country.
The greatest advantage was the re-establishment of a democratic society and constitution. It had the
unfortunate disadvantage of loss of human life in the process.