Corazon Aquino

Maria Corazon "Cory" Cojuangco Aquino[1] (January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was
a Filipino politician who served as the 11th President of the Philippines and became the first
woman to hold that office. She was widely accredited as the "Mother of Asian Democracy". The
first female president in the Philippines, Aquino was the most prominent figure of the
1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled the 21-year rule of President Ferdinand Marcos.
She was named Time magazine's Woman of the Year in 1986. Prior to this, she had not held any
other elective office. She was considered the leader of the world's most successful non-violent
and bloodless peace revolution against a dictatorial regime As President, Aquino oversaw the
promulgation of the 1987 Constitution, which limited the powers of the Presidency and re-
established the bicameral Congress. Her administration gave strong emphasis and concern
for civil liberties and human rights, and on peace talks to resolve the ongoing Communist
insurgency and Islamist secession movements. Her economic policies centered on restoring
economic health and confidence and focused on creating a market-oriented and socially
responsible economy. She became the first Filipino to be bestowed with the prestigious Prize For
Freedom Award in 1987. Aquino faced several coup attempts against her government and
various natural calamities until the end of her term in 1992. She was succeeded as President
by Fidel Ramos, and returned to civilian life while remaining public about her opinions on political
issues. In recognition for her role in the world's most peaceful revolution to attain democracy, she
was awarded the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1998.

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo CYC (born April 5, 1947) is a Filipino professor and
politician who was the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 until 2010, as the tenth Vice
President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, as the deputy speaker of the 17th Congress from
2016 to 2017, and a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd
Districtof Pampanga since 2010. She was the country's second female president (after Corazon
Aquino), and the daughter of former President Diosdado Macapagal. Arroyo is also the first duly
elected female Vice President of the Philippines.[3] She currently serve as Speaker of the House of
Representatives of the Philippines, making her the first woman to hold the position. After Estrada
was accused of corruption, she resigned her cabinet position as Secretary of Social Welfare and
Development and joined the growing opposition to the president, who faced impeachment. Estrada
was soon forced out from office by the Second EDSA Revolution in 2001, and Arroyo was sworn into
the presidency by Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr. on January 20. She was elected to a full six-year
presidential term in the controversial 2004 Philippine elections, and was sworn in on June 30, 2004.
Following her presidency, she was elected to the House of Representatives, making her the second
Philippine president—after José P. Laurel—to pursue a lower office after their presidency On
November 18, 2011, Arroyo was arrested following the filing of criminal charges against her for
electoral fraud. She was held at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City under charges
of electoral sabotage but t released on bail in July 2012. She was rearrested while in the hospital on
charges of misuse of $8.8 million in state lottery funds in October 2012. On July 19, 2016, she was
acquitted by the Supreme Court by a vote of 11-4. Also, the Supreme Court declared the DOJ's hold
departure order unconstitutional.
Joseph Estrada

Joseph "Erap" Ejercito Estrada (born José Ejército y Marcelo; born April 19, 1937) is
a Filipino politician and former actor who served as the 13th President of the Philippines from 1998
to 2001 and as the ninth Vice President of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. In 2001, he became
the first president in Asia to be impeached from an executive role. He has been Mayor of the City of
Manila, the country's capital, since 2013. Estrada was elected President in 1998 with a wide margin
of votes separating him from the other challengers, and was sworn into the presidency on June 30,
1998. In 2000 he declared an "all-out-war" against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and captured
its headquarters and other camps.[2][3] However, allegations of corruption spawned
an impeachment trial in the Senate, and in 2001 Estrada was ousted by "People Power 2" after the
prosecution walked out of the impeachment court when the Senator-Judges voted "no" in the
opening of the second envelope In 2007, Estrada was sentenced by the special division of
the Sandiganbayan to reclusión perpetua for the plunder of stealing $80 million from the
government and was sentenced to a lifetime in prison, but was later granted pardon by
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He ran for president again in the 2010 presidential election, but
was defeated by Senator Benigno Aquino IIIby a wide margin.

Economy

the Aquino administration also sought to bring back fiscal discipline in order as it aimed to trim
down the government's budget deficit that ballooned during Marcos' term through privatization of
bad government assets and deregulation of many vital industries. It was also during Aquino's time
that vital economic laws such as the Built-Operate-Transfer Law, Foreign Investments Act and the
Consumer Protection and Welfare Act were enacted.

Revolutionary government

To declare her government “revolutionary” and abolish the Batasan Pambansa was to behave no
better than Dictator Marcos", Palma said.[6] Homobono Adaza, who brokered the opposition
coalition, "when the United Democratic Opposition (UNIDO) decided to support Cory for President,
the agreement with Cory was that the type of government of Marcos would be continued, with Cory
as ceremonial President

Landmark legislation

Aquino promulgated two landmark legal codes, namely, the Family Code of 1987, which reformed
the civil law on family relations, and the Administrative Code of 1987, which reorganized the
structure of the executive branch of government. Another landmark law that was enacted during her
tenure was the 1991 Local Government Code, which devolved national government powers to local
government units (LGUs). The new Code also enhanced the power of LGUs to enact local taxation
measure and assured them of a share in the national revenue.

President Corazon Aquino envisioned agrarian and land reform as the centerpiece of
heradministration's social legislative agenda. However, her family background and social class as
a privileged daughter of a wealthy and landed clan became a lightning rod of criticisms against her
and reform agenda. On January 22, 1987, less than a month before the ratification of the
1987Constitution, agrarian workers and farmers marched to the historic Mendiola Street near the
Malacañan Palace to demand genuine land reform from Aquino's administration. However, the
march turned violent when Marine forces fired at farmers who tried to go beyond the designated
demarcation line set by the police. As a result, 12 farmers were killed and 19 were injured in this
incident now known as the Mendiola Massacre. This incident led some prominent members of
theAquino Cabinet to resign their government posts.In response to calls for agrarian reform,
President Aquino issued Presidential Proclamation131 and Executive Order 229 on July 22, 1987,
which outlined her land reform program, which included sugar lands. In 1988, with the backing of
Aquino, the new Congress of the
Philippines passed Republic Act No. 6657, more popularly known as the Comprehensive Agrarian R
eformLaw." The law paved the way for the redistribution of agricultural lands to tenant-farmers
from landowners, who were paid in exchange by the government through just compensation but
were also allowed to retain not more than five hectares of land. However, corporate landowners
were also allowed under the law to "voluntarily divest a proportion of their capital stock, equity
or participation in favor of their workers or other qualified beneficiaries", in lieu of turning over
theirland to the government for redistribution. Despite the flaws in the law, the Supreme Court
upheldits constitutionality in 1989, declaring that the implementation of the comprehensive
agrarianreform program (CARP) provided by the said law, was "a revolutionary kind of
expropriation