New Era University

 No. 9 Central Ave., New Era,

Quezon City, Philippines, 1107

Term Paper in Reading in Philippine History

The History of EDSA People Power Revolution and the Proclamation of

Martial Law

Pestaño, Jeffrey Rhod P.

BS-Information Technology 3

Dr. Pedrito B. Placio

March 2019
 EDSA People Power 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. The demonstration 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.

Proclamation of Martial Law

Barred from running for a third term as president in 1973, Marcos
announced Proclamation No. 1081 on September 23, 1972, declaring martial
law with rising civil disobedience as a justification. Through this decree
and after obtaining voters consent through the plebiscite, President Marcos
seized emergency powers giving him full control of the Philippines' military
and the authority to suppress and abolish the freedom of speech, the freedom
of the press, and many other civil liberties. President Marcos also dissolved
the Philippine Congress and shut down media establishments critical of the
Marcos Administration.
President Marcos also ordered the immediate arrest of his political opponents
and critics. Among those arrested were Senate President Jovito Salonga,
Senator Jose Diokno, and Senator Benigno Aquino Jr., who Marcos linked with
the Communists[9] and the man who was groomed by the opposition to succeed
President Marcos after the 1973 elections.[8] On November 25, 1977, the
Military Commission charged Aquino along with his two co-
accused, NPA leaders Bernabe Buscayno (Commander Dante) and Lt. Victor
Corpuz, guilty of all charges and sentenced them to death by firing squad.
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 and allowing President Marcos to stay in power beyond 1973.
The constitution was approved by 95% of the voters in the Philippine
constitutional plebiscite.
In 1978, while still in prison, Aquino founded his political party, Lakas ng
Bayan (abbreviated "LABAN"; English: People's Power) to run for office in
the Interim Batasang Pambansa (Parliament). All LABAN candidates lost,
including Ninoy himself.
With practically all of his political opponents were arrested and in exile,
President Marcos' pre-emptive declaration of martial law in 1972 and
the ratification 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 context, Marcos retained the support of the United States through Marcos'
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.
Assassination of Ninoy Aquino
Despite warnings from the military and other First Lady Imelda R. Marcos,
Ninoy Aquino was determined to return to the Philippines. Asked what he
thought of the death threats, Ninoy Aquino responded, "The Filipino is worth
dying for."[11]
At that time, Ninoy's passport had expired and the renewal had been denied.
Ninoy therefore acquired a plan to acquire a fake passport with the help
of Rashid Lucman, The passport carried the alias Marcial Bonifacio(Marcial
for martial law and Bonifacio for Fort Bonifacio, his erstwhile prison).
On August 21, 1983, after a three-year exile in the United States, Aquino
was assassinated as he disembarked from a Taiwanese commercial flight at
the Manila International Airport (which was later renamed in Aquino's honor).
His assassination shocked and outraged many Filipinos, most of whom had lost
confidence in the Marcos administration. The event led to more suspicions
about the government, triggering non-cooperation among Filipinos that
eventually led to outright civil disobedience. It also shook the Marcos
Administration, which was by then deteriorating due, in part, to Marcos'
worsening health and ultimately fatal illness (lupus erythematosus).
The assassination of Ninoy Aquino caused the Philippines economy to
deteriorate even further, and the government plunged further into debt. By
the end of 1983, the Philippines was in an economic recession, with the
economy contracting by 6.8%.
In 1984, Marcos appointed a commission, led by Chief Justice Enrique
Fernando, to launch an investigation into Aquino's assassination. Despite the
commission's conclusions, Cardinal Jaime Sin, the Archbishop of Manila,
declined an offer to join the commission and rejected the government's views
on the assassination.
Calls for election
On November 3, 1985, after pressure from the US government, Marcos suddenly
announced that 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 growing opposition movement encouraged Ninoy Aquino's widow, Corazon
Aquino, to run for the presidency. United Opposition (UNIDO) leader, Salvador
Laurel, who earlier filed his candidacy as an official UNIDO candidate for
the presidency, gave way to Cory after a political deal which was later
reneged by Cory after the election. Salvador 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 as his running mate
under the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) party.
1986 election
The elections were held on February 7, 1986. The official election canvasser,
the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), declared Marcos 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 (NAMFREL), an
accredited poll watcher, had Aquino winning with 7,835,070 votes against
Marcos' 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 as 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 (CBCP) through Cardinal Ricardo Vidal 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 amidst 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' 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
Cardinal Vidal, after the result of the snap election, issued a declaration
in lieu 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."
Aftermath
Immediately after her accession, Aquino issued Proclamation № 3,
a provisional constitution which established a revolutionary government. The
edict promulgated the 1986 Freedom Constitution, which retained or superseded
various provisions of the 1973 Constitution that was 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
unicameral legislature duly elected in 1984), pending a plebiscite for a more
permanent Constitution and the establishment of a new Congress by 1987.
The revolution had an effect on democratization movements in such countries
as Taiwan and South Korea; 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, 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
thirteen years of totalitarian rule and these institutions have been used by
various groups to challenge the entrenched political families and to
strengthen Philippine democracy.
Legacy
The People Power Revolution has inspired a call for 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 and many other former Soviet Bloc
countries. It also helped inspire the Arab Spring in 2011.
The EDSA Revolution Anniversary is a special public holiday in the
Philippines. Since 2002, the holiday has been a special non-working holiday.
Rampant corruption during the term of President Joseph Estrada led to the
similar 2001 EDSA Revolution leading to his resignation from the presidency.
In 2003, the Radio Broadcast of the Philippine People Power Revolution was
inscribed in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register, the official
documentary heritage list of the United Nations' educational and scientific
body.
References:

http://www.philippine-history.org/edsa-people-power-revolution.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_Power_Revolution

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/edsa/the-ph-protest/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_law_under_Ferdinand_Marcos

http://martiallawmuseum.ph/magaral/442/