View source for People Power Revolution

{{Short description|Series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines in 1986 that overthrew Ferdinand Marcos}}
{{Redirect|EDSA Revolution|other uses|EDSA Revolution (disambiguation)|other uses of People Power|People power (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Use Philippine English|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox civil conflict
| title = People Power Revolution
| image = EDSA Revolution pic1.jpg
| image_size = 
| image_alt = Part of the Cold War
| caption = Hundreds of thousands of people filling up [[Epifanio de los Santos Avenue]] (EDSA), facing northbound towards the [[Bonny Serrano Avenue|Boni Serrano Avenue]]–EDSA intersection (February 1986)
| date = February 22–25, 1986 ({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|year1=1986|month1=2|day1=22|year2=1986|month2=2|day2=25}})
| place = [[Philippines]], primarily [[EDSA]], [[Metro Manila]]
| causes = * [[Assassination of Ninoy Aquino|Assassination]] of [[Ninoy Aquino]] in 1983
* Fraud during the [[1986 Philippine presidential election|1986 snap presidential election]]
* Decades of [[Martial law under Ferdinand Marcos|oppressive and autocratic rule]]
* [[Unexplained wealth of the Marcos family|Public funds siphoned]]
| goals = * Removal of [[Ferdinand Marcos]] from power
* Installation of [[Corazon Aquino]] as President
* Restoration of [[democracy]] in the Philippines
| status = 
| result = Opposition victory
* [[Ferdinand Marcos]] removed from [[Office of the President of the Philippines|office]]
* End of the [[History of the Philippines under Ferdinand Marcos|Marcos regime]]
* [[Marcos family|Marcos clan]] flees to [[Hawaii]]
* [[Provisional Government of the Philippines (1986–1987)|Start]] of the [[History of the Philippines (1986–present)|Fifth Republic]]
* [[Corazon Aquino]] becomes [[President of the Philippines|president]]
| side1 = {{flagdeco|Philippines|1936}} '''[[Presidency of Corazon Aquino|Opposition]]'''<br />Political parties:
* [[United Nationalist Democratic Organization|UNIDO]]
** [[PDP–Laban]]
** [[Liberal Party (Philippines)|Liberal Party]]
Military defectors:
* [[File:Reform the Armed Forces Movement logo circa 1990s.png|22px]] [[Reform the Armed Forces Movement]]
* [[Philippine Constabulary]]
* Other defectors of the Armed Forces
Others:
* Anti-Marcos civilian protesters
Religious groups:
* [[Archdiocese of Manila]]
* [[Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines|CBCP]]<ref name=convergence>{{cite news|last1=Sison|first1=Jose Maria|title=It was a convergence of various forces|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2479&dat=20060224&id=FFg1AAAAIBAJ&pg=1930,4044246|access-date=August 4, 2014|newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer|date=February 24, 2006}}</ref>
* [[Protestantism in the Philippines|Protestant churches of the Philippines]]
Militant groups:
* [[Bagong Alyansang Makabayan]]<ref name=convergence /><ref>{{cite news|last1=Araullo|first1=Carolina|title=Left was at Edsa and long before|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4FU1AAAAIBAJ&pg=1015%2C30844986|access-date=August 4, 2014|newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer|date=March 2, 2000}}</ref>
** [[Kilusang Mayo Uno]]
** [[League of Filipino Students]]
** [[Christians for National Liberation]]
| side2 = {{flagdeco|Philippines|1985}} [[History of the Philippines (1965–1986)|'''Government''']]<br />Military loyalists:
* {{flagicon image|Old Flag of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.png}} [[Armed Forces of the Philippines]]
* [[Presidential Security Group]]<ref name=lastdays>{{cite news|last1=Suarez|first1=Miguel|title=Marcos' last days filled with errors and humiliation|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=csNaAAAAIBAJ&pg=7096%2C2434617|access-date=August 4, 2014|work=The Evening Independent|agency=Associated Press|date=February 26, 1986|quote=She (Imelda) did not tell the crowd by that time all but a few thousand soldiers and officers, mostly those in the presidential guard, had by then turn against Marcos to join Mrs. Aquino's "people power" revolution}}</ref>
* [[Integrated National Police]]
Government parties:
* [[Kilusang Bagong Lipunan]]
Others:
* [[Ferdinand Marcos's cult of personality|Pro-Marcos civilian supporters]]
| leadfigures1 = {{flagdeco|Philippines|1936}} '''[[Corazon Aquino]]'''
{{Collapsible list
| bullets      = yes
| title        = Others:
|{{flagdeco|Philippines|1936}} [[Salvador Laurel]]
|{{flagdeco|Philippines|1936}} [[Juan Ponce Enrile]]
|{{flagdeco|Philippines|1936}} [[Fidel Ramos]]
|{{flagdeco|Philippines|1936}} [[Gregorio Honasan|Gringo Honasan]]
|{{flagdeco|Philippines|1936}} [[Jaime Sin]]
}}
| leadfigures2 = {{flagdeco|Philippines|1985}} '''[[Ferdinand Marcos]]'''
{{Collapsible list
| bullets = yes
| title = Others:
|{{flagdeco|Philippines|1985}} [[Imelda Marcos]]
|{{flagdeco|Philippines|1985}} [[Fabian Ver]]
|{{flagdeco|Philippines|1985}}
[[Arturo Tolentino]]
}}
| howmany1 = 2,000,000+ protestors
| howmany2 = No figures available
| casualties1 = 
| casualties2 = 
| fatalities = 
| arrests = 
| detentions = 
| fined = 
| casualties_label = 
| notes = 
}}
{{History of the Philippines}}
{{Ferdinand Marcos sidebar}}
{{Revolution sidebar}}

The '''People Power Revolution''', also known as the '''EDSA Revolution'''{{efn|Other alternative names include the '''Philippine Revolution of 1986''', '''EDSA 1986''', '''EDSA I''' (pronounced ''EDSA One'' or ''EDSA Uno''), '''People Power Revolution I''', and '''EDSA People Power'''.}} or the '''February Revolution''',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lawphil.net/judjuris/juri1989/sep1989/gr_88211_1989.html|title=G.R. No. 88211|website=www.lawphil.net|access-date=February 26, 2021|archive-date=August 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803104139/https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri1989/sep1989/gr_88211_1989.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ileto |first1=Reynold C. |title=The 'Unfinished Revolution' in Philippine Political Discourse |journal=東南アジア研究 |date=June 1993 |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=62–82 |hdl=2433/56488 |url=http://hdl.handle.net/2433/56488 |access-date=29 September 2022 |issn=0563-8682}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chanrobles.com/cralaw/1988aprildecisions.php?id=330|title=G.R. No. L-82380 April 29, 1988 – Ayer Production Pty. Ltd., Et Al. v. Ignacio M. Capulong, Et Al.: April 1988 – Philippine Supreme Court Decisions|website=www.chanrobles.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1987/02/25/speech-of-president-corazon-aquino-on-the-edsa-flag-raising-february-25-1987/|title=Speech of President Corazon Aquino on the EDSA Flag Raising, February 25, 1987 &#124; GOVPH|date=February 25, 1987|access-date=February 26, 2021|archive-date=December 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202121905/https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1987/02/25/speech-of-president-corazon-aquino-on-the-edsa-flag-raising-february-25-1987/|url-status=dead}}</ref> were a series of popular [[Demonstration (people)|demonstration]]s in the [[Philippines]], mostly in [[Metro Manila]], from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of [[civil resistance]] against regime violence and [[electoral fraud]]. The [[nonviolent revolution]] led to the departure of [[Ferdinand Marcos]], the end of his 20-year dictatorship and the restoration of [[democracy]] in the Philippines.

It is also referred to as the '''Yellow Revolution'''<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/42633078|title=The 'Yellow Revolution': Its Mixed Historical Legacy|author=Friend, Theodore |year=1988|journal=Philippine Studies|volume=36|issue=2|pages=166–182|jstor=42633078}}</ref> due to the presence of yellow ribbons during demonstrations (in reference to the [[Tony Orlando and Dawn]] song "[[Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree]]") as a symbol of protest following the [[Assassination of Benigno Aquino Jr.|assassination of Filipino senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr.]]<ref name="QUARTET p. 77">{{cite web|url=http://www.stuartxchange.org/DayFour.html|title=The Original People Power Revolution|publisher=QUARTET p. 77|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080215175737/http://www.stuartxchange.org/DayFour.html|archive-date=February 15, 2008|access-date=February 28, 2008|df=mdy-all}}</ref> 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".<ref name="Gandhi">{{Citation |last=Kumar |first=Ravindra |title=Mahatma Gandhi at the Close of Twentieth Century|publisher=Anmol Publications PVT. LTD. |isbn=978-81-261-1736-9 |page=168 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lTNpstqGlAMC&q=EDSA+Revolution&pg=PA168 |access-date= December 2, 2007 |year=2004}}.</ref>

The majority of the demonstrations took place on a long stretch of [[EDSA|Epifanio de los Santos Avenue]], more commonly known by its acronym ''EDSA'', in [[Metro Manila]] 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 (Catholicism)|Cardinal]] [[Jaime Sin]], the [[Archbishop of Manila]], along with [[Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines]] President Cardinal [[Ricardo Vidal]], the [[Archdiocese of Cebu|Archbishop of Cebu]]. It is remembered as a "'''Rosary miracle'''" in the peaceful victory.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Escalona |first1=Valerie Joy  |title=The Rosary Miracle of the Philippines|url=https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/rosary-miracle-philippines-october |accessdate=October 24, 2024 |work= [[National Catholic Register]]|date=October 22, 2024}}</ref>

The protests, fueled by the resistance and opposition after years of governance by President Marcos and his [[Marcos cronies|cronies]], ended with the ruler, his family, and some of their supporters fleeing to exile in [[Hawaii]]; and [[Ninoy Aquino]]'s widow, [[Corazon Aquino]], inaugurated as the [[List of presidents of the Philippines|eleventh]] [[President of the Philippines]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.stuartxchange.com/EdsaIntro.html| title = Edsa people Power 1 Philippines| access-date = December 3, 2007| publisher = Angela Stuart-Santiago| url-status = live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071213180847/http://www.stuartxchange.com/EdsaIntro.html| archive-date = December 13, 2007| df = mdy-all}}</ref>

In 2003, the Radio Broadcast of the Philippine People Power Revolution was inscribed in the [[UNESCO]] [[Memory of the World Programme#Memory of the World Register|Memory of the World International Register]].<ref name="mow" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=DUMADAG |first=LAURENCE WILFRED |date=2025-04-15 |title=[Press Release] Saving the Nation's memory: UNACOM leads the call to safeguard Philippine documentary heritage |url=https://www.unesco.gov.ph/2025/04/philippine-documentary-heritage/ |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=UNESCO - Philippine National Commission |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Background and history==
Senate President Ferdinand Marcos was [[1965 Philippine presidential election|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".<ref>{{Harvnb|Lacsamana|1990|p=187}}</ref> Amidst charges from the opposition party of vote-buying and a fraudulent election, President Marcos was reelected in the [[1969 Philippine presidential election]], 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 (Philippines)|Liberal Party]] of widespread graft and corruption. According to [[Left-wing politics|leftists]] who rioted during the [[First Quarter Storm]], 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]] (NPA) was formed as the military wing of the [[Communist Party of the Philippines]], 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.<ref name="RebellionRepressionPh">{{Cite book |title=Rebellion and repression in the Philippines |last=Kessler |first=Richard John |date=1989 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0300044065 |location=New Haven |oclc=19266663 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/rebellionrepress0000kess |page=43}}</ref>

In 1972, the [[Moro National Liberation Front]], a militant Muslim separatist group, formed in the southern island of [[Mindanao]].<ref name="MoroStanford">{{cite web|url=https://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/view/379|title=Moro National Liberation Front|author=Daniel Cassman|publisher=Mapping Militant Organizations – Stanford university|date=August 14, 2015}}</ref>

Marcos soon used the rise of militant and civil unrest as justification for declaring martial law.

===Martial law===
{{Main|Martial law under Ferdinand Marcos}}
[[File:1986 rally against the Marcos Dictatorship in which protesters hold up images of Escalante Massacre victims.jpg|thumb|left|Martial law protest]]

Barred from running for a third term as president in 1973, Marcos announced [[Proclamation No. 1081]] on September 23, 1972, declaring [[Martial law under Ferdinand Marcos|martial law]],<ref name="OfficialGazetteDeclaration">{{cite web|title=Declaration of Martial Law|url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/featured/declaration-of-martial-law/|website=Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines|access-date=February 16, 2022|archive-date=July 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708065018/http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/featured/declaration-of-martial-law/|url-status=dead}}</ref> using the [[First Quarter Storm|civil unrest]] that arose after the  [[1969 Philippine balance of payments crisis]] as a [[Martial law under Ferdinand Marcos#Explanations for the declaration of martial law|justification for the proclamation]].<ref name="Celoza"/>

Through this decree and through a [[1973 Philippine martial law referendum|controversial referendum]] in which citizen assemblies [[Voting methods in deliberative assemblies#Show of hands|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]], 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.<ref name="Celoza"/> He also ordered the immediate arrest of his political opponents and critics. Among those arrested were Senate President [[Jovito Salonga]], and the leaders Senator [[Jose W. Diokno]] and Senator [[Ninoy Aquino]]— whom Marcos sent to [[Laur, Nueva Ecija]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Ninoy linked up with the Left to aid presidential ambition|url=http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/198820/news/specialreports/ninoy-networked-with-everyone-reds-included|work=GMA News|date=August 18, 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207014355/http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/198820/news/specialreports/ninoy-networked-with-everyone-reds-included|archive-date=February 7, 2015}}</ref> – and the man who was groomed by the opposition to succeed President Marcos after the 1973 elections.<ref name="Celoza"/>

A [[Constitutional convention (political meeting)|constitutional convention]], which had been called for in 1970 to replace the Commonwealth-era [[1935 Constitution of the Philippines|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 system|parliamentary]] and allowing President Marcos to stay in power beyond 1973. The constitution was approved by 95% of the voters in the [[1973 Philippine constitutional plebiscite|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]]. 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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=JOSUE JAVELLANA, petitioner, vs. THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, THE SECRETARY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE, THE SECRETARY OF JUSTICE AND THE SECRETARY OF FINANCE, respondents.|url=https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri1973/mar1973/gr_36142_1973.html|date=March 31, 1973}}</ref>

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 [[1973 Philippine constitutional plebiscite|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'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.<ref name="Celoza">{{Citation|title=Ferdinand Marcos and the Philippines: the political economy of authoritarianism |first=Albert |last=Celoza |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=1997}}</ref>

On November 27, 1977, a military tribunal sentenced Aquino and two co-accused, NPA leaders [[Bernabe Buscayno]] (Commander Dante) and Lt. Victor Corpuz, to death by firing squad.{{sfn|Mercado|1986|p=9}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Max Soliven recalls Ninoy Aquino: Unbroken|url=http://asianjournalusa.com/max-soliven-recalls-ninoy-aquino-unbroken-p5828-87.htm|access-date=August 30, 2013|newspaper=Philippines Star|date=October 10, 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016015855/http://asianjournalusa.com/max-soliven-recalls-ninoy-aquino-unbroken-p5828-87.htm|archive-date=October 16, 2013}}</ref> In 1978, while still the last opposition leader yet to be released from prison at Fort Bonifacio, 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 Aquino himself.{{sfn|Mercado|1986|p=9}} He appeared in a television interview with [[Ronnie Nathanielsz]] to freely criticize the regime during the campaign. In 1980, Ninoy Aquino suffered a heart attack, and was compassionately released from prison to undergo a heart bypass surgery in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Solis|first=Rolando M.|title=Heart-to-heart talks with Ninoy|url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/44989/heart-to-heart-talks-with-ninoy|date=2011-08-21}}</ref>{{sfn|Mercado|1986|p=9}} Aquino stayed with his wife Corazon, and children in [[Boston College]] as a fellow for numerous American universities such as [[Harvard]] and the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]].

===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,<ref name="PingGalang20110221"/> the Philippines was left vulnerable when the US economy went into [[Early 1980s recession|recession]] in the third quarter of 1981, forcing the [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan administration]] to increase interest rates.<ref name="EJGuido&CheDeLosReyes20170921">{{Citation | last1 = Guido | first1 =Edson Joseph | last2 = de los Reyes | first2 = Che | title = The best of times? Data debunk Marcos' economic 'golden years'  | newspaper =ABSCBN News and Public Affairs | year = 2017 | url = https://www.abs-cbn.com/business/09/21/17/the-best-of-times-data-debunk-marcoss-economic-golden-years }}</ref> 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%.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.ualberta.ca/~vmitchel/fw9.html | title = Lakas Ng Bayan: The People's Power/EDSA Revolution 1986| access-date = December 10, 2007| publisher = [[University of Alberta]], [[Canada]]| url-status = live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070808142736/http://www.ualberta.ca/~vmitchel/fw9.html| archive-date = August 8, 2007| df = mdy-all}}</ref>

The economic and political instability combined to produce the worst recession in Philippine history in 1984 and 1985,<ref name="JCPunongbayan20170911">{{cite news | last =Punongbayan  | first =JC | title =Marcos plundered to 'protect' the economy? Makes no economic sense | newspaper =Rappler | location = Ortigas Center, Pasig | date =11 September 2017  | url = https://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/181743-ferdinand-marcos-plunder-philippine-economy-no-economic-sense }}</ref><ref name ="Kasaysayan9ch10">{{Cite book |title=Kasaysayan, The Story of the Filipino People Volume 9:A Nation Reborn. |publisher=Asia Publishing Company Limited |year=1998 |editor-last=Magno |editor-first=Alexander R. |location=Hong Kong |chapter=Democracy at the Crossroads}}</ref> with the economy contracting by 7.3% for two successive years.<ref name="EJGuido&CheDeLosReyes20170921"/><ref name="PingGalang20110221">{{Cite news |url=https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/213564/opinion/the-economic-decline-that-led-to-marcos-fall/ |title=The economic decline that led to Marcos' fall |last=Galang |first=Ping |date=21 February 2011 |work=GMA News and Public Affairs |access-date=18 February 2019 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Galang20110221">{{cite news |last1=Galang |first1=Ping |title=Martial law: costly lessons in economic development |url=http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/content/172779/martial-law-costly-lessons-in-economic-development/story/ |access-date=25 September 2020 |work=GMA News Online |date=21 September 2009}}</ref>

===Aquino assassination===
{{Main|Assassination of Ninoy Aquino|Economic history of the Philippines (1965–1986)#Economic nosedive and Marcos ouster (1981–1986)}}
[[File:Kaakbay Protest Against Human Rights Abuses.png|thumb|left|260 px|Carmen and the [[Diokno]] family protest through KAAKBAY, the leading organization of the first coalition JAJA]]

Despite threats from First Lady [[Imelda Marcos]], Ninoy Aquino was determined to return home, saying that "the Filipino is worth dying for".{{sfn|Mercado|1986|p=9}} After failing to apply for a passport in Washington and New York, Ninoy got two passports with the help of [[Rashid Lucman]]{{snd}}one bearing his real name, and the other with the alias ''Marcial Bonifacio''.{{efn|The first name ''Marcial'' refers to martial law, and the last name ''Bonifacio'' alludes to Fort Bonifacio, where Ninoy was imprisoned.}}{{sfnm|1a1=Mercado|1y=1986|1p=9|2a1=Aquino|2y=2003|2p=A18}}

On August 21, 1983, after three years, Aquino was [[assassination|murdered]] by the military,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gavilan |first=Jodesz |date=2021-08-20 |title=Look Back: The Aquino assassination |url=https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/look-back-ninoy-aquino-assassination |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030222807/https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/look-back-ninoy-aquino-assassination |archive-date=2020-10-30 |access-date=2021-07-06 |website=[[Rappler]] |language=en}}</ref> as he disembarked from a [[China Airlines]] plane at [[Ninoy Aquino International Airport|Manila International Airport]] (later renamed in Aquino's honor).{{sfn|Mercado|1986|p=9}}<ref>{{Citation |editor-last1=Javate-De Dios |editor-first1=Aurora |editor-first2=Petronilo |editor-last2=Bn Daroy |editor-first3=Lorna |editor-last3=Kalaw-Tirol |title=Dictatorship and Revolution: Roots of People's Power |publisher=Conspectus Foundation Inc. |date=1988 |oclc=19609244 |page=132 |isbn=9789919108014 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nz1yAAAAMAAJ&q=Dictatorship+and+Revolution%3A+Roots+of+People%27s+Power |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017232007/https://books.google.com/books?ei=_6RFU_T8JYrIyAHwhIDgBA&id=Nz1yAAAAMAAJ&dq=Dictatorship+and+Revolution%3A+Roots+of+People%27s+Power |archive-date=October 17, 2015}}</ref> His assassination shocked and outraged most Filipinos,{{sfn|Mercado|1986|p=9}} 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]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Schock |first=Kurt |title=Unarmed Insurrections: People Power Movements in Nondemocracies |year=2005 |publisher= University of Minnesota Press|isbn=978-0-8166-4192-5 |pages=56 |chapter=People Power Unleashed: South Africa and the Philippines }}</ref> 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]]).

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.{{sfn|Mercado|1986|p=10}} 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.

===Formation of coalesced opposition===
[[File:JAJA Mural.png|thumb|400 px|Justice for Aquino, Justice for All or [[JAJA]], founded by Sen. Diokno's group KAAKBAY unveiled this mural on August 31, 1983, the day of Ninoy Aquino's funeral.]]

This began a period of coalitions, first led by the nationalist liberal democrats under [[Jose W. Diokno]] called [[KAAKBAY|''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|JAJA, or the Justice for Aquino, Justice for All]] movement. JAJA consisted of organizations such as the [[Social democracy|social democrat]]-based August Twenty One Movement (ATOM) led by [[Butz Aquino]], KAAKBAY, MABINI, the Makati-based Alliance of Makati Associations or AMA, and others.

This was before the division of the center-left and [[National Democracy (Philippines)|national democratic]]/Marxist left, when the coalitions tended to pursue Diokno's philosophy of [[pressure politics]] or mass actions to influence and sway the Marcos dictatorship.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mirror.officialgazette.gov.ph/edsa/the-ph-protest-appendix/|title=Appendix: A History of the Philippine Political Protest &#124; GOVPH|website=Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines}}</ref>

Parliamentarians of the streets, as they were 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.<ref>{{Cite web|title='Government is always and only an instrument of the people.' – Jose W. Diokno|url=https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/what-ive-learned/-government-is-always-and-only-an-instrument-of-the-people-211jose-w-diokno-a00203-20180226-lfrm|date=2018-02-26}}</ref> 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]] 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.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kimura|first=Masataka|title=Martial Law and the Realignment of Political Parties in the Philippines (September 1972-February 1986): With a Case in the Province of Batangas|url=https://kyoto-seas.org/pdf/29/2/290204.pdf|date=2019}}</ref>

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]] 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]] of the [[University of the Philippines]]. However the socialists/national democrats took control of the coalition so Diokno, [[Ambrosio Padilla]], and the [[Liberal democracy|liberal democrats]] as well as Butz Aquino, ATOM, and the [[Social democracy|social democrats]] left BAYAN to the present national democratic coalition that it has become in the 21st century.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lane|first=Max R.|title=The Urban Mass Movement in the Philippines, 1983-87|url=https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/133700/1/The_Urban_Mass_Movement_in_the_Philippin.pdf|date=1990}}</ref>

====Call for meaningful elections====
[[File:The Honorable Jovito Salonga (Senator of the Philippines).jpg|thumb|right|Jovito Salonga of the [[Liberal Party (Philippines)|Liberal Party]]'s Salonga wing, first part of the boycott movement before campaigning for the presidential nomination]]

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,<ref>{{cite news| url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1079/is_v86/ai_4188363| title = Election developments in the Philippines – President Reagan's statement – transcript| access-date = December 3, 2007| publisher = US Department of State Bulletin, April 1986| year=1986}}</ref> 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.<ref name="NSM">{{Citation |last=Zunes |first=Stephen |publication-date=1999|title=Nonviolent Social Movements: A Geographical Perspective |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |isbn=978-1-57718-076-0 |page=129 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rlIH-NQbFQgC&q=Philippine+People+power+revolution&pg=PA129 |access-date= December 3, 2007 |year=1999 |display-authors=etal}}</ref>  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]].<ref name="Steinberg 2000 144">{{Citation |first=David Joel |last=Steinberg |publisher=Basic Books |year=2000 |page=144 |title=The Philippines: Colonialism, collaboration, and resistance}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Henares|first=Larry Jr.|title=Pepe Diokno, when comes such another?|url=https://philippinefolio.com/list-of-books/book-6-villains-and-heroes/35/|date=March 2–3, 1987|access-date=January 1, 2022|archive-date=March 30, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220330042405/https://philippinefolio.com/list-of-books/book-6-villains-and-heroes/35/|url-status=usurped}}</ref> After the principles were agreed upon by the opposition leaders, as [[Lorenzo M. Tañada]] 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]], [[Eva Estrada-Kalaw]], [[Salvador Laurel|Salvador "Doy" Laurel]], [[Ambrosio Padilla]], [[Aquilino Pimentel Jr.|Aquilino Pimentel]], [[Raul Manglapus]], and [[Ramon Mitra]], as well as a future senator in [[Teofisto Guingona Jr.]], and a technocrat who once served as Marcos's executive secretary named [[Rafael Salas]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Aquino's Widow Seeks to Unite Marcos Foes|website=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 16, 1984 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/16/world/aquino-s-widow-seeks-to-unite-marcos-foes.html}}</ref>

After the vetting of nominees, as men such as Sen. Diokno vehemently opposed to run for president,<ref name=beyond>{{Cite web|title=Looking Beyond. Marcos|website=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/08/magazine/looking-beyond-marcos.html|date=Jan 8, 1984}}</ref> the remaining potential candidates who openly wished to earn the opposition's nomination were Salonga, Laurel, and Estrada-Kalaw. [[United Nationalist Democratic Organization|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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Marcos Foes Announce Unity Platform|website=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/27/world/marcos-foes-announce-unity-platform.html|date=December 27, 1984}}</ref> Between 64 year old Salonga, who with 64 year old Estrada-Kalaw represented the two largest [[Liberal Party (Philippines)|Liberal Party]] factions, and Laurel, who was son of former president [[Jose P. Laurel]], it was decided by men such as [[Chino Roces]] that both candidates might lack the popularity needed to win.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Williams|first=Nick B. Jr.|title=Marcos Foes Striving for United Front|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-11-09-mn-3525-story.html|date=1985-11-09}}</ref> 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".<ref name=beyond/>

UNIDO and the other coalitions agreed to choose Aquino's wife Cory Aquino instead of Doy Laurel 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]] as his running mate under the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) party.<ref name="Steinberg 2000 144"/> 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===
{{Main|1986 Philippine presidential election}}
[[File:Aquinos campaigning.png|thumb|300 px|Corazon Aquino campaigning with son [[Benigno Aquino III|Noynoy]]]]

The election was held on February 7, 1986.<ref name="NSM"/> The official election canvasser, the [[Commission on Elections]] (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<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-1TMCQAAQBAJ&q=namfrel+7%2C835%2C070+aquino&pg=PA384 | title=A Force More Powerful: A Century of Non-Violent Conflict| isbn=9780312240509| last1=Ackerman| first1=Peter| last2=Duvall| first2=Jack| date=October 5, 2001| publisher=Palgrave Macmillan}}</ref> of the [[National Movement for Free Elections]] (NAMFREL), an accredited poll watcher, had Aquino winning with 7,835,070 votes against Marcos's 7,053,068 votes.<ref>{{Citation|title=A Force More Powerful: A Century of Nonviolent Conflict|author1=Peter Ackerman|author2=Jack DuVall|publisher=Macmillan|year=2001|isbn=978-0-312-24050-9|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=OVtKS9DCN0kC&pg=PA384 384]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OVtKS9DCN0kC|author-link1=Peter Ackerman|author-link2=Jack DuVall}}</ref>{{Sfn|Crisostomo|1987|p=193}}

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.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.pcij.org/i-report/edsa20/william-torres.html| title = iReport EDSA 20th Anniversary Special Issue &#124; Dr. William Castro| access-date = January 16, 2008| publisher = Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, February 2006| url-status = live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080120161749/http://pcij.org/i-report/edsa20/william-torres.html| archive-date = January 20, 2008| df = mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.rappler.com/nation/politics/elections-2013/22582-1986-comelec-walkout-not-about-cory-or-marcos | title = 1986 Comelec walkout not about Cory or Marcos | access-date = January 12, 2016 |work=Rappler| first=Reynaldo Jr. | last=Santos | date = February 26, 2013 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160228042402/http://www.rappler.com/nation/politics/elections-2013/22582-1986-comelec-walkout-not-about-cory-or-marcos | archive-date = February 28, 2016 | df = mdy-all }}</ref>

Because of reports of alleged fraud, the [[Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines]] (CBCP) through Cardinal [[Ricardo Vidal]] issued a statement condemning the elections.<ref name="vidalstatement"/> The United States Senate also passed a resolution stating the same condemnation.<ref name="NSM"/> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/02/26/in-crucial-call-laxalt-told-marcos-cut-cleanly/9329b85d-f7b0-4021-884d-5e5e659a4cb0/|title=In Crucial Call, Laxalt Told Marcos: 'Cut Cleanly'|last1=Hoffman|first1=David|last2=Cannon|first2=Lou|last3=Coleman|first3=Milton|last4=Dewar|first4=Helen|last5=Goshko|first5=John M.|last6=Oberdorfer|first6=Don|last7=W|first7=George C.|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=February 26, 1986|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822084009/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/02/26/in-crucial-call-laxalt-told-marcos-cut-cleanly/9329b85d-f7b0-4021-884d-5e5e659a4cb0/|archive-date=August 22, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1079/is_v86/ai_4188363| title = President's Statement, Feb. 11, 1986| access-date = December 3, 2007| publisher = US Department of State Bulletin, April 1986| year=1986}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Citation |last=Schock |first=Kurt |title=Unarmed Insurrections: People Power Movements in Nondemocracies |publisher= U of Minnesota Press|isbn= 978-0-8166-4193-2|page=77 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RRVk5qJpOH8C&q=Cory+Aquino+1986+inauguration&pg=PA77 |access-date= December 3, 2007 |year=2005}}.</ref>

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.<ref name="official gazette">{{cite web|url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/featured/the-fall-of-the-dictatorship/ |title=The Fall of Dictatorship |work=Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines |publisher=[[Official Gazette (Philippines)|Official Gazette]]|access-date=July 8, 2022}}</ref>

===Vidal's declaration===
[[File:Cardinal Ricardo Vidal.jpg|thumb|right|Cardinal Ricardo Vidal]]

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."<ref name="vidalstatement">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbcponline.net/documents/1980s/1986-post_election.html|title=Post-Election Statement |access-date=March 15, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923201056/http://www.cbcponline.net/documents/1980s/1986-post_election.html|archive-date=September 23, 2015}}</ref>

==Events==
{{See also|Timeline of the People Power Revolution}}
[[File:VisitorViewingBantayogEDSATimeline.jpg|thumb|left|A visitor at [[Bantayog ng mga Bayani]] browses through a timeline of the last moments of the protests that culminated in People Power.]]
===February 16===
====Civil disobedience and boycott campaign launch====
On February 16, 1986, Corazon Aquino held the "Tagumpay ng Bayan" (People's Victory) rally at Luneta Park.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Speech of President Aquino at the anniversary of Tagumpay ng Bayan, February 16, 2012 (English translation)|url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2012/02/16/speech-of-president-aquino-at-the-anniversary-of-tagumpay-ng-bayan-february-16-2012-english-translation/ |access-date=2021-05-18|website=Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines}}</ref> The event was attended by a crowd of about two million people.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Schock|first=Kurt|date=1999|title=People Power and Political Opportunities: Social Movement Mobilization and Outcomes in the Philippines and Burma|journal=Social Problems|volume=46|issue=3|pages=355–375|doi=10.2307/3097105|jstor=3097105|issn=0037-7791}}</ref>

In her speech during the event, Aquino announced a nonviolent civil disobedience campaign and called for her supporters to boycott publications and companies which were associated with Marcos or any of his [[Marcos cronies|cronies]].<ref name="Yuzon190223">{{Cite news |last=Yuzon |first=Virgilio |date=2019-02-23 |title=My incredible Edsa story |url=https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/325347/my-incredible-edsa-story/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224000053/https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/325347/my-incredible-edsa-story/ |archive-date=2019-02-24 |access-date=2025-06-24 |work=[[Philippine Daily Inquirer]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="LATimes860217">{{Cite news |last=Fineman |first=Mark |date=1986-02-17 |title=Aquino Calls for Boycotts, Strike : Urges Nonviolence Against a Marcos Victory She Calls Hollow |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-02-17-mn-8984-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301110901/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-02-17-mn-8984-story.html |archive-date=2021-03-01 |access-date=2025-06-24 |work=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>

Among the companies identified in the boycott were the Manila Electric Company ([[MERALCO]]), [[San Miguel Corporation]], [[Rustan's|Rustan Marketing Corporation]], [[Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines]], the various crony newspapers, most notably the [[Bulletin Today]], seven banks owned by Marcos cronies, including the [[Philippine National Bank]] and [[Security Bank]], and even multinational companies who did business with the various Marcos cronies.<ref name="Yuzon190223"/><ref name="UPOICA"/><ref name="GemmaNemenzo2013">{{Cite magazine |last=Nemenzo |first=Gemma |date=2013-02-20 |title=77 Hours: The Behind-the-Scenes at the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution |url=https://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/2013/2/77-hours-the-behind-the-scenes-at-the-1986-edsa-people-power-revolution |magazine=Positively Filipino |language=en-US}}</ref> The boycott was widely supported, with citizens refusing to pay their electrical bills, restaurants refusing to serve San Miguel Beer or Coca Cola products, and even large companies such as Nestle supported the boycott by pulling their advertisements from the Manila Bulletin and the various state owned radio and TV stations.<ref name="stuartsantiagobeforeedsa">{{Cite web |date=2007-09-18 |title=martial law: sept 1972 – feb 1986 |url=https://stuartsantiago.com/martial-law-sept-1972-feb-1986/ |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=StuartSantiago.com |language=en-US}}</ref> A total of Php1.78 billion was withdrawn from the crony banks.<ref name="AmnestyEDSA">{{Cite web |date=2022-07-22 |title=EDSA PEOPLE POWER REVOLUTION |url=https://www.amnesty.org.ph/2022/07/protestph-edsa-revolution/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812043044/https://www.amnesty.org.ph/2022/07/protestph-edsa-revolution/ |archive-date=2022-08-12 |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=Amnesty Philippines |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="UPOICA">{{Cite web |date=2024-02-08 |title=Remembering The 1986 Snap Election |url=https://oica.upd.edu.ph/2024/02/remembering-the-1986-snap-election/ |website=UP Office of Initiatives in Culture and the Arts}}</ref>

Aquino's camp began making preparations for more rallies, and Aquino herself went to Cebu to rally more people to their cause.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Cruz|first=Elfren S.|title=The road to EDSA|url=https://www.philstar.com/opinion/2017/02/23/1674106/road-edsa|access-date=2021-05-18|website=Philstar.com}}</ref>

===February 22===
====Aborted military coup====
{{Main|February 1986 Reform the Armed Forces Movement coup}}
[[File:AFP HQ humvee.jpg|thumb|left|Camp Aguinaldo]]

In the aftermath of the election and the revelations of irregularities, the [[Reform the Armed Forces Movement]] (RAM) – a cabal of officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) disgruntled by the [[Political patronage#Politics|patronage politics]] and [[Political corruption|corruption]] in the AFP, formed in 1982<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Vitug |first1=Marites Dañguilan |last2=Almonte |first2=Jose T. |date=2015-02-23 |title=Transfer power to the people |language=en |newspaper=[[Philippine Daily Inquirer]] |url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/674636/transfer-power-to-the-people |access-date=2021-08-20}}</ref> – set into motion [[February 1986 Reform the Armed Forces Movement coup|a coup attempt]] against [[conjugal dictatorship|Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Fineman|first=Mark|title=The 3-Day Revolution: How Marcos Was Toppled|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-02-27-mn-12085-story.html|date=1986-02-27}}</ref>

RAM's initial plan was for a team to assault [[Malacañang Palace]] and arrest Ferdinand Marcos. RAM founder Col. [[Gringo Honasan]] formulated a plan to attack the palace and "neutralize" the Marcos couple.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Cepeda|first=Mara|title=10 things to know about Gringo Honasan|url=https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/108916-fast-facts-things-to-know-gringo-honasan/|date=2015-10-12}}</ref> Other military units would take over key strategic facilities, such as the [[Ninoy Aquino International Airport|airport]], military bases,  the GHQAFP in [[Camp Aguinaldo]], and major highway junctions to restrict counteroffensive by Marcos-loyal troops.

On February 20, members of the RAM also approached Cory Aquino, informed her of the coup plans and informed her that they would form a junta headed by a Council of Elders composed of [[Juan Ponce Enrile|Enrile]], [[Fidel V. Ramos|Ramos]], [[Jaime Sin|Cardinal Sin]], [[Jaime Ongpin]], [[Alejandro Melchor]], and [[Salvador Laurel|Doy Laurel]]. Mrs. Aquino rejected the offer, as there was a sense that the Council will just be a front for a military junta headed by Enrile.<ref name="Fact Finding Commission">{{cite web |title=The Final Report of the Fact-Finding Commission: IV: Military Intervention in the Philippines: 1986 – 1987 {{!}} GOVPH |url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1990/10/03/the-final-report-of-the-fact-finding-commission-iv-military-intervention-in-the-philippines-1986-1987/ |website=Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines |publisher=National Printing Office |access-date=26 June 2023 |date=3 October 1990}}</ref>

On the morning of February 21, Gen. Ver conducted a conference with Commandant of the [[Philippine Marine Corps|Philippine Marines]], BGen. Artemio Tadiar at the Naval Intelligence Compound in [[Fort Bonifacio]]. Gen. Ver informed BGen. Tadiar that there is a brewing coup plot by Enrile and assassination attempt on the latter as well as the [[Philippine Navy]] Flag-Officer-in-Command (FOIC), RAdm. Brilliante Ochoco. BGen. Tadiar, placed Fort Bonifacio Naval Station on alert. Capt. [[Ariel Querubin]] was put to task by Tadiar to look into the plot. Capt. Querubin confirmed the information with the Marines Military Police headed by Capt. Benjamin Dolorfino, and Naval Operations Officer, Capt. Pablo Ong, that there were augmented personnel inside Fort Bonifacio the next two nights from the Ministry of Defense. As night came, Capt. Querubin along with Lt. Alexander Balutan encountered the 19 personnel who were conducting "night training exercises" and were commander by LtJG. Michael Angelo Asperin. The men were part of the security detail of Minister [[Roberto Ongpin]]. Capt. Querubin was then ordered by Col. Guillermo Ruiz, that Malacanang wanted the night runners shipped off to [[Fort Drum (Philippines)|El Fraile Island]] at the mouth of [[Manila Bay]]. Capt. Querubin instead took the men to the PMC Firing Range, and upon interrogation found out that their mission was to secure BGen. Tadiar and RAdm. Ochoco to neutralize their command during the coup.<ref name="Fact Finding Commission" /><ref name="Lopez">{{cite news |last1=Lopez |first1=Antonio |title=The real event that triggered EDSA I People Power |url=https://biznewsasia.com/the-real-event-that-triggered-edsa-i-people-power/ |access-date=26 June 2023 |work=biznewsasia.com |publisher=BizNewsAsia |date=February 5, 2022}}</ref>

The following morning, Minister Ongpin phoned Enrile who was at The Atrium in Makati, asking on the whereabouts of his security staff. Since three of the men arrested were on loan from the Ministry of Defense, Enrile was worried that the fingers will be pointed towards him. Meanwhile, Col. Honasan and his staff who were at the MND Building in [[Camp Aguinaldo]] was monitoring troop movements overnight found out that the 5th Marine Battalion Landing Team from Fort Bonifacio was moved to [[Pandacan]], and the 1th Infantry Battalion from [[Nueva Ecija]] was moved to the North Harbor early morning. This would translate to an unusual amount of troops within Metro Manila, and it seemed that Gen. Ver was already taking actions to protect Malacanang.<ref name="Fact Finding Commission" />

However, after Marcos learned about the plot, he ordered their leaders' arrest,<ref>{{citation|last=West|first=Lois A.|publication-date=1997|title=Militant Labor in the Philippines|publisher=Temple University Press|isbn=978-1-56639-491-8|pages=19–20|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KcaOhzm8gAQC&q=Philippine+People+power+revolution&pg=PA20|access-date=December 3, 2007|year=1997}}.</ref> and presented to the international and local press some of the captured plotters, Maj. Saulito Aromin and Maj. Edgardo Doromal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stuartxchange.org/DayOne.html|title=Day One (EDSA: The Original People Power Revolution by Angela Stuart-Santiago)|access-date=March 15, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150807094913/http://www.stuartxchange.org/DayOne.html|archive-date=August 7, 2015}}</ref> 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 V. Ramos]], who was also the chief of the [[Philippine Constabulary]] (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]] for his support.<ref name="Aussie">{{YouTube|BWQHSJJ8OyE}}</ref> Despite Ramos' defection, however, the coup plotters were essentially trapped in Camp Crame, and in the words of historian [[Vicente L. Rafael]], "became sitting ducks for Ferdinand Marcos' loyalist forces."<ref name="RafaelWhatWasEDSA">{{cite web | url=https://opinion.inquirer.net/93174/what-was-edsa | title=What was Edsa? | date=February 25, 2016 }}</ref>

At about 6:30&nbsp;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".<ref name="peoplepower_eyewitness">{{Citation |last1=Paul Sagmayao |first1=Mercado |first2=Francisco S.|last2=Tatad |title=People Power: The Philippine Revolution of 1986: An Eyewitness History |publisher=The James B. Reuter, S.J., Foundation |year=1986 |location=[[Manila]], [[Philippines]] |oclc=16874890}}</ref> 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 promised to crush every Filipino who stood in his way in order to capture Enrile and Ramos.<ref name="Aussie"/>

====Appeal of Butz Aquino and Cardinal Sin====
{{multiple image
 |image1 = The Honorable Agapito Aquino (Senator of the Philippines).jpg
 |image2 = Cardinal Jaime Sin in 1988.jpg
 |total_width = 450
 |footer = [[Butz Aquino]] (left) and Cardinal [[Jaime Sin]] (right) issued separate exhortations to the public through [[DZRV-AM|Radio Veritas]] that have since been credited with initiating the revolution.<ref name="Duet"/><ref name="RapplerYu"/><ref name="INQGarcia"/>
}}

On the evening of February 22, after receiving confirmation of Enrile and Ramos' defection from [[Quezon City]], [[Regular Batasang Pambansa|assemblywoman]] [[Cecilia Muñoz-Palma]], and activist and former actor [[Butz Aquino]] proceeded to [[Camp Aguinaldo]] to attend their second press conference.<ref name="Duet">{{cite book|title=Duet for EDSA: Chronology of a Revolution|date=1995|publisher=Foundation for Worldwide People Power, Inc.|isbn=971-91670-0-9|pages=45–48|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fFxxAAAAMAAJ|access-date=August 13, 2025}}</ref><ref name="RapplerYu">{{cite news|last=Yu|first=Lance Spencer|title=Remembering Butz Aquino, leader of the August Twenty-One Movement that defied Marcos Sr.|url=https://www.rappler.com/philippines/remembering-butz-aquino-leader-august-twenty-one-movement-defy-ferdinand-e-marcos/|access-date=August 13, 2025|work=[[Rappler]]|publisher=Rappler Inc.|date=February 24, 2024|location=[[Manila]], Philippines}}</ref> Upon offering his assistance to the two, Enrile answered: "We need all the support we can get."<ref name="Duet"/> After the conference, Aquino asked permission from [[DZRV-AM|Radio Veritas]] reporter Jun Taña to speak on the air through telephone, upon which he issued a call-to-action for the public, including his "friends in ATOM, BANDILA and FSDM", to gather at the [[Isetann]] department store in [[Quezon City]] and begin a march to Camp Aguinaldo.<ref name="Duet"/><ref name="INQGarcia">{{cite news|last=Garcia|first=Ed|title=On the eve of the 1986 people power revolt|url=https://opinion.inquirer.net/150116/on-the-eve-of-the-1986-people-power-revolt|access-date=August 13, 2025|work=[[Philippine Daily Inquirer|Inquirer.net]]|publisher=Inquirer Interactive, inc.|date=February 21, 2022}}</ref><ref name="RapplerYu"/>

Some minutes after Aquino's statement, Cardinal Sin went on [[DZRV-AM|Radio Veritas]] and issued another call-to-action, exhorting Filipinos to aid Enrile and Ramos by going to the section of EDSA between [[Camp Crame]] and [[Camp Aguinaldo|Aguinaldo]] and giving them emotional support, food and other supplies.<ref name="Duet"/><ref name="INQGarcia"/> 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.<ref name="peoplepower_eyewitness" />

{{cquote|My Dear People, I wish you to pray, because it's only through prayer that we may solve this problem. This is Cardinal Sin speaking to the people, especially in Metro Manila. I am indeed concerned about the situation of Minister Enrile and General Ramos, I am calling our people to support our two good friends at the camp. If any of you could be around at Camp Aguinaldo to show your solidarity and your support in this very crucial period, when our two good friends have shown their idealism, I would be very happy if you support them now. I would only wish that violence and bloodshed be avoided. Let us pray to our blessed lady to help us in order that we can solve this problem peacefully|author=Cardinal [[Jaime Sin]]}}

Radio Veritas played a critical role during the mass uprising. Former [[University of the Philippines]] 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''."<ref name="McCargo">{{Citation |last=McCargo |first=Duncan |publication-date=2003|title=Media and Politics in Pacific Asia |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-23375-0 |page=20|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CuGJ575iLLAC&q=Radio+Veritas+1986+Philippine+revolution&pg=PA20 |access-date= December 3, 2007 |year=2003}}</ref>

===February 23===
====Rising mass support====
[[File:09051jfOur Lady of Veritas Chapel Radio Quezon Cityfvf 01.jpg|thumb|Radio Veritas]]

At dawn, Sunday, government troops arrived at Radio Veritas and destroyed its main 50-kilowatt transmitter, cutting off broadcasts to people in the nearby provinces. The station switched to a 10-kilowatt standby transmitter with a limited range of broadcast.<ref name="McCargo"/> 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.<ref name="peoplepower_eyewitness" />

[[File:Fidel V. Ramos.jpg|thumb|left|Fidel V. Ramos]]

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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Manzanilla |first1=JPaul S. |title=Two Nuns of Edsa |url=https://epa.culturalcenter.gov.ph/3/82/2314/ |website=CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art |publisher=Cultural Center of the Philippines |access-date=18 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241205151053/https://epa.culturalcenter.gov.ph/3/82/2314/ |archive-date=December 5, 2024 |date=November 18, 2020}}</ref> Several groups sang ''[[Bayan Ko]]'' (My Homeland),<ref>{{Citation|last=Taylor|first=Robert H.|publication-date=2002|title=The Idea of Freedom in Asia and Africa|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=978-0-8047-4514-7|page=210|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RfbSlkGP8TEC&q=Bayan+Ko+in+1986+Philippine+revolution&pg=PA210|access-date=December 3, 2007|year=2002}}.</ref> which, since 1980, had become a patriotic anthem of the opposition. People frequently flashed the 'LABAN' sign,{{sfn|Crisostomo|1987|p=217}} 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]], Ninoy Aquino's party. 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.<ref name="peoplepower_eyewitness" />

In the mid-afternoon, [[Radio Veritas]] relayed reports of [[Philippine Marine Corps|Marines]] massing near the camps in the east and [[LVT-5]] 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.<ref>{{Citation |last=Lizano |first=Lolita |publication-date=1988|title=Flower in a Gun Barrel: The Untold Story of the Edsa Revolution |publisher= L.R. Lizano|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bm0yAAAAIAAJ&q=EDSA+Revolution |access-date= December 2, 2007 |year=1988}}.</ref> Nuns holding rosaries knelt in front of the tanks and men and women linked arms together to block the troops.<ref>{{Citation |last=Merkl |first=Peter H. |publication-date=2005|title=The Rift Between America And Old Europe: the distracted eagle |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-35985-6 |page=144 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WavpuvE2HA4C&q=EDSA+Revolution&pg=PA144 |access-date= December 2, 2007 |year=2005}}.</ref> 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.<ref name="peoplepower_eyewitness" />

[[File:03163jfNorth Avenue Santolan Annapolis MRT Station Camp Aguinaldo EDSA Quezon Cityfvf 25.jpg|thumb|Gate 2 of Camp Aguinaldo in 2017.]]

By evening, the standby transmitter of Radio Veritas failed, although the stations of the [[Far East Broadcasting Company]] also took up the task of broadcasting information to the crowds, calling them in particular to protect Gate 2 of Camp Aguinaldo.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Garcia |first=Hidalgo B. |date=2009 |title=Missiology: Some Reflections from Asian Contexts |url= https://www.calvin.edu/library/database/crcpi/fulltext/ctj/2009-441-094.pdf  |journal=Calvin Theological Journal |volume=44 |pages=94–107}}</ref> Shortly after midnight, the Radio Veritas staff led by Father [[James Reuter]] were able to move to the transmitter of [[DZRJ-AM]] so they could begin broadcasting again. To help keep their location a secret, they took up the moniker [[DZRJ-AM|"Radyo Bandido"]] (Bandit Radio) as a callsign. [[June Keithley]], with her husband [[Angelo Castro Jr.]], was the radio broadcaster who continued Radio Veritas' program throughout the night and in the ensuing days.<ref name="peoplepower_eyewitness"/>

===February 24===
====The Sotelo landing====
In the early morning hours of February 24,<ref name="SoteloHero">{{Cite news |last=Danao |first=Efren |date=2013-03-02 |title=Sotelo, the unhonored, unsung EDSA hero |work=Manila Times |url=https://www.pressreader.com/philippines/manila-times/20130302/281535108408317 |access-date=2022-12-04}}</ref><ref name="Clark">{{Cite news |last=Cervantes |first=Ding |title=Air Force men recall defection from Marcos |url=https://www.philstar.com/nation/2003/02/25/196698/air-force-men-recall-defection-marcos |access-date=2022-12-04}}</ref> helicopters manned by the [[15th Strike Wing, Philippine Air Force|15th Strike Wing]] of the [[Philippine Air Force]], led by Colonel Antonio Sotelo, were ordered from Sangley Point in Cavite, south of Manila, to head to Camp Crame.{{sfn|Crisostomo|1987|p=226}} 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<ref name="peoplepower_eyewitness" /> in response to what has been referred to as the "Sotelo landing,"<ref>{{Cite web |title=15SW History |url=https://15thstrikewing.mil.ph/15swhistory.html |access-date=2022-12-04 |website=15thstrikewing.mil.ph}}</ref> considered a key turning point where the military circumstances turned against Marcos.<ref name="official gazette"/>

A [[Bell 214]] helicopter piloted by Major Deo Cruz of the 205th Helicopter Wing and [[Sikorsky S-76]] 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.<ref name="peoplepower_eyewitness" /> In the afternoon, Aquino arrived at the base where Enrile, Ramos, Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) officers, and a throng were waiting.{{sfn|Crisostomo|1987|p=226}}

====Marcos departure rumor====
[[File:People Power Revolution Article.png|thumb|A damaged newspaper from ''[[The Manila Times]]'' covering the revolution]]

At around that 6:30, [[June Keithley]] 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.<ref name=MarambaSolar>{{Citation |last=Maramba |first=Asuncion David |publication-date=1987 |title=On the Scene: The Philippine Press Coverage of the 1986 Revolution |publisher=Solar publishing Corp. |isbn= 978-971-17-0628-9|page=27 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2QAeAAAAMAAJ&q=Channel+4 |access-date= December 3, 2007 |year=1987}}.</ref> This would be disproven when Marcos went on MBS 4 a few hours later,<ref name=MarambaSolar/> so it was later speculated that the false report was a calculated move against Marcos to encourage more defections.<ref name="peoplepower_eyewitness" />

====Fourth Marine brigade refusal of "Kill Order"====
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&nbsp;a.m., some 3,000 Marines entered and held the east side of Camp Aguinaldo,<ref name="peoplepower_eyewitness" /> and the Fourth Marine brigade under the command of Colonel Braulio Balbas  positioned howitzers and mortars to strike against Camp Crame.<ref name="McCoyBrothers">{{Cite book |last=McCoy |first=Alfred W. |title=Closer than brothers: manhood at the Philippine Military Academy |date=1999 |publisher=Anvil Publishing |isbn=971-27-0977-9 |location=Pasig City |oclc=45804220}}</ref>{{rp|page=251}}

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!"<ref>McCoy, Alfred., Wilkinson, Marian., and Robinson, Gwen. Coup! in Veritas Special Edition. Oct 1986.</ref> Ramas repeated his orders to Balbas at 9:20, to which Balbas replied they were "still positioning the cannons."<ref name="McCoyBrothers"/>{{rp|page=251}} 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]].<ref name="official gazette"/>

====Marcos TV appearance on MBS 4====
The jubilation resulting from the rumor that Marcos had fled was short-lived, as Marcos appeared on television on the government-controlled [[DWGT-TV|MBS-4]] at around 9:00, (using the foreclosed [[ABS-CBN]] facilities, transmitter and compound in Broadcast Plaza, now [[ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center]]) declaring that he would not step down.<ref name=MarambaSolar/>

=====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.<ref>Genovea, Miguel. "FM Declares national State of Emergency", The Philippine Daily Express, 25 February 1986.</ref>

=====Marcos orders not to attack via airstrike=====
{{listen| filename=Marcos_-_ver.ogg|title="My order is not to attack" (DZRH version) | description=[[President of the Philippines|President]] [[Ferdinand Marcos]] and Gen. Ver during a press conference in Malacañang Palace. | format= [[Ogg]]}}
{{listen| filename=Full version of Marcos order to not attack.ogg |title=PTV4 Version |description=Recorded by the [[People's Television Network]] (owned by the [[Presidential Communications Office]]) |format=[[Ogg]]}}

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.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Branigin |first1=William |title=Rebels, Marcos Contest Control of Philippines |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/02/24/rebels-marcos-contest-control-of-philippines/2c18fa71-45dc-423f-a3e1-9cd187dec323/ |access-date=14 June 2021 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=24 February 1986 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Alejandrino |first1=Jose |title=Journal of an Unknown Knight |date=2015-11-24 |publisher=Flipside Digital Content Company Inc. |isbn=978-621-01-0084-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eCFqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT80 |access-date=14 June 2021 |language=en}}</ref> The actual dialogue on TV between Marcos and then AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Ver went as follows:

{{blockquote|Fabian Ver: The Ambush there is aiming to mount there in the top. Very quickly, you must immediately leave to conquer them, immediately, Mr. President.<br />
Ver: Just wait, come here.<br />
Ver: Please, Your Honor, so we can immediately strike them. We have to immobilize the helicopters that they've got. We have two fighter planes flying now to strike at any time, sir.<br />
Marcos: My order is not to attack. No, no, no! Hold on. My order is not to attack.<br />
Ver: They are massing civilians near our troops and we cannot keep on withdrawing. You asked me to withdraw yesterday–<br />
Marcos (interrupting): Uh yes, but ah... My order is to disperse without shooting them.<br />
Ver: We cannot withdraw all the time...<br />
Marcos: No! No! No! Hold on! You disperse the crowd without shooting them.}}

====Capture of MBS-4====
At about 9:50&nbsp;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]] 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 sources estimated that the crowd number went up to 2 million people.<ref name="peoplepower_eyewitness" />

The ensuing marathon broadcast was considered the "return" of ABS-CBN on air because this was the first time that former network employees were inside the complex after 14 years of closure since Marcos sequestered the property during the declaration of martial law in September 1972. "[[DZRJ-AM|Radyo Bandido]]" ended broadcasting that afternoon, while Radio Veritas resumed transmissions, this time from the Broadcast Plaza's radio studios. Among the various personnel that appeared alongside Orly Punzalan in its first few hours were Maan Hontiveros and Dely Magpayo.

====Attack on Villamor Airbase and further defections====
In the late afternoon of February 24, helicopters of the [[15th Strike Wing, Philippine Air Force|15th Strike Wing]], commanded by Sotelo, attacked [[Villamor Airbase]], 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 [[Malacañan Palace|Malacañang]], where it fired a rocket on the palace grounds and caused minor damage.<ref name="SoteloHero"/><ref name="Clark"/>

Later, most of the officers who had graduated from the [[Philippine Military Academy]] (PMA) defected. The majority of the Armed Forces had already changed sides.<ref name="peoplepower_eyewitness" />

===February 25===
====Two inaugurations====
{{See also|Fourth inauguration of Ferdinand Marcos}}
[[File:Corazon Aquino inauguration.jpg|thumb|300px|Corazon Aquino was inaugurated as the [[List of presidents of the Philippines|11th]] [[president of the Philippines]] on February 25, 1986, at Sampaguita Hall (Now Kalayaan Hall).]]

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 [[Radio Philippines Network|RPN-9]] transmitter in Panay Avenue, near MBS-4, began shooting at the reformists. Many rebel soldiers surged to the station,<ref name="peoplepower_eyewitness" /> 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 a crowd that assembled.

Later in the morning, [[Corazon Aquino]] was inaugurated as President of the Philippines in a simple ceremony at [[Club Filipino]]{{sfn|Crisostomo|1987|p=257}} 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 her mother-in-law Aurora Aquino, the mother of [[Benigno Aquino Jr.|Ninoy Aquino]]. Attending the ceremonies were Ramos, who was then promoted to General, Enrile, and many politicians.<ref name="peoplepower_eyewitness" />

Outside Club Filipino, all the way to EDSA, hundreds of people cheered and celebrated. ''[[Bayan Ko]]'' (''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.

[[File:Ferdinand Marcos 1986 inauguration.jpg|thumb|300px|President Ferdinand E. Marcos is sworn by Chief Justice [[Ramon Aquino]] in the Ceremonial Hall of Malacañang Palace on February 25, 1986.]]

An hour later, Marcos held the inauguration at [[Malacañang Palace]]. 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 [[Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation|IBC-13]] and [[Radio Philippines Network|RPN-9]] (RPN-9 was going off-the-air during the broadcast of the inauguration, as its transmitter was captured by reformist soldiers)<ref name="peoplepower_eyewitness" /> 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!"<ref name="Ellison">{{Citation |last=Ellison |first=Katherine |publication-date=2005|title=Imelda: Steel Butterfly of the Philippines |publisher=iUniverse |isbn=978-0-595-34922-7 |page=244 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dfl53AtDM0oC&q=Dahil+Sa+sang+by+Imelda+Marcos&pg=RA1-PA244 |access-date= December 3, 2007 |year=2005}}.</ref> Rather tearfully,<ref name="Ellison"/> First Lady Imelda Marcos gave a farewell rendition of the couple's theme song – the 1938 ''[[kundiman]]'' ''"[[Dahil Sa Iyo]]"'' (Because of You) – chanting the song's entreaties in [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]]:

<blockquote>
Because of you, I became happy<br />Loving I shall offer you<br />If it is true I shall be enslaved by you<br />All of this because of you.<ref name="Ellison"/>
</blockquote>

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.<ref name="peoplepower_eyewitness" />

By this time, hundreds of people had amassed at the barricades along [[Mendiola]], 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.<ref name="peoplepower_eyewitness" />

===February 26===
====Marcos' departure====
[[File:Ferdinand E. Marcos and George Ariyoshi.jpg|thumb|Marcos in exile in Hawaii]]

Despite publicly maintaining that he was still president, privately Marcos knew his position was untenable. Even as he was holding his rival inauguration, he and his family were already preparing to flee the country. At 5:00&nbsp;a.m. on Tuesday morning, Marcos phoned [[United States Senate|United States Senator]] [[Paul Laxalt]], asking for advice from the [[White House]].<ref name="Ellison" /> Laxalt advised him to "cut and cut cleanly", 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.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Brands|first=H W|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wHd5BAAAQBAJ&q=laxalt+marcos+cut+and+cut+clean&pg=PT617|title=Reagan: the life|publisher=Doubleday|year=2015|isbn=9780385536400|location=New York|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105160957/https://books.google.com/books?id=wHd5BAAAQBAJ&lpg=PT617&vq=laxalt%20marcos%20cut%20and%20cut%20clean&dq=laxalt%20marcos%20cut%20and%20cut%20clean&pg=PT617#v=onepage&q=laxalt%20marcos%20cut%20and%20cut%20clean&f=false|archive-date=January 5, 2016|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref> He also asked Enrile if United States Ambassador [[Stephen W. Bosworth|Stephen Bosworth]] could assign a security escort for the Marcos family's departure.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Joaquin |first=Nick |title=The Quartet of the Tiger Moon: Scenes from the People-Power Apocalypse |publisher=Book Stop |year=1986 |isbn=971-8523-00-6 |page=90}}</ref>

Around midnight, the Marcos family boarded a [[United States Air Force]] [[HH-3E]] Rescue helicopter<ref name="Halperin">{{Citation|last=Halperin|first=Jonathan J.|title=The Other Side: How Soviets and Americans Perceive Each Other|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H1so7Od--csC&q=Marcos+departure&pg=PA63|page=63|publication-date=1987|year=1987|publisher=Transaction Publishers|isbn=978-0-88738-687-9|access-date=December 3, 2007}}.</ref> and flew to [[Clark Air Base]] in [[Angeles City]] 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/19/magazine/reagan-and-the-philippines-setting-marcos-adrift.html |title=Reagan and the Philippines: Setting Marcos Adrift |access-date=February 11, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170111001104/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/19/magazine/reagan-and-the-philippines-setting-marcos-adrift.html?pagewanted=all |archive-date=January 11, 2017  |newspaper=The New York Times |date=March 19, 1989 |last1=Karnow |first1=Stanley }}</ref>

The deposed First Family and their servants then rode US Air Force [[C-9A Nightingale]] and [[C-141 Starlifter|C-141B Starlifter]] planes to [[Andersen Air Force Base]] in the north of the United States territory of [[Guam]], then flying to Hickam Air Force Base in [[Hawaii]] 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.<ref name="Gandhi"/><ref name="peoplepower_eyewitness"/>

When news of the Marcos family's departure reached civilians, many rejoiced and danced in the streets. Over at [[Mendiola]], 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 (1986–1987)|provisional government of the Philippines]] until a new constitution could be enacted a year later, in 1987.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/26/world/fall-marcos-behind-presidential-walls-after-marcos-abandons-his-palace-filipinos.html |title=The Fall of Marcos – Behind the Presidential Walls – After Marcos Abandons His Palace, Filipinos Shout, 'this is Ours Now!' |website=The New York Times |date=February 26, 1986 |first1=Fox |last1=Butterfield |access-date=1 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524193702/http://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/26/world/fall-marcos-behind-presidential-walls-after-marcos-abandons-his-palace-filipinos.html |archive-date=24 May 2015 }}</ref>

As the provisionary government took control of Malacanang Palace, and in the rush of the Marcos' family's departure, documents pertaining to [[Overseas landholdings of the Marcos family|overseas land holdings]] and bank accounts were recovered.  These documents were the foundation of successive attempts to recover the Marcos family's [[Unexplained wealth of the Marcos family|ill-gotten wealth]] starting with [[Operation Big Bird]], as well as court cases against the Marcos family and cronies.<ref name="Vera Files1">{{cite web |last1=Tordesillas |first1=Ellen T. |title=How was Palace steel safe opened? Who took missing bags of cash Marcoses brought to Hawaii? |url=https://verafiles.org/articles/how-was-palace-steel-safe-opened-who-took-missing-bags-of-cash-marcoses-brought-to-hawaii |website=VERA Files |access-date=21 June 2023 |date=14 July 2022}}</ref>

In other countries, people also rejoiced and congratulated Filipinos they knew. [[CBS]] anchorman [[Bob Simon]] reported: "We Americans like to think we taught the Filipinos democracy. Well, tonight they are teaching the world."<ref name="peoplepower_eyewitness"/>

===Events outside the capital===
While much of the historical focus regarding the People Power Revolution has been on events around the two camps and the presidential palace, Filipinos from all over the archipelago also participated in the revolution, with large protests happening in [[Baguio]], [[Cebu City]], [[Iloilo City]], [[Cagayan de Oro]], and [[Davao City]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1559655/people-power-did-not-just-happen-at-edsa|title=People Power did not just happen at Edsa|first=Germelina|last=Lacorte|date=February 25, 2022|website=INQUIRER.net}}</ref> as well as prominent municipalities such as [[Los Baños, Laguna]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://opinion.inquirer.net/137927/remembering-people-power-1986|title=Remembering People Power 1986|first=Crispin C.|last=Maslog|date=February 22, 2021|website=INQUIRER.net}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/365044/cebu-and-the-days-leading-to-the-edsa-people-power-revolution|title=Cebu and the days leading to February 25, 1986|date=February 25, 2021|website=INQUIRER.net}}</ref>

The demonstrations in Baguio were documented by filmmaker [[Kidlat Tahimik]], who featured footage of the protest in his 1994 collage film ''[[Why Is Yellow the Middle of the Rainbow?]]''.<ref>{{cite news|author=Rappler.com|title=EDSA '86 up north: The day Baguio turned yellow|url=https://www.rappler.com/philippines/123560-baguio-people-power-edsa-revolution/|access-date=March 18, 2025|work=[[Rappler]]|publisher=Rappler Inc.|date=February 25, 2016|location=[[Baguio|Baguio City]], Philippines}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
{{Main|Presidency of Corazon Aquino}}
{{wikisource|Provisional Constitution of the Philippines (1986)|Proclamation № 3: Provisional Constitution of the Philippines (1986)}}

Immediately after her accession, Aquino issued Proclamation No. 3, a [[provisional constitution]] which established a [[Revolutionary government in the Philippines|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 unicameral legislature [[1984 Philippine parliamentary election|duly elected in 1984]]), pending a plebiscite for a more permanent Constitution and the establishment of a new Congress by 1987.<ref>{{cite book |author=Joaquin G. Bernas |title=The Intent of the 1986 Constitution Writers|publisher=Rex Book Store|location=Manila, Philippines|year=1995|pages=2–4 |author-link=Joaquin G. Bernas}}</ref>

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]] which had launched the failed coup against Marcos and had been saved by the arrival of the civilians at EDSA.<ref name="MarcosLegacyAFP">{{Cite web |last=Yabes |first=Criselda |title=Marcos' Legacy and the Philippine Military |url=http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/marcos-legacy-and-the-philippine-military |access-date=2022-11-26 |website=Positively Filipino: Online Magazine for Filipinos in the Diaspora |date=September 15, 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref> As a result, these groups launched [[Coup attempts against Corazon Aquino|a number of coup d'état attempts]] throughout Aquino's term.<ref name="MarcosLegacyAFP"/>

The revolution had an effect on [[democratization]] movements in such countries as [[Taiwan]] and [[South Korea]] and indirectly contributed to the [[Revolutions of 1989|downfall of communism in Soviet bloc]] and the end of the Cold War{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}; 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.<ref name="aftermath">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12567320 |title=People Power at 25: Long road to Philippine democracy |first=Kate|last=McGeown|work=BBC.co.uk|date=February 25, 2011|access-date=February 25, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110226073508/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12567320|archive-date=February 26, 2011}}</ref>

The revolution provided for the restoration of democratic institutions after 13 years of authoritarian rule and these institutions has been used by various groups to challenge the entrenched [[Political family|political families]] and to strengthen Philippine democracy.<ref>{{Citation|last=Putzel|first=James|date=Spring 1999|title=Survival of an imperfect democracy in the Philippines|journal=Democratization|volume=6|issue=1|pages=198–223|doi=10.1080/13510349908403603}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:EDSA People Power marker.jpg|thumb|right|People Power Monument]]

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 [[Fall of the Berlin Wall|East Germany]] and [[Revolutions of 1989|many other former Soviet Bloc countries]], most of which had direct relation to the end of the Cold War in 1989.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/02/24/comment-remembering-philippines-people-power-revolution|title=Comment: Remembering the Philippine's People Power Revolution|date=February 24, 2014 |access-date=May 16, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221214001/http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/02/24/comment-remembering-philippines-people-power-revolution|archive-date=December 21, 2016}}</ref>

Rampant corruption during the term of President [[Joseph Estrada]] led to the similar [[Second EDSA Revolution|2001 EDSA Revolution]] leading to his resignation from the presidency.

On January 19, police and military forces withdrew their support from Estrada. At around noon on January 20, [[Hilario Davide Jr.|Davide]] swore Estrada's constitutional successor [[Vice President of the Philippines|Vice President]] [[Gloria Macapagal Arroyo|Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo]] into office. A few hours later, Estrada and his family fled Malacanang.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbI9ogDKZ-I |title=Estrada presidency, one of the Philippines' shortest |website=www.youtube.com |date=January 20, 2016 |access-date=21 January 2016}}</ref>

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 [[Historical distortion regarding Ferdinand Marcos|systematic spread of lies and disinformation]],<ref>{{cite news|last=Whaley|first=Floyd|title=30 Years After Revolution, Some Filipinos Yearn for 'Golden Age' of Marcos|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/24/world/asia/30-years-after-revolution-some-filipinos-yearn-for-golden-age-of-marcos.html|access-date=December 26, 2020|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=February 23, 2016|location=[[Manila]]|quote=But in the decades since Marcos was ousted and fled the country, the outrage has faded for many Filipinos. Despite the accusations of widespread corruption and human rights violations, none of the Marcos family members have been jailed. The family has quietly returned to politics – Mrs. Marcos is a now member of Congress, while her daughter Imee Marcos is a governor.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Berdoz|first=Enrico|date=2020-12-12|title=Propaganda web: Pro-Marcos literature, sites, and online disinformation linked|work=ABS-CBN News|url=https://www.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/12/12/20/propaganda-web-pro-marcos-literature-sites-and-online-disinformation-linked|access-date=2022-02-24}}</ref> with [[Imelda Marcos|Imelda]] and her children [[Bongbong Marcos|Bongbong]] and [[Imee Marcos|Imee]] reacquiring positions in government by the 1990s. Bongbong himself was defeated as runner-up to [[Leni Robredo]] as a candidate for the [[Vice President of the Philippines|Philippine vice presidency]] during the [[2016 Philippine presidential election|2016 presidential elections]]. He protested in the Supreme Court and was denied multiple times, with the official gap getting even significantly larger from the original results.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Tomacruz|first=Sofia|title=Robredo widens lead over Marcos in recount in 3 pilot provinces|url=https://www.rappler.com/nation/242823-robredo-widens-lead-over-marcos-results-pet-recount-pilot-provinces/|date=2019-10-18}}</ref> In 2021, Bongbong announced his bid for the Philippine presidency in the [[2022 Philippine presidential election]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=October 6, 2021|title=Marcos declares presidential bid|url=https://manilastandard.net/news/top-stories/366724/marcos-declares-presidential-bid.html|access-date=December 29, 2021|website=Manila Standard|language=en-US}}</ref> He was elected president, marking the [[Marcos family]]'s return to Malacañang after 36 years.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Cabato |first1=Regine |last2=Westfall |first2=Sammy |date=May 10, 2022 |title=Marcos family once ousted by uprising wins Philippines vote in landslide |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/05/10/philippines-presidential-election-result-ferdinand-bongbong-marcos/ |access-date=June 5, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ratcliffe |first=Rebecca |date=May 9, 2022 |title=Ferdinand Marcos Jr triumphs in Philippines presidential election |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/09/ferdinand-marcos-jr-triumph-philippines-presidential-election |access-date=June 5, 2022}}</ref> In the 38th anniversary of the EDSA Revolution on February 25, 2024, the fight against charter change continued. "We are not [[EDSA-pwera]]. Because People Power was not only EDSA," the Campaign Against the Return of Marcoses and Martial Law (CARMMA) said. The wreath-laying ceremony and commemorative rites were led and organized by the [[National Historical Commission of the Philippines]]. "Ito po ay taon-taon naming gugunitain hangga't mayroon kaming mandato," [We will commemorate this every year as long as we have a mandate,] said Ian Alfonso, a senior researcher of NHCP.<ref>{{cite news |last1= |first1= |title=38 years after EDSA, Filipinos commemorate People Power, oppose Cha-cha|url= https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/02/25/2336072/38-years-after-edsa-filipinos-commemorate-people-power-oppose-cha-cha|accessdate=February 25, 2024 |publisher= [[The Philippine Star]]|date=February 13, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1= Domingo|first1=Katrina |title=On 38th People Power anniversary, NHCP vows to remember EDSA 'holiday or not'|url= https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/2/25/holiday-or-not-nhcp-vows-to-commemorate-edsa-people-power-1138|access-date=February 25, 2024 |publisher=[[ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs]] |date=February 25, 2024}}</ref>

===Commemoration===
{{Infobox holiday
| holiday_name  = People Power Anniversary
| type          = national
| observedby    = [[Philippines]]
| significance  = Commemoration of the People Power Revolution
| duration      = 1 day
| frequency     = Annual
| scheduling    = same day each year
| date          = February 25
| mdy           = yes
| firsttime     = 2002
}}

The EDSA Revolution Anniversary is a special [[public holiday in the Philippines]]. From 2002 to 2023, the holiday has been declared a special non-working holiday.<ref name="pn295">{{cite PH act|chamber=PP|number=295|url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2011/11/24/proclamation-no-295-s-2011/|title=Declaring the Regular Holidays, Special (Non-working) Days, and Special Holiday (for All Schools) for the Year 2012|date=November 24, 2011|accessdate=October 21, 2023|publisher=Official Gazette of the Philippines|archive-date=February 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213115919/https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2011/11/24/proclamation-no-295-s-2011/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="p1841">{{cite PH act|chamber=PP|number=1841|url=http://www.laborlaw.usc-law.org/download/pdf/2010_Holidays.pdf|title=Declaring the Regular Holiday Special (Non-working) Days, and Special Holiday (for All Schools) for the Year 2010|date=July 21, 2009|publisher=Philippine Labor Laws|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010145524/http://www.laborlaw.usc-law.org/download/pdf/2010_Holidays.pdf|archive-date=October 10, 2017}}</ref> It was not included in the list of holidays in 2024 declared by President [[Bongbong Marcos]], the son of Ferdinand Marcos, in his proclamation, citing that it “falls on a Sunday,”<ref>{{cite web|date=October 13, 2023|title=Palace explains why Feb. 25 not in 2024 holidays list|url=https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/10/13/23/palace-explains-why-feb-25-not-in-2024-holidays-list|publisher=ABS-CBN News|access-date=October 15, 2023}}</ref> which is considered as a rest day for most laborers, while maintaining respect for its commemoration.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1211735|title=Palace bares list of holidays for 2024|first=Ruth Abbey|last=Gita-Carlos|date=October 13, 2023|accessdate=October 21, 2023|work=Philippine News Agency}}</ref><ref name="pp368">{{cite PH act|chamber=PP|number=368|url=https://pco.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/20231011-PROC-368-FRM.pdf|title=Declaring the Regular Holidays and Special (Non-working) Days for the Year 2024|date=October 11, 2023|accessdate=October 11, 2023}}</ref> It was restored as a holiday in 2025, this time as a special working day.<ref name="pp727">{{cite PH act|chamber=PP|number=727|url=https://pco.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/20241030-PROC-727-FRM.pdf|title=Declaring the Regular Holidays and Special (Non-working) Days for the Year 2024|date=October 30, 2024|accessdate=January 3, 2025}}</ref> Despite this, several academic institutions opted to suspend classes or implement alternative learning modes, while [[Hinigaran]], [[Negros Occidental]], suspended both classes and government work to commemorate the event.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/936781/walang-pasok-edsa-anniversary-feb-25-2025/story/|title=LIST: Schools that suspended classes or will hold alternative learning on Feb. 25, 2025|publisher=GMA Integrated News|date= February 20, 2025|accessdate=February 24, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rappler.com/philippines/visayas/hinigaran-town-push-back-edsa-holiday-downgrade-negros-occidental/|title=Town alone in pushing back vs EDSA holiday downgrade in Negros Occidental|first=Ambo|last=Delilan|website=Rappler|accessdate=March 30, 2025|date=February 25, 2025}}</ref>

[[File:FvfBantayog0013 12.JPG|thumbnail|left|The Wall of Remembrance at the [[Bantayog ng mga Bayani]]]]

Three commemorative sites along EDSA memorialize the People Power Revolution, put up by different organizations to commemorate different aspects of the People Power Revolution.<ref name="LeloyTaming">{{Cite book |last=Claudio |first=Lisandro E. |title=Taming people's power: the EDSA revolutions and their contradictions |date=2013 |isbn=978-971-550-655-7 |location=Quezon City |oclc=864093220}}</ref>
* The [[EDSA Shrine|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]] in the [[Ortigas Center]] at the corner of EDSA with Ortigas Avenue. Priminently featuring the {{convert|35|ft|adj=on}} Our Lady of EDSA sculpture by [[Virginia Ty-Navarro]] 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 Philippines|Catholic Church]] in the revolution.<ref name="LeloyTaming"/>
* The [[Bantayog ng mga Bayani]] 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 [[Ildefonso P. Santos Jr.]], also features the "Inang Bayan" sculpture by [[Eduardo Castrillo]], as well as a specialty library and a museum commemorating the martyrs and heroes honored on the Wall of Remembrance.<ref name="LeloyTaming"/>
* 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]] sculpture by Eduardo Castrillo as well as a 1983 statue of Ninoy Aquino sculpted by artist Tomas Concepcion.<ref name="LeloyTaming"/>

===In culture and the arts===
[[File:People Power Revolution commemorative 10-peso coin obverse and reverse.png|thumb|right|10-peso coin commemorating the People Power Revolution]]

In 1986 a few months after February a music video starring various artists was released called, "''Handog ng Pilipino Sa Mundo''" (Filipino's Gift to the World). It was written by [[Apo Hiking Society]] singer [[Jim Paredes]] and performed by numerous artists, and showed martial law heroes Jose W. Diokno, [[Lorenzo M. Tañada]], [[Rene Saguisag]], [[Butz Aquino]], Joe Burgos, and Pres. Aquino with Vice-president [[Doy Laurel]] during their campaign.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sicam|first=Ed|title='Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo' was composed in three minutes|url=https://sg.style.yahoo.com/tagged/celebrity/blogs/switchingchannels/handog-ng-pilipino-sa-mundo-was-composed-in-three-minutes.html|date=2011-02-26}}</ref>

In 2003, the ''Radio Broadcast of the Philippine People Power Revolution'' was inscribed in the [[United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization|United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)]] [[Memory of the World Register|Memory of the World International Register]].<ref name="mow">{{Cite web|url=https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world/radio-broadcast-philippine-people-power-revolution|title=Radio Broadcast of the Philippine People Power Revolution |access-date=2025-05-15|publisher=UNESCO Memory of the World Programme}}</ref>

==See also==
[[File:1986 Inaugural of Corazon Cojuangco Cory Aquino, 11th President of the Republic of the Philippines - February 25.webm|280px|thumb|Video of the oath taking at Club Filipino]]
* [[Proclamation No. 1081]]
* [[Martial law under Ferdinand Marcos|1972 Philippines Martial law under Ferdinand Marcos]]
* [[1986 Philippine presidential election]]
* [[EDSA]]
* Songs about the People Power Revolution:
** "[[Bayan Ko]]"
** "[[Magkaisa]]"
** "[[Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo]]"
* [[EDSA Shrine]]
* [[People Power Monument]]
* [[Bantayog ng mga Bayani]]

'''General:'''
* [[Timeline of the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos]]
* [[List of Memory of the World Documentary Heritage in the Philippines]]

'''Similar events:'''
* [[Second EDSA Revolution]]
* [[EDSA III]]
* [[Revolutions of 1989]]
* [[Colour revolution]]

'''Organizations namesake:'''
* [[Lakas–NUCD|Partido Lakas ng Tao]], (People Power Party) Fidel Ramos' political party named to campaign for being the hero of the revolution

==Footnotes==
{{notelist}}

==References==

===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Sources===

====Books====
* 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. [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/01436598608419897 online]
* {{Cite book |last=Crisostomo |first=Isabelo T. |url=https://archive.org/details/coryprofileofpre00cris |url-access=registration |title=Cory: Profile of a President |date=1987 |publisher=Branden Pub. Co |isbn=0-8283-1913-8 |location=Brookline Village, MA |oclc=15489470}}
* Johnson, Brian. ''The Four Days of Courage: The Untold Story of the People Who Brought Marcos Down.'' Toronto, Canada. McClelland and Stewart, 1987.
* {{Cite book|last= Lacsamana |first= Leodivico Cruz |title=Philippine History and Government |edition= Second |year=1990 |isbn= 971-06-1894-6 |publisher=Phoenix Publishing House, Inc.}}
* Mendoza, Amado, '"People Power" in the Philippines, 1983–86', in [[Adam Roberts (scholar)|Adam Roberts]] and [[Timothy Garton Ash]] (eds.), [https://web.archive.org/web/20120606163100/http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780199552016.do ''Civil Resistance and Power Politics: The Experience of Non-violent Action from Gandhi to the Present''], Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-19-955201-6}}. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110629175120/http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Politics/ComparativePolitics/?view=usa&ci=9780199552016 ''US edition'']. [https://books.google.com/books?id=BxOQKrCe7UUC&q=Civil+resistance+and+power+politics ''On Google''].
* {{Cite book|editor-last1=Mercado |editor-first1=Monina Allarey |url=https://archive.org/details/eyewitnesshistor0000merc|url-access=registration|title=People Power: The Philippine Revolution of 1986 – An eyewitness history|year=1986|location=Manila, Philippines|publisher=The James B. Reuter, S.J., Foundation}}
* Schock, Kurt. ''Unarmed Insurrections: People Power Movements in Nondemocracies.'' Minneapolis, US. University of Minnesota Press. 2005.

====Other sources====
* {{cite news|last=Aquino|first=Corazon C.|title=The last time I saw Ninoy|newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer|volume=18|number=254|pages=A1 and A18|date=August 21, 2003|language=en|author-link=Corazon Aquino|url=http://www.inq7.net/nat/2003/aug/21/nat_4-1.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060516180338/http://www.inq7.net/nat/2003/aug/21/nat_4-1.htm |archive-date=May 16, 2006}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{cite AV media | people=John Nery (writer) | date=2006 | title=Edsa 20 'Isang Larawan' –An Inquirer documentary | trans-title = EDSA 20 An Illustration | medium= documentary | language = Filipino | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdcuiX0ytPo | access-date = 2 March 2021 | location=Philippines | publisher = [[Philippine Daily Inquirer]]}}
* {{cite AV media | people=R.A. Rivera (director) | date=2015 | title=People Power @ 30 – History | trans-title = | medium = documentary, episode of [[History with Lourd]] | language = Filipino | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ude3JYp-k8w | access-date = 2 March 2021 | location = Philippines | publisher = [[TV5 Network]]}}
* {{cite AV media | date=2021 | title=People Power Revolution Day by Day | language = English, Filipino | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AO6RDfVxxU&list=PLBPGAOebX_X4sPsnQ4ULjJKe2QLSxS-Cq&index=1 | access-date = 2 March 2021}}

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