President Corazon Aquino takes her oath of office on Feb. 25, 1986 at Club Filipino in San Juan, during the final day of the EDSA People Power uprising that led to the transfer of presidential authority. – Photo from Malacanang Archives
President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law on Sept. 21, 1972 through Proclamation No. 1081, citing threats from communist insurgents and social unrest. Congress was dissolved, media outlets were shut down or placed under state control, and opposition figures were arrested.
Among those detained was Senator Benigno Aquino Jr., a prominent critic of the administration. Aquino was later allowed to travel to the United States for medical treatment in 1980.
Marcos formally lifted martial law in 1981, but retained broad executive powers under the 1973 Constitution. That same year, he won a presidential election boycotted by major opposition groups.
Assassination and opposition unity
On Aug. 21, 1983, Aquino returned to Manila and was assassinated upon arrival at the Manila International Airport. The killing triggered widespread public mourning and intensified political dissent.
Aquino’s funeral drew hundreds of thousands of participants and became a visible display of opposition solidarity. Civic organizations, religious leaders, business groups, and student movements began coordinating more openly.
The Catholic Church, led in Manila by Jaime Cardinal Sin, emerged as a moral voice urging peaceful reform and civic participation.
The snap election of 1986
In November 1985, amid economic decline and mounting international scrutiny, Marcos announced a snap presidential election scheduled for Feb. 7, 1986. The opposition rallied behind Aquino’s widow, Corazon Aquino, who ran with Salvador Laurel.
The Commission on Elections proclaimed Marcos the winner. However, the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections, an accredited independent watchdog, released a parallel tally indicating Aquino was ahead. Dozens of Commission on Elections computer tabulators walked out in protest, citing alleged manipulation of results.
The dispute deepened divisions within the political and military establishment.
The military break
On Feb. 22, 1986, Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Armed Forces Vice Chief of Staff Fidel V. Ramos withdrew support from Marcos and fortified Camp Aguinaldo and Camp Crame along EDSA.
That evening, Cardinal Sin appealed over Radio Veritas for civilians to support the defecting officers through peaceful assembly. Over the next four days, hundreds of thousands, and by many estimates millions, gathered along EDSA in prayerful protest, forming human barricades between loyalist troops and rebel camps.
The constitutional reset
Aquino abolished the 1973 Constitution and established a provisional government pending the drafting of a new charter. The 1987 Constitution, ratified by plebiscite, reinstated term limits and bolstered constitutional safeguards among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
It restored a bicameral Congress, strengthened judicial independence, and created constitutional commissions designed to enhance accountability.
Four decades of post-EDSA governance
Since 1987, the Philippines has held regular national elections and experienced multiple peaceful transfers of presidential power. Successive administrations — from Fidel V. Ramos and Joseph Estrada to Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Benigno Aquino III, Rodrigo Duterte, and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. — have governed within the constitutional order established after EDSA.
The country has faced recurring debates over political dynasties, economic inequality, human rights policy, and proposals for constitutional revision. In 2001, large-scale demonstrations known as EDSA II led to the resignation of President Estrada, demonstrating both the continuing mobilizing power of public protest and the resilience of constitutional processes.
The electoral victory of Marcos Jr. in 2022 reflected shifting political alignments and generational perspectives, underscoring how historical memory evolves within a functioning electoral system.
EDSA at 40
Four decades after the uprising, the central legacy of EDSA remains institutional: the restoration of constitutional governance, civilian supremacy over the military, and the regular conduct of competitive elections.
The revolution did not resolve all structural challenges. It did, however, establish a democratic framework within which political contestation continues to unfold.
As the Philippines marks the 40th anniversary of People Power, the historical record reflects a nation that moved from centralized rule to constitutional democracy and continues to navigate the responsibilities and complexities that accompany that transition.
