Lakas

Sambayanan
People Power

Part 1


What is People Power?

A moment in Philippine history when we were as one nation.
A sword against unwanted or repressive regime.
A moral weapon.
Its proper use is peaceful, rational and organized.


EDSA

EDSA is a major road that connects several
towns and major cities in Metro Manila.

Named after:
Epifanio
De los
SAntos

Epifanio de los Santos poet, journalist,
historian

The EDSA Uprising or People Power Revolution took place in February 1986.

It inspired other uprisings in other parts of the world.

1989 East Germany
1990 Czechoslovakia
1991 Soviet Union

People Power Revolution was inspired by:

! Nonviolent resistance of Mahatma Gandhi in India
! Martin Luther Kings Civil Rights Movement in United
States


STAGE 1: Symptoms

The middle class is angry at the government
Ineffective management of the country
Leader is not doing a good job or
Lack of money in the government
Intellectuals, who speak against the government



First Quarter Storm 1970

Leaders: youth, students and intellectuals
It started when President Marcos delivered his State of the
Nation Address
Marcos won his second term
Marcos first term was marked by violence


January 30, 1970 - Battle of Mendiola

At Malacaang Palace
4 student protesters killed
After this incident more activist groups started to form it was the first sense of people
power

Part 2

STAGE 2: Rising Fever

The middle class - escalation of anger
Rise up against the government
Cannot repress the rebellion
A new government is created, led by the middle class
Attempt to replace the old government

Students were forerunners of the demonstrations and protests.

Then others also joined the protests: priests and nuns, teachers,
lawyers, doctors, other professionals shared their knowledge,
the rich

The First Quarter Storm cleared the way for the People Power Revolution in 1986.


Under President Marcos things worsened:

Stock market prices dropped
Peso loses value
Higher prices for oil
Higher prices for transportation
Higher prices for food
Reduced rice production
Unemployment rises


! The protests grew larger and stronger.


May 1, 1971 Labor Day

Protest outside Congress building, 3 protesters killed.


June 1971

Constitutional Convention (= a meeting to change the system of beliefs and laws by which a country is
governed) opened

Marcos wanted a shift to parliamentary system, so he could run for presidency for a third time


August 21, 1971

Two grenades exploded in Plaza Miranda (now Luneta Park) at a political rally against President
Marcos

Senator candidates are among the wounded

Opposition (the Liberal Party) won the sympathy of the people and 6 out of 8 seats in the Senate

Marcos suspended habeas corpus (= a law which says that a person can only be kept in prison
following a court's decision) and arrested several activists without warrants

Protests did not stop

Opposition party led by Senators Ninoy Aquino and Jose Diokno

Marcos was forced to bring back the habeas corpus in January 1972

September 23, 1972

Marcos declared martial law (= temporary rule by the military,

especially during a war or an emergency)

The Philippines is now not a democracy anymore, but a
dictatorship (= government by a ruler who has complete power)

Marcos gave the military a lot of power

Opposition politicians, journalists and activists were jailed

Newspaper offices, radio and TV stations were shut down

Marches, demonstrations and strikes banned

Any form of People Power was considered illegal

Part 3:


In the beginning, a lot of people were happy because

There was peace and order
Foreign investors started investing in the Philippines
Less crime
Citizens did not have any experience with martial law and they saw it as a positive change
Marcos promised to restore order and build a new society


But soon, people recognized that there were flaws

No justice
Human rights violation (killings, torture, rape,
abductions)
Political prisoners


People Power became inactive

Most people feared that they could be the next victim of the military dictatorship


Marcos attempt to extend his power

Under the 1935 Constitution, Marcos was not allowed to run for presidency again
Marcos made changes in 1971 to allow him to be a dictator. This was rejected.
These amendments (= a small change, improvement, or addition that is made to a law or document)
were again presented in 1973
A referendum (= when people vote in order to make a decision about a particular subject, rather than
voting for a person) was necessary in order for these amendments to be ratified


Conspiracy (= a secret plan made to do something that is harmful or illegal)

Many people spoke against Marcos amendments
Marcos was afraid that he might lose the
referendum
Therefor, he changed the voting procedure from
voting yes or no to a simple show of hands
People were fooled. They were asked, Who wants
free rice? instead of Are you in favor of the
changes in the constitution?
The show of hands was shown in the newspaper
and told that Filipinos willingly supported Marcos


Demonstrations and Protests back on track

More than 2,000 poor people walked towards Malacaang palace as a sign of protest against
the government
1975 La Tondea Strike - 414 workers from a leading liquor factory conducted the first labor
strike under martial law
Marcos was forced to not be so strict with mass actions (which were banned under martial
law)
Student organizations and publications were reorganized
Laws implemented by Marcos during the Martial Law were questioned by lawyers
Large demonstrations were replaced by prayer vigils
People organized underground press to inform the people despite Marcos control on media
Political prisoners went on hunger strike
Task Force Detainees of the Philippines was established by the Catholic Church to push for the
release of political prisoners
Demonstrations outside the country were done to get attention from different world
organizations

Part 4


New Peoples Army (NPA)

Communist
Participated in the armed revolution
Killed soldiers to gather weapons
They thought violence could only be fought by
violence
Several catholic priest also joined the armed
revolution


National Democratic Front (NDF)

Formed an alliance with several
underground anti-dictatorship forces
In Mindanao, armed Muslims attacked
the city of Marawi and Jolo right after
martial law was declared
Military bombed and attacked the city
of Jolo to push them back.
Muslims felt marginalized and deprived
of their human rights, therefore they
felt they had to fight


1978 Marcos in full control 6 years of martial law

Marcos formed diplomatic ties with China and Libya, these countries are supporting
communists and Muslim rebels
Nur Misuari, leader of Moro National Liberation Front signed a peace treaty agreement
Several leaders of the NPA were captured and detained or defected
Ninoy Aquino and other political prisoners were sentenced to death


Marcos legalizes his rule National Elections

Marcos agreed to hold a national election. It was the first election under the martial law.
Marcos promised a free and honest election although the people could foresee this event to
be fraud and rigged








6

Opposition

The opposition decided to run for the election
It showed resistance to Marcos regime
The Opposition Party is called LABAN and was headed by
Ninoy Aquino who was still in prison.


April 6, 1978 (the night before the election day) Noise Barrage

There was a noise barrage in Manila wherein the people
made noise using pots, honks etc. on the streets as a
form of protest
This is to show their support for the LABAN party
candidates


Results

All the candidates under Marcos party won the elections
If Ninoy Aquino had won, it would have meant that he needed to be released from prison.
This was a big threat which was why Marcos rigged the election (= to arrange dishonestly for
the result of something, for example an election, to be changed)
People marched and demonstrated at the headquarters of the Commission on Elections
The leaders of the demonstrations were jailed for two months but later on released without
any charges


Critical Collaboration

The Catholic Church criticized
the dictators abuses but
collaborated on the projects
that seemed to benefit the
people
After the noise barrage, the
Catholic Church became more
critical and spoke up against
Marcos headed by Jaime
Cardinal Sin



Artists also started using arts, theater, film, sculpture, painting to expose poverty and corruption
under Marcos regime

Part 5


Movements against the Marcos regime continued:

Light-a-Fire Movement used arson as form of protest
April 6 Liberation Movement used bombings to send a message that movements against
dictatorship were still alive
Women Writers in Media Now female journalists who wrote news and commentaries
against Marcos
May First Movement workers
Philippine Peasant Movement farmers
United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO) traditional politicians



1980 Ninoy Aquino had a heart attack and Marcos allowed him to
go to the U.S. for a heart bypass surgery. After a successful
operation, Ninoy Aquino used most of his time in the U.S. to speak
against the Marcos administration.





May 1981 - Marcos held another fake presidential election

Opposition boycotted (= to refuse to take part in something as a way of protesting) the
elections
Marcos ran against two insignificant candidates
Marcos won another 6 years term


After the election, the Philippines was affected by a worldwide recession

1979 oil crisis
Capital flight large scale exit of financial investments and capital from a country
Dewey Dee flee and got away from a 100 million dollars debt
Governments foreign debt accelerated


Marcos health deteriorated and suffered from a disease called lupus erythematosus


Ninoy Aquino decided to return to the Philippines to try to convince Marcos for clean and honest
elections. Ninoy Aquino was warned not to come home because of death threats.

August 21, 1983 Ninoy Aquino was assassinated as soon as he landed in the Philippines

Two million people joined Ninoy Aquinos funeral. It triggered more Filipinos to fight for their
rights.
Ninoy Aquino became a symbol of the People Power Revolution

Part 6


1983 1986 Confetti Revolution

Businessmen now also joined because they decided that development and democracy go
together
Protests were held in Ayala Avenue, the center of the business district. This then became the
center of protests and rallies
Many of the students who had taken part in the First Quarter Storm were now employees and
executives and were taking part in the Confetti Revolution


Yellow became the color of the People Power Revolution


May 1984 - Marcos held elections for the National Assembly

Initially opposition wanted to boycott the elections
They didnt want to give Marcos a chance; they thought that the sooner they got rid of
Marcos, the better


Cory Aquino (Ninoy Aquinos widow) campaigned for the opposition

She thought that unless there is other way to overthrow Marcos in a
peaceful and orderly manner they would just need to settle for an
election

National Movement for Free Election (NAMFREL) was revived

Almost of the opposition candidates won seats in the National Assembly
To ease the anger of the people Marcos formed a commission to investigate Ninoy Aquinos
death
The commission accused several soldiers and officers including chief of staff Fabian Ver
Later on they were all acquitted

The United States was concerned that communists gaining strength would put the businesses and
military bases in danger.


The U.S., the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) pressured Marcos by holding
back new loans for his regime.


November 3, 1985 since his legitimacy was being questioned, Marcos called for a quick election

Part 7

Opposition debated whether to boycott or participate in the election.

They chose to participate and a petition was made calling Cory Aquino to run as president
One million people signed the petition

LABAN vs. KBL (Kilusan ng Bagong Lipunan)

Cory Aquino vs. Ferdinand Marcos
Doy Laurel vs. Arturo Tolentino


US officials and other international observers monitored the
snap elections but there were still violence and fraud during the
campaign.


The election had two results:
NAMFREL Cory Aquino won
National Assembly Marcos won


People walked out from the National Assembly walked
out during the vote tabulation and his proclamation,
protesting against yet another fraud election
International community did not recognize Marcos proclamation as president

10

Cory Aquino called a rally in Rizal Park called Peoples Victory

Two million people joined the rally


February 22, 1986 General Fidel V. Ramos and Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile, along with 500
men, defected from the military and showed their support for the opposition


There were threats of tank and artillery attack to Enrile and Ramos when they barricaded themselves
in Camp Crame in EDSA.



Through Radio Veritas, Jaime Cardinal Sin appealed to the people to help
Ramos and Enrile by coming to EDSA to protect them from the armed forces.



February 22 February 25, 1986 a
wave of people came to EDSA to stop
tanks and rebel troops sent to crush
Enrile and Marcos. Other regions
around the Philippines also revolted.


People Power was successful as one
by one the military forces defected
and went against Marcos
administration.

The Marcos family was forced to flee
from Malacaang Palace.

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