EDSA, a twenty-four-kilometer circumferential road in Metro Manila, is named after renowned Filipino writer and historian, Epifanio Delos Santos. At present times, this road is synonymous with long, severe and never-ending traffic that commuters have to traverse in their everyday life. However, some forty-years (40) ago, this avenue, situated in the middle of Metro Manila, witnessed, perhaps, the most iconic moment of postwar Philippines.
On February 25, 1986, millions of Filipinos convened and gathered at Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue protesting about the re-election of then President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos. This so-called People Power ultimately led to President Marcos’s ouster from office ending his twenty-one (21) year reign in Malacanang.
When asked as to which occurrence served as the starting point to the series of events that eventually culminated in then President Marcos’ removal from office, Filipinos’ answers vary, from the declaration of martial law in the Philippines, to the assassination of Ninoy Aquino up to the anomalous results of the snap election between Cory Aquino and Ferdinand Marcos.
The backstories behind the events that led to EDSA 1 and its significance shall be the topic of our column this week.
Declaration of Martial Law.
In the evening of September 23, 1972, by virtue of Proclamation No. 1081, then President Marcos announced on national television that he was placing the entire country under martial rule. President Marcos’ primary reason for the implementation of martial law in the Philippines was the supposed threat of insurgents and communists, as well as the rampant violence and riots at that time. Accounts also said that the failed assassination on then Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile was the last string that compelled President Marcos to declare martial law.
However, this period of martial rule from 1972 to 1981 was deemed by many as one of the darkest moments in our history. It is filled with stories of the supposed abuses of members of Philippine Constabulary and of the military. Countless testaments of torture victims surfaced, along with stories of human rights violations and unresolved disappearances, all occurring during this period.
Among the first persons who were apprehended after the signing of Proclamation No. 1081 were opposition leaders, including then Senators Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino and Jose “Ka Pepe” Diokno. To reiterate, the death of Ninoy was the second event which many considered as EDSA 1’s inception.
Assassination of Ninoy.
From 1972 up until 1980, Ninoy was detained and incarcerated for charges of murder, subversion and illegal possession of firearms. He was even sentenced to death by a firing squad in 1977 but the same was never executed. Then, in 1980, Ninoy suffered two heart attacks and was required to undergo a coronary bypass. He refused, however, to have the same be conducted here and requested that he be allowed to have his operation in the US. After an alleged secret visit by the first lady, Ninoy was allowed to travel to the US for his operation subject to the conditions that he would return and would not attack the Marcoses again.
Nevertheless, after Ninoy recovered, during his three-year self-imposed exile, he traveled across the United States and delivered speeches to once again address and pinpoint the abuses and violations of the Marcos regime. Then, in 1983, determined and with the intention to have a discussion with President Marcos regarding the fate of our country, Ninoy decided to return to the Philippines despite being fully aware of the dangers it entailed.
However, as history tells us, Ninoy was not able to set foot on Philippines soil alive. In the fateful afternoon of August 21, 1983, the moment Ninoy Aquino stepped off the plane, the sound of gunfire shuttered the air, commotion ensued and the next thing that was caught on tape was Ninoy’s lifeless body lying in the tarmac of Manila International Airport.
Snap Election of 1986
On November 04, 1985, President Marcos declared, on national TV, his intention to conduct a snap election. Consequently, the National Assembly enacted Batas Pambansa Blg. 883 – An Act Calling a Special Election for President and Vice President to be held on February 7, 1986. It was between, Ninoy’s widow, Cory Aquino and her running mate, Doy Laurel, against President Marcos and Arturo Tolentino as his vice president.
Then the election came. The COMELEC as well as the NAMFREL (National Citizen’s Movement for Free Election) monitored the canvassing of votes. To the surprise of the entire nation, the election results of COMELEC and NAMFREL were different. COMELEC had Marcos and Tolentino as winners, while NAMFREL results favored Aquino and Laurel.
During the early hours of February 25, 1986, the final day of EDSA 1, both Marcos and Aquino took their oath as President of the Philippines. It was the only time in our history that our country had two presidents. And the rest, as they call it, was history. Later that day, President Marcos vacated Malacanang, ending his 21-year reign as chief executive.