Corazon C. Aquino
January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009
11th President of the Republic of the Philippines
February 25, 1986 – June 30, 1992
Maria Corazon "Cory" Cojuangco Aquino became the 11th President of the Republic of the Philippines, following the peaceful 1986 People Power Revolution that astonished the world.
Aquino was married to Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr., a leading figure in the political opposition against the autocratic rule of President Ferdinand Marcos, who was assassinated upon his return from exile on 21 August 1983. Having had no prior political experience, Cory Aquino nevertheless became the focal point around which the fractured political opposition finally unified. She was the lone candidate against Marcos during the 1986 snap presidential elections.
Soon after Marcos’ proclamation as victor, despite widespread reports of electoral fraud, then Minister of National Defense Juan Ponce Enrile and Armed Forces of the Philippines Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Fidel Ramos, set in motion a long-planned coup against Marcos. The charismatic Archbishop of Manila, Jaime Cardinal Sin exhorted the predominantly Catholic populace to mass along EDSA (the main thoroughfare between Camps Aguinaldo and Crame) to support the rebel soldiers. Over the next four days almost 2 million unarmed civilians poured into the streets, heeding the call of Cardinal Sin. People the world over were amazed to see unarmed priests, nuns and ordinary men, women and children forming human chains, blockading loyalist military squadrons, preventing them from reaching the rebel soldiers at the Camps. They answered guns and tanks with prayers and flowers… succeeding in what became known as the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution.
Cory Aquino was proclaimed the 11th President of the Philippines on the 25th of February 1986, Asia’s first female head of state. After completing her term in 1992, she continued to be an advocate of democracy, peace, women's empowerment, and religious piety.
Lest we forget, Cory Aquino and our original people power inspired Yeltsin in Russia , Lech Walesa in Poland , Nelson Mandela in Africa , Vaclav Havel of Czechoslovakia and the unsung heroes of Tiananmen Square .The Philippine's original "People Power", led by Cory would inspire many other non-violent movements for democracy in the world. The largely bloodless political upheaval began in Poland, continued in Hungary, and then led to a surge of mostly peaceful revolutions in East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria.She (and therefore the brave Filipinos of EDSA 1) continue to inspire the likes of Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma, and recently our neighbors of Thailand.
She began law studies in Far Eastern University but did not finish on account of her marriage to Ninoy Aquino. In 1987, she received an Honorary Degree in Civil Law from FEU.
Cory Aquino died of cardiopulmonary arrest after complications of colon cancer at the age of 76 on August 1, 2009.
January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009
11th President of the Republic of the Philippines
February 25, 1986 – June 30, 1992
Maria Corazon "Cory" Cojuangco Aquino became the 11th President of the Republic of the Philippines, following the peaceful 1986 People Power Revolution that astonished the world.
Aquino was married to Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr., a leading figure in the political opposition against the autocratic rule of President Ferdinand Marcos, who was assassinated upon his return from exile on 21 August 1983. Having had no prior political experience, Cory Aquino nevertheless became the focal point around which the fractured political opposition finally unified. She was the lone candidate against Marcos during the 1986 snap presidential elections.
Soon after Marcos’ proclamation as victor, despite widespread reports of electoral fraud, then Minister of National Defense Juan Ponce Enrile and Armed Forces of the Philippines Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Fidel Ramos, set in motion a long-planned coup against Marcos. The charismatic Archbishop of Manila, Jaime Cardinal Sin exhorted the predominantly Catholic populace to mass along EDSA (the main thoroughfare between Camps Aguinaldo and Crame) to support the rebel soldiers. Over the next four days almost 2 million unarmed civilians poured into the streets, heeding the call of Cardinal Sin. People the world over were amazed to see unarmed priests, nuns and ordinary men, women and children forming human chains, blockading loyalist military squadrons, preventing them from reaching the rebel soldiers at the Camps. They answered guns and tanks with prayers and flowers… succeeding in what became known as the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution.
Cory Aquino was proclaimed the 11th President of the Philippines on the 25th of February 1986, Asia’s first female head of state. After completing her term in 1992, she continued to be an advocate of democracy, peace, women's empowerment, and religious piety.
Lest we forget, Cory Aquino and our original people power inspired Yeltsin in Russia , Lech Walesa in Poland , Nelson Mandela in Africa , Vaclav Havel of Czechoslovakia and the unsung heroes of Tiananmen Square .The Philippine's original "People Power", led by Cory would inspire many other non-violent movements for democracy in the world. The largely bloodless political upheaval began in Poland, continued in Hungary, and then led to a surge of mostly peaceful revolutions in East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria.She (and therefore the brave Filipinos of EDSA 1) continue to inspire the likes of Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma, and recently our neighbors of Thailand.
She began law studies in Far Eastern University but did not finish on account of her marriage to Ninoy Aquino. In 1987, she received an Honorary Degree in Civil Law from FEU.
Cory Aquino died of cardiopulmonary arrest after complications of colon cancer at the age of 76 on August 1, 2009.
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