Edsa People Power Revolution [PDF]

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EDSA PEOPLE POWER REVOLUTION It is also referred to as the Yellow Revolution 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”) following the assassination of Filipino senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr.[8] 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”. The majority of the demonstrations took place on a long stretch of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, more commonly known by its acronym EDSA, in Metro Manila from February 22–25, 1986. They involved over two million Filipino civilians, as well as several political and military groups, and religious groups led by Cardinal Jaime Sin, the Archbishop of Manila, along with Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines President Cardinal Ricardo Vidal, the Archbishop of Cebu. The protests, fueled by the resistance and opposition from years of governance by President Marcos and his cronies, culminated with the absolute ruler and his family fleeing Malacañang Palace to exile in Hawaii. Ninoy Aquino’s widow, Corazon Aquino, was immediately installed as the eleventh president as a result of the revolution



PRIMARY SOURCE (photograph) The People Power Revolution (also known as the EDSA Revolution, the Philippine Revolution of 1986, EDSA 1986, EDSA I (pronounced as EDSA One or EDSA Uno) and EDSA People Power) was a series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22–25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of civil resistance against regime violence and electoral fraud.



The picture shows the Hundreds of thousands of people filling up Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA), facing northbound towards the Boni Serrano AvenueEDSA intersection. (February 1986). The nonviolent revolution led to the departure of Ferdinand Marcos, the end of his 20-year presidential term and the restoration of democracy in the Philippines. The 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution gathered millions of Filipinos from all walks of life to march along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), the main artery of Metro Manila, to end the dictatorship of President Ferdinand E. Marcos and begin a new era marked by true freedom and democracy. This spirit of the movement was not confined to Manila; it manifested through nonviolent demonstrations staged in different cities nationwide—it was a revolution marked by its peaceful means, led by a nation united to reclaim liberty.



SECONDARY SOURCES (newspaper)



PHOTO(right): The Malaya newspaper cover following the People Power Edsa Revolution, February 26, 1986. PHOTO(left): The February 26, 1986 issue of The Manila Times (From the newspaper collection of Mr. Jose Antonio Custodio.)



The newspaper shows the expansion of people power revolution and the end of Marcos “On February 25, 1986, a few hours after Ferdinand E. Marcos took his oath of office before Chief Justice Ramon Aquino, he and his family boarded helicopters in Malacañang Park to take them to Clark Airbase. From there, they departed for Hawaii”.