The People Power Protest of 1986

Ferdinand Marcos had been in power for 18 years when the People Power Protest began. After years of “buying the elections” and martial law, much of the Filipino population was fed up with the dictatorship. New groups began to form promoting terrorism such as the New People’s Army. This organization targeted government officials through guerrilla warfare. Unlike the New People’s Army, which used aggression and brutality to achieve their goals, Corazon Aquino began peaceful protesting, leading the People Power Protest from 1983-1986. She began her protesting after Marco’s men assassinated her husband, Benigo Aquino, a politician. The death of Benigo Aquino was a microcosm that drew the attention of the majority of the Filipino population to the corruption of their government. Two million people attended the funeral, showing Marcos just how many Filippinos were against his cruel and brutal ways. The above picture is of Corazon Aqunio making the "L" symbol with her fingers. This stood for the Filipino word "laban", meaning fight or contest. This refers to Ferdinand Marcos, the dictator she was opposing.

Corazon Aquino began preaching to the people of the Philippines over the radio saying that their had to be change and that this government was not acceptable. In fact, Marcos acted similar to Stalin and Lenin of the Soviet Union by targeting any politician, or person that posed a threat to their power. Aquino then began to take serious action, planning rallies to protest. But she differed from any of the rebel groups of the Philippines, for Aquino pressed for peace, "I'm not asking for violent revolution. This is not the time for that….now is the way of nonviolent struggle for justice. This means active resistance of evil by peaceful means". The New People’s army had proved that fighting with violence can be difficult and sometimes impossible for they never succeeded. The guerrilla warfare made a statement to the government, but made no impact internationally. To the rest of the world, the New People’s army was just another terrorist organization. Aquino brought civil protest that gathered millions of people across the Philippines and brought them together to fight without weapons in their hands. Over the course of three years, her protesting continued, and with the help of international support, Marcos surrendered his power and Aquino was elected into office. The People Power Protest proved to the world that violence is not always the correct way to make a change, and that civil rebellion can have a greater effect.

Today, the Filipino people feel that the corrupt government that the People Power Protest aimed to overthrow has slipped back into office.