Remembering the 1986 People Power Revolution

Today is the twenty-eighth anniversary of the culmination of the People Power Revolution, a series of nonviolent demonstrations that resulted in the departure of President Ferdinand Marcos and the restoration of democracy in the country.

Philippine Daily Inquirer February 25, 1996

The People Power Revolution also paved the way for Corazon Aquino, the widow of opposition leader Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., to become the Philippines' first woman president. It is also known as EDSA Revolution because majority of the demonstrations took place on a long stretch of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, popularly known by its acronym EDSA.

In 1996, the Philippine Daily Inquirer published a series of excerpts from Chronology of a Revolution, a book researched and written by Angela Stuart-Santiago and edited by Lorna Kalaw-Tirol. The book provides snippets of the People Power Revolution. The following are scanned copies of the fourth part of the series.

"MALACANANG PALACE: (Ferdinand) Marcos' two sons-in-law were supervising the packing of dozens of crates of family possessions, including hundreds of thousands of dollars of gold bullion and bonds, more than $1 million worth of freshly printed pesos, as well as artifacts and jewels. These were delivered by boat to a bayfront lawn adjacent to the US Embassy..."

"MALACANANG PALACE: (Col. Arturo C.) Aruiza saw Fe Roa Gimenez, Ms. Marcos' private secretary, emptying her desk of papers. At first, she fed them to the shredder but it was slow work. Aruiza suggested that she pile them all in one place and he would order the boys to burn them ..."