Corazon Cojuangco Aquino

(February 25, 1986 June 30, 1992)

Corazon Aquino, widow of the assassinated Senator Benigno Ninoy Aquino
Jr., is the first woman president of the Philippines. She ran into office by the means
of one million signatures gathered by the Corazon Aquino for President Movement
(CAPM) led by Chino Roces. Although the Comelec declared Marcos as the winner in
the Snap Elections held on February 7, 1986, she was inaugurated as president in
Club Filipino, San Juan on February 25, 1986, after the success of the first EDSA
People Power Revolution.
Achievements:
The Aquino administration shouldered the responsibility of bringing up the
country after its downfall during the Marcos Regime. Despite this, Aquino showed a
relatively good performance in fixing the main issues THE country is facing. First,
Aquino established a revolutionary government that abolished the 1973 constitution
in effect during the Martial Law, while making a new constitution, which was ratified
in 1987, that implied the influence of democracy. The Aquino administration was
also able to bring up the economy of the country, being able to raise its capital from
3.9 billion to 108 billion in four years. There were also laws that were known to the
Aquino administration, including the Local Government Code in 1991 that
emphasized the role of Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and Peoples
Organizations (POs) as aids of government in nation building. The other one is the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988, which gave way for the redistribution
of agricultural lands to tenant-farmers from landowners.
Criticisms:
Despite the support that Aquino got in her race to presidency, that didnt
save her administration from attempts to dismantle her government. In fact, there
were as much as six coup d'tats against her administration, several of these
involving members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines from the Reform the
Armed Forces Movement (RAM), while some are from the loyalist groups of former
President Marcos. Another controversy is the Mendiola Massacre, where 19 farmers
who were fighting for their rights were killed, which was brought about by the
loopholes in her agrarian reforms. Also, the administration is also criticized for its
support to the military bases in the Philippines. Aside from these, natural calamities
also challenged Aquinos versatility, particularly the 1990 earthquake in Luzon, Mt.
Pinatubo eruption in 1991, and several typhoons.
Ultimately, Aquino did the first vital steps involving the democratic ideals of
Filipinos. This is why many see her as hero, or even a saint. However, economically,
Aquinos performance was quite poor as well, notably because of natural calamities,
disasters, and coup attempts during her term. It was relatively better compared to
Marcos, but years after her rule, she was also accused of corruption as seen from
criticisms.