Corazon Aquino's accession to the presidency marked the end of authoritarian rule in the Philippines. Aquino is the first female president of the Philippines and is still the only president of the Philippines to have never held any prior political position. Aquino is regarded as the first
female president in
Asia.
Transitional government and creation of new constitution On February 25, 1986, the first day of her administration, Aquino issued Proclamation No. 1, which announced an intention to reorganize the government and called on all officials appointed by Marcos to resign, starting with members of the
Supreme Court. On March 25, 1986, President Aquino issued
Proclamation No. 3, which announced a transitional government into a democratic system. She abolished the
1973 Constitution that was in force during the
martial law era, and by decree issued the
provisional 1986 Freedom Constitution, pending the ratification of a more formal and comprehensive charter. This constitutional allowed her to exercise both executive and legislative powers during the period of transitional government. After the issuance of Proclamation No. 1, all 15 members of the Supreme Court submitted their resignations. Aquino then reorganized the membership of the Supreme Court with the stated purpose of restoring its
judicial independence. On May 22, 1986, in the case
Lawyers League v. President Aquino, the reorganized Supreme Court declared the Aquino government as "not merely a
de facto government but in fact and law a
de jure government", and affirmed its legitimacy. Aquino appointed all 48 members of the
1986 Constitutional Commission ("Con-Com"), led by retired activist and former Supreme Court Associate Justice
Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, which was tasked with writing a new constitution. The Commission completed its final draft of the Constitution in October 1986. On February 2, 1987, the
Constitution of the Philippines was ratified by
nationwide plebiscite. It remains the
constitution of the Philippines to the present day. The Constitution established a
bill of rights and a three-branch government consisting of the executive department, the legislative department, and the judicial department. The Constitution restored the
bicameral Congress, which in 1973 had been abolished by Marcos and replaced with first the
Batasang Bayan and later the Batasang Pambansa. The ratification of the new Constitution was soon followed by the
election of senators and the
election of House of Representatives members on May 11, 1987, as well as
local elections on January 18, 1988.
Legal reforms After the ratification of the constitution, Aquino promulgated two landmark
legal codes, namely, the
Family Code of 1987, which reformed the
civil law on family relations, and the
Administrative Code of 1987, which reorganized the structure of the
executive department of government. Another landmark law that was enacted during her tenure was the 1991
Local Government Code, which devolved national government powers to local government units (LGUs). The new Code enhanced the power of LGUs to enact local taxation measures and assured them of a share in the national revenue. During Aquino's tenure, vital economic laws such as the Built-Operate-Transfer Law, Foreign Investments Act, and the Consumer Protection and Welfare Act were also enacted. Although
capital punishment was
abolished by the 1987 Constitution, President Aquino later pushed for its reinstatement by 1989, and was further convinced in her stance by early 1990 after the deaths of two young rape victims in Pangasinan.
Socio-economic policies The economy posted a positive growth of 3.4% during Aquino's first year in office, and continued to grow at an overall positive rate throughout her tenure for an average rate of 3.4% from 1986 to 1992. Real GDP growth suffered a 0.4% decrease in 1991 in the aftermath of the
1989 coup attempt by the Reform the Armed Forces Movement, which shook international confidence in the Philippine economy and hindered foreign investment. Aquino made fighting inflation one of her priorities after the nation suffered from skyrocketing prices during the last years of the Marcos administration. The last six years of the Marcos administration recorded an average annual inflation rate of 20.9%, which peaked in 1984 at 50.3%. From 1986 to 1992, the Philippines recorded an average annual inflation rate of 9.2%. During the Aquino administration, the annual inflation rate peaked at 18.1% in 1991; a stated reason for this increase was
panic buying during the
Gulf War. Overall, the economy under Aquino had an average growth of 3.8% from 1986 to 1992.
De-monopolization One of Aquino's first actions as president was to seize Marcos' multi-billion dollar
fortune of ill-gotten wealth. On February 28, 1986, four days into her presidency, Aquino formed the
Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), which was tasked with retrieving Marcos' domestic and international fortune. After his declaration of martial law in 1972 and his consolidation of authoritarian power, President Ferdinand Marcos issued various government decrees that awarded
monopoly or
oligopoly power over entire industries to various
close associates, in a scheme later regarded as
crony capitalism. President Aquino pursued a
market liberalization agenda to combat this problem. President Aquino particularly targeted the
sugar industry and the
coconut industry for de-monopolization.
Debt participate in the Veterans' Day Service at
Arlington National Cemetery on November 10, 1989. Throughout the tenure of President Ferdinand Marcos, government
foreign debt had ballooned from less than $3 billion in 1970 to $28 billion by the end of his administration, through
privatization of bad government assets and
deregulation of many vital industries. The debt had badly tarnished the international credit standing and economic reputation of the country. President Aquino inherited the debt of the Marcos administration and weighed all options on what to do with the debt, including not paying the debt. Aquino eventually chose to honor all the debts that were previously incurred in order to clear the country's economic reputation. Her decision proved to be unpopular but Aquino defended it, saying that was the most practical move. Beginning in 1986, the Aquino administration paid off $4 billion of the country's outstanding debts to improve its international credit ratings and attract the attention of foreign investors. This move also ensured lower interest rates and longer payment terms for future loans. During the Aquino administration, the Philippines acquired an additional $9 billion debt, increasing the net national debt by $5 billion within six years due to the need to infuse capital and money into the economy. The Aquino administration was able to reduce the Philippines' external
debt-to-GDP ratio by 20.1 percent, from 87.9 percent at the start of the administration to 67.8 percent in 1991.
Agrarian reform in
Los Baños,
Laguna. President Aquino envisioned agrarian and land reform as the centerpiece of her administration's social legislative agenda. However, her family background and social class as a privileged daughter of a wealthy and landed clan became a lightning rod of criticisms against her land reform agenda. After the Mendiola Massacre and in response to calls for agrarian reform, President Aquino issued Presidential Proclamation 131 and Executive Order 229 on July 22, 1987, which outlined her land reform program, including sugar lands. In 1988, with the backing of Aquino, the new Congress of the Philippines passed Republic Act No. 6657, more popularly known as the "Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law" (CARP), which paved the way for the redistribution of agricultural lands from landowners to tenant-farmers. Landowners were paid in exchange by the government through
just compensation, and were also not allowed to retain more than five hectares of land. The law also allowed corporate landowners to "voluntarily divest a proportion of their
capital stock, equity or participation in favor of their workers or other qualified beneficiaries", in lieu of turning over their land to the government for redistribution. Corazon Aquino herself was subject to a controversy that centered on
Hacienda Luisita, a 6,453-hectare estate located in the province of Tarlac which she and her siblings inherited from her father José Cojuangco. Instead of land distribution, Hacienda Luisita reorganized itself into a corporation and distributed stock. As such, ownership of agricultural portions of the hacienda was transferred to the corporation, which in turn, gave its shares of stocks to farmers. Critics argued that Aquino bowed to pressure from relatives by allowing stock redistribution in lieu of land redistribution under CARP. The stock redistribution scheme was revoked in 2006, when the
Department of Agrarian Reform ordered the mandatory redistribution of land to tenant-farmers of Hacienda Luisita. The Department of Agrarian Reform had looked into its revocation since 2004, when violence erupted in the hacienda over the retrenchment of workers, leaving seven people dead. The massacre resulted in several resignations from Aquino's cabinet, including
Jose W. Diokno, head of the Presidential Committee on Human Rights, chairman of the
Commission on Human Rights (CHR), and chairman of the government panel in charge of negotiations with rebel forces resigned from his government posts. His daughter Maris said, "It was the only time we saw him near tears." In September 1987, Vice President Doy Laurel resigned as secretary of foreign affairs. In his resignation letter to Aquino, Laurel stated, "the past years of Marcos are now beginning to look no worse than your first two years in office. And the reported controversies and scandals involving your closest relatives have become the object of our people's outrage. From 16,500 NPA regular when Marcos fell, the communists now claim an armed strength of 25,200. From city to countryside, anarchy has spread. There is anarchy within the government, anarchy within the ruling coalesced parties and anarchy in the streets." Finance Minister
Jaime Ongpin, who had successfully advocated for paying external debt incurred during Marcos' administration, was dismissed by Aquino in September 1987 and later died in an apparent suicide in December 1987. His widow stated that he had been depressed due to infighting in Aquino's cabinet and lack of significant change since the People Power Revolution. Soon after the Mendiola Massacre, the Aquino administration and Congress worked to pass significant agrarian reform, which culminated in the passage of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARP).
Peace talks with Moro and communist insurgencies President Aquino conducted peace talks with the
Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), an armed
Moro Muslim insurgency group that sought to establish an independent Moro state within
Mindanao. Aquino met with MNLF leader
Nur Misuari and various MNLF groups in
Sulu. In 1989, the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) was created under Republic Act No. 6734 or the ARMM Organic Act, which established the Moro majority areas in the Mindanao island group as an
autonomous region with its own government. The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao lasted from 1989 to 2019, after which it was succeeded by the
Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The establishment of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao was opposed by the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a militant splinter group from the MNLF that sought to
secede from the Philippines to establish an
Islamic state in Mindanao. Peace talks with MILF began in 1997 under President Fidel Ramos and violent insurgency officially continued until 2014, when peace accords were formally signed between MILF and the administration of President Benigno Aquino III that would lead to the creation of the BARMM. The establishment of the ARMM also led to the establishment of
Abu Sayyaf, a
terrorist group founded in 1989 by
Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani and composed of radical former members of the MNLF. Terrorist attacks by Abu Sayyaf would start in 1995 and continue to the present day, including the
2004 bombing of the MV Superferry 14 that resulted in the deaths of 116 people. Shortly after becoming president, Aquino ordered the release of hundreds of
political prisoners imprisoned during the Marcos era, including
communist insurgents belonging to the
Communist Party of the Philippines. These releases included leaders such as Communist Party of the Philippines founder
Jose Maria Sison and
New People's Army founder
Bernabe Buscayno, which the military strongly resisted. Preliminary peace talks with the CPP ended after the Mendiola Massacre on January 22, 1987, during which at least 12 farmers were killed at a protest rally.
Closing of United States military bases Soon after Aquino took office, several Philippine senators declared that the presence of U.S. military forces in the Philippines was an affront to national sovereignty. The senators called for the United States military to vacate
U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay and Clark Air Base, and Aquino opposed their demand. The United States objected by stating that they had leased the property and that the leases were still in effect. The United States stated that the facilities at
Subic Bay were unequaled anywhere in
Southeast Asia and a U.S. pullout could make all of that region of the world vulnerable to an incursion by the Soviet Union or by a resurgent Japan. Another issue with the demand was that thousands of Filipinos worked at these military facilities and they would lose their jobs if the U.S. military moved out. Aquino opposed the Senate's demand and believed that the bases should have remained. Aquino organized a protest against the pullout, which only gathered between 100,000 and 150,000 supporters, far short of the 500,000 to 1 million that had been originally expected. The matter was still being debated when
Mount Pinatubo erupted in June 1991, covering the entire area with
volcanic ash. Despite attempts to continue the Subic Base, Aquino finally conceded. In December 1991, the government served notice that the U.S. had to close the base by the end of 1992.
Natural disasters and calamities On December 20, 1987, the
MV Doña Paz sank after a collision with the oil tanker MV
Vector. The final death toll exceeded 4,300 people, and the sinking has been called the deadliest peacetime maritime disaster of the 20th century. In the aftermath, Aquino addressed the incident as "a national tragedy of harrowing proportions". The
1990 Luzon earthquake was a 7.8
magnitude earthquake that struck the island of
Luzon. It left an estimate of 1,621 people dead and massive property damage. In 1991, a
volcanic eruption of Mount Pinatubo, then thought to be dormant, killed around 800 people and caused widespread long-term devastation of agricultural lands in
Central Luzon. Around 20,000 residents had to be evacuated and around 10,000 people were left homeless by the event. It was the second largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century. On November 1, 1991
Tropical Storm Thelma (also known as Typhoon Uring) caused massive flooding in
Ormoc City, leaving around 5,000 dead in what was then considered to be the deadliest typhoon in Philippine history. On November 8, Aquino declared all of
Leyte a
disaster area.
Electrical power grid inadequacy During Aquino's presidency, electric
blackouts became common in Manila. The city experienced 7–12 hours-long blackouts, which severely affected its businesses. By the departure of Aquino in June 1992, businesses in Manila and nearby provinces had lost nearly $800 million since the preceding March. Corazon Aquino's decision to deactivate the
Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), which was built during the Marcos administration, contributed to further electricity crises in the 1990s, as the 620 megawatts capacity of the plant would have been enough to cover the shortfall at that time. Critics of the BNPP had stated that the power plant was unsafe, and cited the millions of dollars in bribes paid to President Marcos to allow its construction.
Influence in 1992 presidential election The 1987 Constitution limited the president to a single six-year term with no possibility of re-election. As the end of her presidency drew near, close advisers and friends told Aquino that since she was not inaugurated under the 1987 Constitution, her term beginning 1986, she was still 'eligible' to seek the presidency again in the upcoming
1992 elections, the first presidential elections held under normal and peaceful circumstances since 1965. However, Aquino firmly declined the requests for her to seek reelection, citing her strong belief that the presidency was not a lifetime position. Initially, she named
Ramon V. Mitra, Speaker of the
Philippine House of Representatives who had been a friend of her husband, as her preferred candidate for the 1992 presidential elections. However, she later backtracked and instead supported the candidacy of General
Fidel V. Ramos, who was her defense secretary and a key figure in the EDSA Revolution. Ramos had consistently stood by her government during the various coup attempts that were launched against her administration. Her sudden change of mind and withdrawal of support from Mitra drew criticism from her supporters in the liberal and
social democratic sectors. Her decision also drew criticism from the Catholic Church, which questioned her support of Ramos due to him being
Protestant. General Ramos won the 1992 elections with 23.58% of the total votes in a wide-open campaign. On June 30, 1992, Corazon Aquino formally and peacefully handed over power to Fidel Ramos. On that day, Fidel V. Ramos was
inaugurated as the twelfth president of the Philippines. After the inauguration, Aquino left the ceremony in a simple white
Toyota Crown she had purchased, rather than the lavish government-issued
Mercedes-Benz in which she and Ramos had ridden on the way to the ceremonies, to make the point that she was once again an ordinary citizen.
Administration and cabinet == Post-presidency (1992–2009) ==