People Power In 1986, Honasan and a cabal of colonels, backed by Enrile, tried to use popular unrest to overthrow the
dictatorship of President
Ferdinand Marcos. When the plot was uncovered, the conspirators sought refuge in the military headquarters and called on civilians, the media, and the
Catholic Church for protection. Hundreds of thousands of people served as human shields to protect Honasan and his men from Marcos' forces, sparking the 1986
People Power Revolution that led to Marcos' fall from power and the installation of
Corazon Aquino as president.
Coups d'état Aquino awarded Honasan a Distinguished Conduct Star for the EDSA Revolution and the Presidential Government Medal in 1986. Under the new government, he was head of a special group in the defense ministry. Using his position, he was covertly involved in various coup attempts against Aquino. He left the Senate when his term expired in 2004. In the
general election held in May 2007, he was again elected to the Senate. Running as an
independent candidate, he polled some 11.6 million votes, finishing 10th out of 37 candidates for 12 Senate vacancies. He took up his post on June 30. He was reelected during the
2013 elections, placing 12th with 13,211,424 votes, his fourth term. During the
2016 Philippine general elections, Honasan was
Jejomar Binay's running mate under the
United Nationalist Alliance party. Honasan placed 6th in the vice presidential race, garnering only 788,881 or 1.92% of votes. In 2017, the
Sandiganbayan anti-corruption court ordered the arrest of Honasan over allegations of graft connected to the
pork barrel scam.
Information and Communications Technology Secretary On November 22, 2018, President Duterte appointed Honasan as secretary of
Department of Information and Communications Technology. Acting Secretary
Eliseo Rio Jr. held the position until the end of Honasan's Senate term. Honasan was sworn into the office on July 1, 2019, and confirmed by the
Commission on Appointments on September 11, 2019. In January 2020, the department was flagged by the
Commission on Audit of the Philippines for worth of cash advances of confidential funds under Honasan. Undersecretary of Operations Eliseo Rio Jr. also questioned the cash advances as he resigned from his position. Secretary Honasan and Undersecretary Rio later issued a joint statement to state that the confidential expenses were "lawful and legitimate" and that "Undersecretary Rio's resignation was due to personal reasons, and not due to any rift with the Secretary, nor to any anomaly in the Confidential Expense."
Senate comeback attempts –
Sotto campaign rally at
Quezon Memorial Circle,
Quezon City in 2022 On October 8, 2021, Honasan filed his certificate of candidacy to run for senator in
2022, effectively ending his time as Secretary of Information and Communications Technology. His candidacy was endorsed by President
Rodrigo Duterte, making him part of the
PDP–Laban senatorial slate, although he was an independent. He was also named to the senatorial slate of tickets led by presidential aspirants
Panfilo Lacson and
Bongbong Marcos (under
UniTeam), respectively. However, he lost his bid with 10,668,886 votes, ranking 18th out of the 12 seats up for election. He conceded from the race on May 11, 2022. On October 7, 2024, Honasan filed his certificate of candidacy to run for senator in
2025, this time under
Reform PH Party. However, he lost once again, placing 28th. == Electoral history ==