Day One: The first People Power revolt

Day One: FVR, Enrile withdraw support from Marcos
Twenty years ago Wednesday marked the start of the first People Power revolt, the peaceful mass demonstration that ended the 21-year dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos and installed Corazon Aquino as president of the Philippines. The People Power uprising, also known as the EDSA revolution, earned worldwide praise for the bloodless restoration of democracy and was used as an inspiration in different countries to defend civil liberties. The defection of two top leaders of the military was critical in the historic event. At 6:45 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22, 1986, then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Lt. Gen. Fidel Ramos, who was Armed Forces Vice Chief of Staff at the time, withdrew their support from Marcos.

In a press conference, they accused Marcos of cheating in the snap elections on February 7, and called for his resignation. They said Aquino, widow of top opposition leader Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, was the rightful president. Aquino was assassinated on Aug. 21, 1983 at the Manila International Airport (now named after the fallen senator) on his return from three-year exile in the United States. His death sparked mass demonstrations nationwide against Marcos, leading to his downfall three years later. Days before the defection, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and the United States Senate said Marcos cheated in the elections. With the strength of about 300 soldiers, Enrile and Ramos barricaded Camps Crame and Aguinaldo along EDSA. They prepared for possible attacks from Marcos loyalists and troops led by Gen. Fabian Ver, the Armed Forces chief of staff. Radio Veritas, a Catholic-owned radio, replayed the rebel leaders' press conference on air a few hours later. Several Filipino civilians, most of middle-class origin, went to Radio Veritas to appeal for public support to Enrile and Ramos. Marcos conducted his own news press conference, calling on Enrile and Ramos to surrender. "Stop this stupidity," the dictator said. At around 9 p.m. over Radio Veritas, Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin called on Filipinos to support the rebel soldiers in EDSA. In a matter of hours, Filipinos from different parts of the Metro Manila and nearby provinces trooped to EDSA with food, medicine and other supplies for the soldiers.-GMANews.TV