7 FEBRUARY

1986 - Philippine snap elections for the presidency and vice-presidency are held after  two years of  apparent instability and months of unrest following the assassination of former Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. in 1983, and  reports of poor health of strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos; incumbent President Marcos, who declared Martial Law in September 1972, has apparently succumbed to pressure from the international community to prove to the world that he still holds the mandate from the Filipinos; Marcos will officially win the snap polls but the opposition will claim massive cheating and the EDSA I "People Power" revolution will install Aquino's widow, Corazon Cojuanco Aquino, as President and her running mate, Salvador "Doy" Laurel as Vice-President two weeks later; some writers will later cast doubts as to whether Aquino is the real winner of the snap elections amidst future reports that in the 1980s, the United States, through the CIA-linked  National Endowment for Democracy (NED), heavily funded the National Movement for Free Elections, the "citizen's arm" that  trended in favor of Aquino (in contrast to the official Commission on Elections count led by Marcos) before abruptly stopping its quick count; the legacy of EDSA I would also be a subject of controversy--whether it truly restored democracy and improved the plight of the Filipinos or whether  it even set back the Philippines' economic development, lowered the living standard, and undermined or worsened the state of national independence in favor of compradors co opted by the United States.

Photo credits:

http://www.beda7882.com/Philippine_History.htm

http://ninoyaquino.50webs.com/
http://www.seasite.niu.edu/Tagalog/Tagalog_Default_files/Philippine_Culture/remembering_the_1986_people_power_revolution.htm