Two Presidents In One Day

Today in History (Philatelic Edition):

FEBRUARY 25, 1986

Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, the wife of slain opposition leader Senator Benigno Aquino Jr., was sworn in as President of the Republic of the Philippines by Associate Justice Claudio Teehankee at Club Filipino, Metro Manila. 

An hour later, President Ferdinand E. Marcos took his oath as President before Chief Justice Ramon C. Aquino at the Rizal Ceremonial Hall of Malacañan Palace. 

Earlier, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) declared Marcos and his running mate Arturo Tolentino as the winners in the February 7, 1986 Presidential and Vice Presidential Snap Elections, and the Batasang Pambansa declared the incumbent president as the victor. 

On the other hand, the National Citizen's Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel), an election watchdog funded by the US government, declared Aquino and Salvador Laurel as the winners. 

The opposition refused to accept the COMELEC’s result and called for a nationwide protest and civil disobedience. 

On February 22, 1986, Philippine Constabulary Chief Fidel V. Ramos and Secretary of National Defense Juan Ponce Enrile, issued a joint statement asking President Marcos to resign. 

Together with their troops, they made Camp Aguinaldo and Camp Crame as their headquarters. 

President Marcos ordered his soldiers to put an end to the rebellion. People gathered along Epifanio de Los Santos Avenue (EDSA) after Jaime Cardinal Sin, the Archbishop of Manila, appealed to the masses to come to the streets and protect the rebel soldiers. 

Tanks, armored vehicles and troops loyal to Marcos stopped as people went on their knees to pray the rosary while others sang sacred hymns. 

Hours after he was sworn in as president, an American senator advised Marcos to vacate his position. 

By midnight, Marcos with his family boarded American helicopters and were flown to Clark Air Base in Angeles City, Pampanga. 

They were taken on board US Air Force DC-9 Medivac and C-141B planes to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, then to Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii where they lived in exile.

(Design, concept, stamps and research: Richard Allan B. Uy) All rights reserved

Photo credit: kahimyang project