Caricature of President Corazon Aquino

11th President of the Republic of the Philippines

February 25, 1986 - June 30, 1992

Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, popularly known as "Cory" or "Tita Cory" (Auntie Cory) was born on January 25, 1933 to Jose Cojuangco of Tarlac and Demetria Sumulong of Antipolo Rizal. She was the sixth of the eight children.

In 1954, Cory gave up her law studies and married Benigno Servillano "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr., the son of former Speaker of the National Assembly Benigno Aquino. They had five children, the only son Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III, who was a former congressman, a senator, and later on elected as Philippine President on May 2010 presidential election, and four daughters, Maria Elena A. Cruz, Aurora Corazon A. Abellada, Victoria Eliza A. Dee, and a famous celebrity of Philippine movie and television host Kristina Bernadette Aquino.

Her husband was a member of the Liberal Party, wherein 1955 was elected town's mayor at the age of 22, Ninoy rose to be governor of Tarlac, and in 1967, was elected as Senator. Ninoy was known to be as one of the leading critic of the government of President Ferdinand Marcos and there was a wide speculation that he would run in the next presidential election. However, Marcos declared martial law on September 21,1972, and Ninoy was among those arrested and became political prisoner.

Although imprisoned, Aquino's husband decided to run in the 1978 Batasang Pambansa elections.She campaigned in behalf of her husband and need to delivered a political speech, though she's willing to relinquished having to speak in public, her daughter Kris who was on ly six year old then was more than willing to speak on stage.

In 1980, Marcos allowed Senator Aquino and his family to leave for exile in the United States to sought medical treatment. The Aquino's settled in Boston where Cory call the next three years as the happiest days of her marriage.

Benigno Aquino returned to the Philippines on August 21, 1983 but was assassinated before his feet reach the ground of the Manila International Airport, which was later renamed in his honor. Cory and her children return to the Philippines to led her husbands funeral rites which was attended by more than two million people. It was the biggest ever in the Philippine history.

Since then, Cory participated in many of the mass actions against the government of President Marcos. In November 1985, Marcos announced a snap presidential election to be held in February 1986. It was Senator Salvador Laurel, the son of former president Jose Laurel was the first seen to be the candidate of the opposition. Business tycoon Don Joaquin "Chino" Roces was not convinced Laurel could defeat Marcos. Roces initiated the Cory Aquino for President Movement to gather one million signature in one week for Aquino to run as president.

The election was held on February 7, 1986. The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed Marcos in the lead in the official tally, while the unofficial tally of the National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) indicated that Aquino was leading. Despite the walkout of the 30 COMELEC computer technicians alleging election-rigging in favor of Marcos, the presidents allies in the Batasang Pambansa ratified the official count and proclaimed Marcos as the winner on February 15, 1986. The Catholic Bishops of the Philippines and the United States Senate condemned the election, and Cory called for a general strike and a boycott of business enterprises controlled by Marcos allies.

The People Power was triggered on February 22, 1986, the two key allies of Marcos, Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Armed Forces Vice-Chief of Staff Fidel Ramos called on Marcos to resign. Aquino returned to Manila from Cebu City when the revolt broke out and joined the swelling crowd. On the morning of February 25, 1986, Aquino took the presidential oath of office administered by Supreme Court Associate Justice Claudio Teehankee at the Club Filipino in San Juan. On the same day, Marcos sworn into office at Malacanang Palace, but fled into exile later that night.

Cory Aquino, the first women president in Asia, faced the massive taske of restoring the nation. She established a revolutionary government and appointed a fifty-member Constitutional Commission to draft a new constitution we now called the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines.

Despite of her popularity and the popularity of the new constitution, Cory Aquino faced seven military coup attempts. Although eligible to run for a second term, Aquino chose to back her then Defense Secretary Fidel Ramos as candidate for president in the May 1992 presidential elections. At the end of her term Cory retired to private life but still speaks out about major issues in government and Philippine politics.

On March 24, 2008, Cory Aquino was diagnosed with cancer of the colon where she has undergone a series of chemotherapy sessions. After a year of battling against cancer, Aquino underwent a laparoscopic surgery at the Makati Medical Center. Aquino died of cardiorespiratory arrest after complications of colon cancer on August 1, 2009 at the age of 76, at the Makati Medical Center. The Aquino family declined an invitation by the government for a state funeral.  Hundreds of thousands Filipino's mourn on the death of the former president. The funeral procession lasted for almost eight hours before she was placed in the mausoleum beside her husband Ninoy resting place.

Cory Aquino was known as the icon of democracy not only in the Philippines but in the whole Asia.