In late February 1986 the People Power revolution in the Philippines forced the dictator Ferdinand Marcos to flee the country, ending his 20-year rule and installing Corazon Aquino as president. Marcos had ruled since 1965 and had governed under martial law since 1972. After the 1983 assassination of opposition leader Benigno Aquino and a fraudulent February 1986 snap election in which Marcos claimed victory over Aquino's widow Corazon, mass civil resistance erupted.
From February 22 to 25, 1986 hundreds of thousands of Filipinos gathered on Epifanio de los Santos Avenue in Manila, joined by defecting military officers led by Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and General Fidel Ramos, and by the Catholic Church under Cardinal Sin. With his support collapsing, Marcos and his family were airlifted by the United States to exile in Hawaii on February 25, 1986, and Corazon Aquino was inaugurated as president.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Target identified in Coup Atlas research: President Ferdinand Marcos, forced from power in late February 1986 by the People Power uprising and military defections; he and his family fled to exile in Hawaii.
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Ferdinand Marcos (dictator who fled)
Corazon Aquino (inaugurated as president)
Juan Ponce Enrile and Fidel Ramos (defecting military leaders)
Sources
The People Power Revolution was a series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines from February 22 to 25, 1986, a sustained campaign of civil resistance against regime violence and electoral fraud that led to the departure of Ferdinand Marcos, the end of his 20-year dictatorship, and the restoration of democracy.
SOURCE REVIEWEDWikipedia, People Power Revolutionopen source ↗
The protests ended with the ruler, his family, and some of their supporters fleeing to exile in Hawaii, and Ninoy Aquino's widow Corazon Aquino inaugurated as the eleventh President of the Philippines, with the Marcoses flown to Clark Air Base and then boarding a U.S. provided plane into exile.
SOURCE REVIEWEDWikipedia, People Power Revolutionopen source ↗
Faced with mounting pressure, loss of military support, and dwindling backing from the United States, Marcos and his family were airlifted from the presidential palace to exile in Hawaii on February 25, 1986, marking the end of his authoritarian regime and a transition to a more democratic government under Aquino.
SOURCE REVIEWEDEBSCO Research Starters, Marcos Flees the Philippinesopen source ↗
Marcos ordered the military to repress the mass action, but a faction of military officers refused to clamp down and chose instead to defect, a group that included soldiers who had formed the Reform the Armed Forces Movement, led with Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Deputy Chief of Staff Fidel Ramos allying with the Aquino forces to topple Marcos.
SOURCE REVIEWEDOrigins (Ohio State), The People Power Revolutionopen source ↗
Editorial Note
Coding note and dataset examination: the dataset labels this a military coup, but the People Power revolution is more precisely a mass nonviolent popular uprising combined with a military mutiny and defection; the record enriches it as coded while making the nature explicit. The immediate spark included a failed coup attempt by the Reform the Armed Forces Movement, which was then protected by the civilian crowds at EDSA, and Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and General Fidel Ramos defected and allied with the opposition, so a genuine military-revolt element is present alongside the civilian uprising. Fate coding: Ferdinand Marcos fled to exile in Hawaii aboard a US-provided aircraft, matching the dataset's fled-the-country fate; he died in exile in 1989. Contested subject handled neutrally: the legitimacy of the 1986 snap election (Marcos claimed victory; independent monitors and the opposition said Aquino won) is recorded as a documented dispute rather than adjudicated. Context recorded: the 1983 assassination of Benigno Aquino, martial law since 1972, and documented human-rights abuses are noted as drivers. Aftermath: Corazon Aquino was inaugurated president and later faced several coup attempts by the same RAM officers, later context.
Cross-Reference
Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: President Ferdinand Marcos, forced from power in late February 1986 by the People Power uprising and military defections; he and his family fled to exile in Hawaii..
Baseline coding: Incumbent executive removed from power. Recorded leader fate: deposed; fled the country. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
“More Join revolt,” by Seth Mydans, February 24, 1986
“Rebels Inaugurate Aquino as President,” by Clyde Haberman, February 25, 1986
“Marcos Flees and is Taken to Guam; US recognizes Aquino as President,” February 26, 1986
“3 Tumultuous Days: Key Events Since the Seizing of the Defense Ministry,” February 25, 1986
“After the Fall, Joyous Pandemonium Grips Manila,” by Clyde Haberman, February 26, 1986
“Autocrat With a Regal Manner, Marcos Ruled for 2 Decades,” September 29, 1989
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →