She Was The First Female President Of The Philippines, And She Went On Quite A Journey To Make Her Place In History
It’s so interesting to learn about women who were “firsts” in history. For example, do you know who the first female president of the Philippines was?
Her name was Corazon Aquino, and she went on quite a journey to make her place in history.
Corazon was born in Paniqui, Tarlac, in the Philippines, in 1933. She was born into a wealthy family that owned a sugar plantation. Corazon moved to the United States for high school and attended the College of Mount St. Vincent in New York City.
She received her major in French and minored in mathematics in 1953.
After graduating from college, Corazon returned to the Philippines and met her husband, Benigno Aquino Jr., while attending law school at Far Eastern University. She eventually dropped out and married Benigno in 1954. They had five children together.
Benigno was a politician and a member of the liberal party. In 1961, he was elected as the youngest governor in the country and eventually became a senator to the Senate of the Philippines in 1967.
Corazon supported her husband and mostly stayed in the background and raised their children during his campaigns.
Benigno was a strong critic of President Ferdinand Marcos, who declared martial law in the Philippines in 1972, which allowed him to stay in power. During this time, he had Benigno arrested.
United States President Jimmy Carter requested that Corazon, Benigno, and their family be released into medical exile in America in 1980. They lived in Boston for three years. In 1983, Benigno returned to the Philippines by himself and was tragically assassinated.
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After her husband’s death, Corazon returned to the Philippines and began strongly campaigning against President Marcos. She participated in the People Power Revolution and was a part of many peaceful protests and demonstrations against the Marcos administration.
Before long, tons of people in the revolution encouraged Corazon to run against Ferdinand Marcos for president, and over a million people supported her by signing a petition.
An election was held for Corazon and President Marcos in February of 1986, and significant voting fraud occurred. President Marcos verbally attacked Corazon during his campaign, stating that Corazon couldn’t handle being president because she was a woman.
After the polls closed, Corazon was believed to be the winner, but President Marcos was officially declared to have won the election. He even called upon President Ronald Reagan, who gave him support.
Disappointed in the election results, many peaceful protests against President Marcos and the fraudulent election occurred within the Philippines. President Marcos eventually retreated to the United States to live in exile.
On February 25th, 1986, Corazon was sworn in as President Corazon Aquino, the first female president of the Philippines. President Corazon served for one term and reinstated the country’s constitution. Although many of former President Marcos’ supporters tried to run her out of office, she stayed strong and focused on issues that meant a lot to her, like lowering violence rates and external debt in her country.
Toward the end of her presidency, Corazon was criticized for her economic policies and was succeeded as president by her former defense secretary, Fidel Ramos. Corazon stayed active in the political scene following her presidency, speaking at rallies and standing behind candidates she believed in, including her only son, Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, who became a senator in 2007.
Corazon was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2008 and passed away in 2009 at the age of 76. She’s since been recognized and honored with memorials and many public landmarks named after her. What a fascinating life she led!
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