Political leader and president from (1986 to 1992) of the
Philippines. In 1983 she succeeded her murdered husband,
Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr.(A popular critic of the Marcos
administration), as leader of the opposition to President
Ferdinand Marcos. No one could have imagined that Cory
Aquino would become a president of the Philippines.
"As I came to power peacefully, so shall I keep it."
Corazon "Cory" Aquino, the first woman to become
president of the Philippines, was born in Tarlac on January
25, 1933. Her parents are Don Jose Cojuangco and Do�a
Demetria Sumulong. Cory was the sixth among the eight
children of the Sumulong. Corazon Aquino's children are
Maria Elena Aquino, Aurora Corazon, Victoria Eliza,
Noynoy and Kris Aquino, her youngest child is a TV and
movie personality.
Corazon Cojuangco was born into a wealthy, politically
prominent family based in Tarlac province, north of Manila.
In 1946, her family left for the U.S. and she enrolled at
Ravenhill Academy in Philadelphia. She finished her junior
and senior years at Notre Dame College in New York.
She entered Mount Saint Vincent College in New York
City in 1949 where she finished a Bachelor of Arts, major
in French. In 1953, she returned to the Philippines to take
up law at the Far Eastern University, but then abandoned
further studies in 1955 to marry Benigno Aquino, who was
then a promising young politician. Cory remained in the
background during her husband's subsequent career,
rearing their five children at home and later in exile. Her
husband was assassinated upon his return to the Philippines
in August 1983.
When Ferdinand Marcos unexpectedly called for
presidential election in February 1986, Corazon Aquino
become the unified opposition's candidate for the
presidency. Though she was officially reported to have lost
the election to Marcos, Aquino and her supporters
challenged the results, charging widespread voting fraud.
High officials in the Philippines military soon publicly
renounced Marcos continued rule and proclaimed Aquino
the Philippines rightful president. On February 25, 1986,
both Aquino and Marcos were inagurated as president by
their respective suppoerters but that same day Marcos fled
the country.
In March 1986 she proclaimed a provisional constitution
and soon thereafter appointed a commission to write a new
constitution. The resulting document was ratified by a
landslide popular vote in February 1987. Inspite of her
continous popular support, Aquino faced an ongoing outcry
over economic injustice, a problem that was only
exacerbated by continuing warfare between the communist
insurgency and a military whose loyalties to Aquino were
uncertain. In general, her economic policies were criticized
for being mixed or faltering in the face of mass poverty.
Aquino children are Maria Elena Aquino, Aurora Corazon,
Victoria Eliza, Noynoy and Kris Aquino. Her youngest
child is a TV & movie personality.