Why is former Philippine president Cory Aquino in the news today?”
Aquino, heroine of Philippine people power, dies 2 hrs 21 mins ago MANILA (Reuters) – Former President Corazon Aquino, whose “people power” revolution swept dictator Ferdinand Marcos from power in the Philippines, died on Saturday after a 16-month battle against colon cancer, her family said. She was 76. Aquino was diagnosed with the disease in March 2008 but kept up public appearances this year. A devout Catholic, she was a regular at weekend mass until shortly before being admitted to hospital in late June. “Our mother peacefully passed away at 3:18 a.m. (1918 GMT Friday) of cardio-respiratory arrest,” her son, Senator Benigno Aquino Jr., told reporters in Manila. Aquino, known as Cory to millions of Filipinos, was president from 1986 to 1992 and will be best remembered as the slim woman in yellow who deposed Marcos in 1986. The tumultuous events of those weeks reached a crescendo when up to 1 million people waving rosaries and flowers stopped tanks advancing toward Aquino-backed arm
Former President Corazon Aquino, who swept away a dictator with a “people power” revolt and then sustained democracy by fighting off seven coup attempts in six years, died on Saturday, her son said. She was 76. The uprising she led in 1986 ended the repressive 20-year regime of Ferdinand Marcos and inspired nonviolent protests across the globe, including those that ended Communist rule in eastern Europe. But she struggled in office to meet high public expectations. Her land redistribution program fell short of ending economic domination by the landed elite, including her own family. Her leadership, especially in social and economic reform, was often indecisive, leaving many of her closest allies disillusioned by the end of her term. Still, the bespectacled, smiling woman in her trademark yellow dress remained beloved in the Philippines, where she was affectionately referred to as “Tita (Auntie) Cory.” “She was headstrong and single-minded in one goal, and that was to remove all vestige
