From Dictatorship to Democracy

First broadcast February 2006

On 22 February 1986, the Philippine people brought down a dictatorship and restored democracy in their dramatic four-day People Power Revolution.

They braved tanks and armed forces to overthrow the dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, who was accused of corruption, infringing human rights and election fraud.

In this landmark series marking the twentieth anniversary of the revolution, Rosie Goldsmith meets key players in the events of 1986 and since, drawing on an exciting archive of material from that period.

In pictures: Key players in the 1986 revolution

Part One: People Power

In February 1986, nearly two million Filipinos assembled on a long street, the EDSA Avenue, in the capital Manila. Their aim was to topple the oppressive regime of the dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, and to restore democracy.

No blood was shed, and Marcos left the country quietly.

In finding out how the seeds of struggle were sewn, Rosie Goldsmith meets key players in the remarkable events leading up to revolution, including Stephen Bosworth, the US Ambassador at the time, Ferdiand and Imelda Marcos's daughter Imee, and Cory Aquino, the woman who took over as the new president of the Philippines.

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