Presidential elections, commonly referred to as the 1986 snap election, were held in the Philippines on February 7, 1986. Incumbent president Ferdinand Marcos, facing pressure from the public, media, and international allies, agreed to call an election in November 1985. He was challenged by Corazon Aquino, the widow of assassinated opposition leader Ninoy Aquino.
Marcos called for the snap elections in an attempt to reassert legitimacy for his regime, which had ruled the Philippines for two decades, including a period of martial law from 1972 to 1981. However, Marcos was terminally ill and faced a series of challenges to his rule, beginning in 1983 with the Ninoy Aquino assassination, a period of rapid economic decline and civic discontent, and widespread public reporting on corruption and Marcos's misrepresentation of his military record.
The election itself was marred by substantial irregularities, political repression, and voting fraud. After the certified government results found Marcos had won, Aquino and the National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) challenged the legitimacy of the results through a campaign of mass demonstrations and civil disobedience, culminating in Marcos's deposition and exile. Aquino was inaugurated as the 11th president of the Philippines on February 25, and the Fifth Philippine Republic was established. Marcos later died in exile in Honolulu.
Background
Ferdinand Marcos was elected president of the Philippines in 1965 and re-elected in 1969. Despite his 1940 conviction for murdering his father's political rival, which was overturned on appeal, Marcos built a popular public image on his service record in World War II, when he was held as a prisoner of war by the Imperial Japanese Army, and his support for public spending on infrastructure projects. Throughout his political career, Marcos often exaggerated or misrepresented his military record, including claiming during his 1962 campaign for the Senate that he was "the most decorated war hero of the Philippines."
As president, Marcos received support from the Philippine armed forces and the United States, where he supported presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon in the Vietnam War. Following a period of social unrest, political violence, and a balance of payments crisis, and facing a two-term constitutional limit, Marcos declared martial law in September 1972, establishing himself as dictator through a 1973 constitutional plebiscite. He cited threats by radical communists and Muslim separatists, as well as the failed 1971 constitutional convention, to support his rule; critics accused him of exaggerating these threats to silence opposition.Talitha Espiritu Passionate Revolutions: The Media and the Rise and Fall of the Marcos Regime Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2017. Martial law was lifted in January 1981.
Assassination of Ninoy Aquino
During the period of martial law, Marcos marginalized and suppressed opposition politicians. Among the leaders of the opposition was Ninoy Aquino, who had been sentenced to death by a military commission but whom Marcos permitted to travel to the United States in 1980 for emergency triple bypass surgery. Aquino remained in the United States for three years, working at Harvard University, writing, lecturing, and becoming an iconic symbol of Philippine democracy and resistance to military rule.
In 1983, Aquino returned to the Philippines, as stipulated in the conditions for his release from prison. At the time, Marcos was seriously ill, and Aquino believed he could persuade Marcos to restore democracy before his death. However, Aquino was shot and killed aboard China Airlines Flight 811 while taxing at Manila International Airport. Sixteen military officers were later convicted for their involvement in the murder; while the Aquino family believed that Marcos had ordered it, no definitive proof has ever surfaced.
The assassination revived the domestic opposition, including in the press, and elevated Aquino's wife, Corazon, to the role of a central opposition figure. In the 1984 parliamentary elections, the opposition re-established its political power by winning thirty-five seats in the National Assembly under the banner of the United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO).
Influence of international media The end of military rule and the Aquino assassination led to increased scrutiny of the Marcos regime by the domestic and international press, beginning with a December 1982 article by Eduardo Lachica in The Wall Street Journal Asia, investigating the Marcos family's landholdings in New York City. The story was picked up in January 1985 by the San Jose Mercury News as part of a story on capital flight in the Philippines involving the Marcoses and their allies. Investigative reporters at the Mercury News revealed extensive holdings by members of the Philippine elite in New York, Chicago, and the San Francisco Bay Area. The series was reprinted in several Philippine local sources, leading to mass protests and an attempt to begin impeachment proceedings against Marcos. Marcos acceded to a brief independent inquiry into his conduct.
Additional reporting in the Mercury News, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times further painted the Marcos regime as a kleptocracy which extracted money from the United States, including money intended for humanitarian or other aid, and the Philippine public for personal gain. Although Marcos denied the allegations, they severely damaged his support in the United States and the Philippines.
Declaration of election On November 4, 1985, Sam Donaldson and George Will interviewed Marcos on the American Broadcasting Company political affairs program This Week with David Brinkley. Marcos was being asked about his policies and public support when, without warning, he announced that he would hold a snap election on February 7, 1986, a year earlier than the supposed 1987 election. Marcos said that in the snap election, the vice president would also be determined, but that the final decision regarding the election would be determined by the National Assembly. Despite initial concerns that the National Assembly, which was controlled by Marcos's New Society Movement, would not hold the elections, they passed a law on December 3, 1985, setting the date of the election on February 7, 1986.
Candidates and nominations The opposition was divided between Corazon Aquino, the widow of their assassinated leader, and Salvador Laurel, the son of former president Jose P. Laurel. Archbishop of Manila Jaime Sin talked to both candidates. Aquino was hesitant to run but said she would be willing to run if a petition campaign with at least a million signatures supported her. Doy was earnest to run, since he believed his family background, training, and experience had prepared him for the presidency.
Campaign The campaign period lasted 45 days from December 19, 1985, to February 5, 1986.While Batas Pambansa Blg. 883 mandated a campaign period starting on December 11, 1985, this law was put on hold until the Supreme Court upheld its constitutionality on December 19.
As the election campaign continued, Marcos was able to campaign in selected key cities while Aquino was able to campaign intensively and extensively, even going to remote places from the north of the Philippines to the south of the Philippines. The Aquino campaign concluded a rally in Rizal Park and Roxas Boulevard that is believed to have 800,000 participants, forming a "sea of yellow".
On February 4, Marcos declared February 6 and 7 as nationwide public holidays to "give all registered voters fullest opportunity to exercise their right of suffrage."
Election related violence Election related violence was prevalent throughout the campaign period - escalating until the day of the election and persisting even after the polls closed while the votes were being counted. Supporters, candidates, and organizers were assassinated in both planned assassinations and spontaneous disputes. Precincts were attacked by armed men and poll watchers were attacked, often while conveying the ballot boxes. Among the prominent killings were those of activists Amanteflor Torres in Cagayan, Michael Sumilang in Quezon Province, opposition organizers Jeremias de Jesus in Tarlac and Evelio Javier in Antique province and poll watchers Rodrigo Ponce in Capiz, Salvador Leaño in Romblon, and Francisco Laurella, Fernando Pastor Sr., and Fernando Pastor Jr. in Quirino Province.
Results
About 85,000 precincts opened at seven o'clock in the morning of Election Day. Each precinct was administered by a Board of Election Inspectors (BEI), which was tasked to oversee voting. The BEI did not continuously abide by the stipulated voting procedure, which raised the impression of fraud.
The voting period was also scheduled to close at three o'clock in the afternoon but was extended to give way for people who were in line. Counting of the ballots followed and in most precincts was able to finish by six o'clock in the evening.
Results showed that a huge percentage of eligible voters did not vote. Out of the 26 million registered voters, only 20 million ballots were cast. This showed a decreased percentage of voters from the 1984 election, which had 89% of registered voters cast their ballots, to around 76% during the snap election. Number of voters in the 1986 electionNumber of registered voters26,181,829Actual number of votes canvassed by the Batasan20,150,160Percentage of actual to registered voters76.96% A number of disenfranchised voters were evident during the snap election. Estimated number of disenfranchised voters1984 percentage of actual to registered voters89%1986 number of voters based on the 1984 percentage23,422,264Actual number of votes canvassed by the Batasan20,150,160Estimated number of disenfranchised voters3,272,104
COMELEC tally for president
The COMELEC proclaimed Marcos as the winner, receiving more than 1.5 million votes more than Aquino. In the COMELEC's tally, a total of 10,807,197 votes was for Marcos alone. Conversely, NAMFREL's partial tally had Aquino leading with more than half a million votes. By region Region Marcos Aquino Canoy Padilla Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes %Metro Manila1,394,81546.171,614,62253.457940.0310,6870.35I1,239,82574.00431,87725.782820.023,3990.20II856,02685.93139,66614.021110.013810.04III1,011,86050.031,008,15749.852430.012,2680.11IV1,190,80445.451,425,14354.393360.013,8310.15V433,80936.27761,53863.672580.023760.03VI902,68253.71777,31246.253860.022440.01VII773,60448.17827,91251.554,0120.253940.02VIII627,86860.38411,28439.554750.052130.02IX540,57059.41365,19540.133,6860.415050.06X563,54751.61519,84147.618,2440.762230.02XI609,54047.38662,79951.5213,4131.047730.06XII662,24765.52346,33034.271,8010.183580.04Total10,807,19753.62 9,291,716 46.10 34,041 0.17 23,652 0.12Source: Batasang Pambansa By province and city