Corazon Aquino

María Corazón "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was the 11th president of the Philippines, holding office from 1986 to 1992. She was the first woman to become president in the country’s history and the central figure of the 1986 People Power Revolution, a non-violent uprising that toppled Ferdinand Marcos after two decades in power and ushered in the current democratic Fifth Philippine Republic. Media outlets have often called her the "Mother of Democracy."

Aquino was married to Senator Benigno Aquino Jr., a leading critic of Marcos. They had five children, including future president Benigno Aquino III and entertainer Kris Aquino. After her husband was assassinated on August 21, 1983, she became the head of the opposition. In late 1985, Marcos called a snap election; Aquino ran for president with former Senator Salvador Laurel as her vice-presidential candidate. The February 7, 1986 election was officially won by Marcos and his running mate Arturo Tolentino, but widespread allegations of fraud led Aquino to call for mass civil disobedience. From February 22 to 25, the People Power Revolution—backed by the Philippine Catholic Church and defections from the military—forced Marcos out. Aquino, who had no prior political experience, was sworn in as president on February 25, 1986.

As president, Aquino led the drafting of the 1987 Constitution, which reduced presidential powers, re-established a bicameral Congress, and replaced the previous dictatorial structure. The constitution also made social justice and equality central to national development, promoting civil liberties, democratic participation, and social unity after authoritarian rule. Her economic policies aimed to improve the country’s international standing, break up crony capitalist monopolies from the Marcos era, and emphasize free markets and responsible governance. Her administration pursued peace talks to end the Moro conflict, resulting in the creation of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Aquino faced criticism for the Mendiola Massacre, in which at least 12 peaceful protesters were shot dead by state security forces. Her later years in office saw several natural disasters, including the 1990 Luzon earthquake, the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, and Tropical Storm Thelma. Multiple coup attempts were made against her government. She left office in 1992 but remained politically active. In 2008, she was diagnosed with colorectal cancer and died the following year. Her funeral drew global media attention, and many monuments and public landmarks in the Philippines were named in her honor.

**Early life and education**

Cory Aquino was born María Corazón Sumulong Cojuangco on January 25, 1933, in Paniqui, Tarlac, into the prominent Cojuangco family. Her father, José Cojuangco, was a businessman and former congressman; her mother, Demetria Sumulong, was a pharmacist. Both sides of her family had deep political roots: her paternal grandfather, Melecio Cojuangco, served in the historic Malolos Congress, and her mother’s family, the Sumulongs of Rizal province, included Juan Sumulong (who ran against President Manuel L. Quezon in 1941) and Senator Lorenzo Sumulong (later appointed by Aquino to the Constitutional Commission). She was the sixth of eight children; two died in infancy. Her surviving siblings were Pedro, Josephine, Teresita, Jose Jr., and Maria Paz.

She attended elementary school at St. Scholastica’s College in Manila, graduating as valedictorian. For high school, she moved to Assumption Convent in Manila, then to Ravenhill Academy in Philadelphia after her family relocated to the United States. She finished high school at Notre Dame Convent School in New York City in 1949. While in the U.S., she volunteered for Republican candidate Thomas Dewey’s 1948 presidential campaign against incumbent Harry S. Truman. She went on to study at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in New York, graduating in 1953 with a major in French and a minor in mathematics.

**Wife of Benigno Aquino Jr.**

After college, she returned to the Philippines and began studying law at Far Eastern University in 1953. There she met Benigno "Ninoy" S. Aquino Jr., son of the late Speaker Benigno S. Aquino Sr. and grandson of General Servillano Aquino. She left her law studies and married him on October 11, 1954, at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Pasay, Rizal. They had five children: Maria Elena ("Ballsy"; born 1955), Aurora Corazon ("Pinky"; born 1957), Benigno Simeon III ("Noynoy"; 1960–2021), Victoria Elisa ("Viel"; born 1961), and Kristina Bernadette ("Kris"; born 1971).

Aquino initially struggled with the quiet provincial life when she and her husband moved to Concepcion, Tarlac in 1955. She found it boring and welcomed dinners with her husband at the nearby Clark Field American military facility. Later, the family moved to a bungalow in suburban Quezon City.