This Day in History: What Happened Today in History – 25 February
February 25, 1986 marked the peaceful climax of the EDSA People Power Revolution in the Philippines. Corazon Aquino assumed the presidency as Ferdinand Marcos fled the country. Backed by millions of civilians and key military defections, the bloodless uprising restored democracy and inspired future non-violent movements worldwide.
The successful end of the people power revolution happened on February 25, 1986, in the Philippines when Corazon Aquino took office as the president only hours after Ferdinand Marcos had managed to escape the country. This peaceful revolution brought the termination of 20 years of dictatorship and democracy.
Corazon Aquino was inaugurated as the first woman president of the Philippines on February 25, 1986, at Club Filipino, San Juan in the middle of jubilant people.
With mounting defections and pressure by the United States, Marcos fled by helicopter out of Malacanang Palace to Clark Air Base then flew to Hawaii at approximately 9.45 PM as reported by DZRH radio. This was the end of a four-day EDSA Revolution, which was bloodless but a victory that was made by more than 2 million civilians.
What Happened on February 25?
This revolution was triggered by the controversial snap election on February 7, 1986, where Marcos emerged as the winner in the elections despite the massive vote frauds against Aquino.
On February 22, Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile and Lt. Gen. Fidel Ramos crossed over and encircled Camp Aguinaldo; Cardinal Jaime Sin marshaled citizens through Radio Veritas to establish human barricades. Minor attacks on Nagtahan Bridge and RPN-9 took place by morning on February 25, but no orders were issued by the Marines to advance, which saved non-violence.
Key Events Timeline
| Time/Date | Event |
| Feb 25, Early AM | Loyalists fire at Nagtahan barricades; Marines halt attack orders. |
| Feb 25, ~7 AM | Minor clash at RPN-9; rebel helicopter neutralizes snipers. |
| Feb 25, Morning | Aquino sworn in; Marcos family packs, flees Clark AFB ~9:45 PM. |
It was a peaceful transfer of power and civilians took up positions by blocking tanks in major places such as the Bamban Bridge.
Who were the Major Figures?
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Corazon or Cory Aquino: The widow of murdered senator Benigno or Ninoy Aquino Jr. and the opposition leader; inaugurated as president, a beacon of hope in democracy.
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Ferdinand Marcos: Dictator; his regime failed; escaped with family due to reluctance of Imelda when he called final times.
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Fidel Ramos and Juan Ponce Enrile: Military dissidents that led the insurrection; Ramos went on to become president.
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Jaime Cardinal Sin: Archbishop whose radio urges gathered the people to stand up in defense.
Other February 25 Events
In 1964, Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) defeated Sonny Liston through technical knockout to win the title of the boxing heavyweight.
At the 20th party congress, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev gave his 1956 speech in secret condemning Stalin. In 1870, Hiram Revels was elected the first African American U.S. Senator and in 1913, the 16th Amendment that gives authority to income tax was ratified.
The EDSA Revolution inspired non-violent revolutions all over the world such as the 2006 protests in Nepal, and established the 5th Republic of the Philippines led by Aquino. Although there were six coup attempts in the next six years, it has become an icon of people power with 2026 being the 40th anniversary of it with celebrations such as Manila Cathedral events.
Related | Today in History (23 February)
Related | Today in History (22 February)
Kirti Sharma is a journalist in the education domain with three and a half years of experience creating high-quality content for the education technology (EdTech) and digital media industries. She has an expertise in covering education news. Kirti has experience in writing data backed informational pieces on General knowledge.
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