Fourth Philippine Republic

The Fourth Philippine Republic, also known as the Fourth Republic of the Philippines (Repúbliká ng Pilipinas) (República de Filipinas) was established after Ferdinand Marcos Sr won the June 16, 1981, Philippine Presidential Election. Marcos announced the beginning of the Fourth Republic on June 30, during his inauguration speech. On February 25, 1986, due to the 1986 EDSA Revolution, Marcos ended into exile in Hawaii and Corazon Aquino became the 11th president of the Philippines. The Fourth Republic would come to an end under Aquino's leadership, and the Fifth Republic would commence with the adoption of a new constitution. Marcos officially lifted martial law on January 17, 1981. However, he retained much of the government's power for arrest and detention. At the time, Corruption, nepotism, as well as civil unrest contributed to a serious decline in economic growth and development under Marcos, whose own health faced obstacles due to lupus. The political opposition boycotted the 1981 presidential elections, which pitted Marcos and his Kilusang Bagong Lipunan party against retired Gen. Alejo Santos of the Nacionalista Party, in protest over his control over the results. Marcos won by a margin of over 16 million votes, which constitutionally allowed him to have another six-year term under the new Constitution that his administration crafted. Finance Minister Cesar Virata was eventually appointed to succeed Marcos as Prime Minister by the Batasang Pambansa. In 1983, opposition leader Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. was assassinated at Manila International Airport upon his return to the Philippines after a long period of exile in the United States. This coalesced popular dissatisfaction with Marcos began a series of events, including pressure from the United States, that culminated in a snap presidential election on February 7, 1986. The opposition united under Aquino's widow, Corazon Aquino, and Salvador Laurel, head of the United Nationalists Democratic Organizations (UNIDO).