The military installed Mrs. Corazon Aquino as revolutionary president, even though she had failed to overcome Marcos in the snap presidential election of Feb. 7, 1986 and had gone into hiding with the Pink Sisters in Cebu as the EDSA revolt broke out in Manila. Despite the props provided by external actors, Cory’s government could hardly mute nor mask its inherent dysfunctions. Lacking an authentic constitutional mandate, Cory had to face an EDSA-type revolt from the same forces that had installed her in power, for at least seven times during her six-and-a-half years. The deadliest of these nearly toppled her, were it not for the timely flyover of US jet fighters at the height of the coup attempt.
Ousting Estrada
Fifteen years later, under then-President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, EDSA made a dramatic reappearance. Led by then-Speaker Manuel Villar, the rich property developer from Las Piñas, the House of Representatives impeached Estrada for bribery and corruption without much of a fight, and the Articles of Impeachment promptly went up to the Senate for trial. Estrada was represented by some of the best lawyers in the profession—Andres Narvasa, former chief justice of the Supreme Court, Estelito Mendoza, former solicitor-general and secretary of justice, Raul Daza, former deputy speaker of the House where he had served three consecutive terms as congressman for the first district of Northern Samar. Then Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. presided over the trial. But the case was to be decided not on legal merits alone.
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