September 22, 2008 · Posted in: Image Galleries

Prelude to a dictator’s downfall

ON the occasion of the 36th anniversary of Ferdinand Marcos’s declaration of martial law yesterday, we are sharing with our readers images of the assassination of former Senator Benigno ‘Ninoy’ S. Aquino Jr. upon arriving at the Manila International Airport on August 21, 1983. Aquino’s murder sparked the groundswell of protest against the Marcoses, culminating in the first People Power revolt in February 1986 that finally toppled the 14-year Marcos dictatorship.

From that day on, many photojournalists began to defy Marcos’s propaganda apparatus as they bravely documented Aquino’s wake and funeral march, and the surge in anti-Marcos rallies and demonstrations that challenged the government following the opposition leader’s murder.

Some of these images are collected in these featured galleries of the following photojournalists:

  • Luciano Caliwan
  • Sonny Camarillo
  • Bullit Marquez
  • Recto Mercene
  • Noli Yamsuan

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