1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,480 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey I'm Eves and you're listening to This 3 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:10,840 Speaker 1: Day in History Class, a podcast that proves history is 4 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:27,120 Speaker 1: always happening. Today is February. The day was February. N S. 5 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:32,360 Speaker 1: Corrazone Aquino became the eleventh President of the Philippines and 6 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:36,840 Speaker 1: the first woman to hold the office. Akenyo was born 7 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 1: in a province north of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. 8 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:44,599 Speaker 1: Her family was wealthy and prominent in politics. They were 9 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:49,280 Speaker 1: of Chinese, Filipino, and Spanish descent. The family owned a 10 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:54,000 Speaker 1: sugar plantation that covered thousands of acres. Akenyo went to 11 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:57,240 Speaker 1: a Catholic school for girls in Manila until she was thirteen. 12 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:00,360 Speaker 1: At that point, she went to the United States, where 13 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:04,360 Speaker 1: she attended raven Hill Academy in Philadelphia and the Notre 14 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:07,880 Speaker 1: Dame Convent School in New York. In nineteen fifty three, 15 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:11,320 Speaker 1: she graduated from the College of Mount Saint Vincent, where 16 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:15,800 Speaker 1: she majored in French and minored in mathematics. Akenyo went 17 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:18,959 Speaker 1: back to Manila and enrolled in law school, but she 18 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 1: soon left school and married Bnino Akenyo Jr. Who was 19 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:26,800 Speaker 1: also from a wealthy family. Over the years, the couple 20 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 1: had five children together. Just a year after they married, Ninoy, 21 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:34,959 Speaker 1: as her husband was known, was elected mayor of the 22 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:38,559 Speaker 1: city of Concepcion. As he rose in his political career, 23 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:42,920 Speaker 1: he became the youngest territorial governor and later youngest senator 24 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:47,760 Speaker 1: in the Philippines. At the same time, Corrazone Akino focused 25 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:50,800 Speaker 1: her attention on taking care of the family, but Ninoi 26 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:54,560 Speaker 1: was a vocal opponent of the regime of President Ferdinand Marcos. 27 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:58,560 Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy two, Marcos declared martial law in the 28 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:01,880 Speaker 1: Philippines and ex ended his rule beyond the limit of 29 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:06,680 Speaker 1: two terms. Ninoi was expected to win the nineteen seventy 30 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 1: three presidential election, so he was one of the first 31 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 1: people put in jail on made up charges, including murder 32 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:18,280 Speaker 1: and firearms possession. Ninoi spent nearly eight years in prison. 33 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:22,240 Speaker 1: While he was imprisoned, his wife became more politicized and 34 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 1: acted as his liaison to the public. Carzon A Keno 35 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:29,440 Speaker 1: memorized his speeches and gave them to the press. When 36 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:33,239 Speaker 1: Marcos decided to hold parliamentary elections in nineteen seventy eight 37 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:36,720 Speaker 1: under a guise of democracy Ninoi ran for a seat 38 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:40,360 Speaker 1: in parliament, with Corasone running a large part of the campaign. 39 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:45,560 Speaker 1: Despite the fact that Ninoi got overwhelming support, Marcos rigged 40 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:50,080 Speaker 1: and won the election. The Akenyo family moved to Massachusetts 41 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:54,480 Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty after US President Jimmy Carter pressured Marcos 42 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:57,799 Speaker 1: to release Ninoi from prison so he could undergo heart surgery. 43 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:01,480 Speaker 1: Carralson described her time in the Boston area as some 44 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:04,360 Speaker 1: of the best years of her life. But in nineteen 45 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:07,400 Speaker 1: eighty three, Lenoi returned to the Philippines to help with 46 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:11,359 Speaker 1: parliamentary elections. He was assassinated when he arrived at the 47 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 1: Manila Airport. Akeenyo then became a central figure in anti 48 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:20,120 Speaker 1: Marcos politics. As a leader in this charge, known as 49 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:23,799 Speaker 1: the People Power Movement, she took part in demonstrations against 50 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:27,680 Speaker 1: the regime. When Marcos called for elections in nineteen eighty five, 51 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:33,079 Speaker 1: Akenyo supporters urged her to run for president. After initial hesitancy, 52 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:36,280 Speaker 1: she agreed to run and picked Salvador Laurel as her 53 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:40,400 Speaker 1: running mate. They ran under his coalition, the United Nationalist 54 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:45,000 Speaker 1: Democratic Organization, so Marcos charged her with a lack of 55 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:49,720 Speaker 1: political experience. Akenyo gained support through her opposition to the president, 56 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:53,360 Speaker 1: though it was clear that Akeenyo was winning. When the 57 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:57,400 Speaker 1: polls closed on February seventh, nineteen eighty six, the government 58 00:03:57,400 --> 00:04:02,400 Speaker 1: declared Marcos the winner. A Kenyo and her supporters protested 59 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:06,680 Speaker 1: the outcome, and after weeks of conflict, Marcos fled the Philippines. 60 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 1: A Kenya was sworn in as the first female president 61 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:17,480 Speaker 1: of the Philippines on February night. During her presidency, several 62 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:21,640 Speaker 1: coups attempted to remove her from office. She promoted land reform, 63 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:25,640 Speaker 1: free speech, and the prosecution of human rights abusers, but 64 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 1: many of these promises went unfulfilled during her tenure. Besides 65 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:32,440 Speaker 1: the political challenges she faced, she had to deal with 66 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 1: natural disasters and power failures. She remained president until June 67 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 1: of nine. A Kenya was diagnosed with cancer in two 68 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 1: thousand eight, and she died the next year. Months later, 69 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:50,279 Speaker 1: her son was elected President of the Philippines. I'm Eve Jeffcote, 70 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:53,200 Speaker 1: and hopefully you know a little more about history today 71 00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:56,800 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. If you're hungry for more history, 72 00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:00,640 Speaker 1: you can find us on Twitter, Facebook, and in Stagram 73 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:05,719 Speaker 1: at t d I h C podcast. We also accept 74 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:10,799 Speaker 1: electronic letters at this day. 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