Philippines 1986 revolt marked with dictator’s son as leader

By JIM GOMEZ
Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Pro-democracy protesters have marked the anniversary of the 1986 “people power” revolt in the Philippines with the son of the dictator, who was ousted in that uprising, now the president in a stunning comeback. A few thousand demonstrators gathered Saturday at a democracy shrine along the main EDSA highway and at a nearby monument in the Manila metropolis. The 1986 uprising became a harbinger of change in authoritarian regimes across the world. Current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called for reconciliation, but a protest leader rejected the offer as a good sound bite that lacked “sincerity and substance.” The 1986 revolt drove Marcos Jr.’s father into U.S. exile, where he died three years later, without admitting accusations of plunder and human rights atrocities.