Thread by @indiohistorian

#TodayinHistory in 1986, after a plot to assault Malacañang was foiled, Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile & AFP Vice Chief-of-Staff Fidel V. Ramos held a press con announcing defection from Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

Jaime Cardinal Sin urged people to protect them. #EDSA37 #History

In 1985, to placate the growing concern of the int'l community on #PH under Marcos, Marcos agreed to a Snap Elections on 7 Feb 1986. Corazon Aquino & Salvador Laurel ran as opposition.

https://twitter.com/indiohistorian/status/1466739973127020548

On election day, & days that followed for tally & canvassing of votes, int'l observers note widespread fraud & violence threatening the integrity of the elections. Upon announcement in Batasan that Marcos won, majority of people boycotted crony companies.

https://twitter.com/indiohistorian/status/1622851013991596032

On 21 Feb, a plot by the military vs. Marcos was uncovered: the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) planned to attack Malacañang on Feb 23 at 1:30 am from the palace riverside, arrest Ferdinand & Imelda Marcos in their bedroom, & declare a military junta.

RAM was formed in 1980 by Col. Gringo Honasan (w/ blessing from Enrile). In Jan. 1986, the plan was hatched. Honasan persuaded Maj. Edgardo Doromal of the Presidential Security Command to join RAM & be a mole in the Palace.

Doromal, however, couldn't keep it to himself. Paranoid he would be implicated, he revealed the plot to Col. Irwin Ver, who revealed it to his father, Fabian Ver. Thus, #onthisday, from 2 to 3 am, all military personnel linked to RAM were arrested...

with tightened cordon around the Palace. Enrile decided to defect openly. In the afternoon, Enrile sought support from AFP Vice Chief of Staff Fidel V. Ramos, Marcos’ cousin, who had resented Marcos for letting Ver overstay as AFP Chief of Staff.

Ramos endured humiliation for RAM—he stood in as back up should the plot fail. #OnThisDay in 1986, at around 7pm, Enrile & Ramos held a press con at Camp Aguinaldo, announcing their defection on live TV. They called on PMAers & the military to join them, or be neutral.

Radyo Veritas broadcasted it. It was in this same press con where Enrile revealed that the ambush on him at Wack-Wack, Greenhills on 22 Sept 1972, one of the basis for Martial Law, was fake. Enrile would soon deny this, even in his autobiography in 2012.

https://twitter.com/indiohistorian/status/1572812226943393793

Here is a clip from the press conference, with Enrile saying that Marcos Sr. cheated the will of the People in the Snap Elections of 1986. Clip, courtesy of @ProjectGunitaPH.

At approx. 9:00 pm via Radyo Veritas, Jaime Cardinal Sin called upon people to support the defectors: "Leave your homes now... I ask you to support Mr. Enrile & Gen. Ramos. Give them food if you like. They are our friends." A throng of people began assembling at Camp Aguinaldo.

People formed barricades, armed w/ nothing but bibles, rosaries, & goods. The large spontaneous turnout prove wide discontent, as many believed that the recent Snap Elections & the result, were fraudulent. It would be the 1st day of #EDSA86.

Photos:
- Enrile & Ramos' Press Con at the Defense Minister office at Camp Aguinaldo, 22 Feb 1986, 📸 :Peter Charlesworth
-The press con, @inquirerdotnet
- Jaime Cardinal Sin speaking in an event, c. 1988