FACT-CHECK: Marcos did not flee PH in 1986 to “prevent violence”

Aug 30, 2022 | Fact Checked by PressOnePH

This is an oft-repeated narrative by Marcos supporters. Even assuming there’s some truth to the claim, it doesn’t tell the real story, thus we rate it false.

Claim: The late dictator Ferdinand Marcos left the Philippines following the 1986 People Power revolt to prevent violence and bloodshed

Rating: False

In a video that has been viewed 34,000 times, Facebook page “BBM SARA Tv’s” claimed that the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos left the Philippines following the 1986 People Power revolt to prevent violence and bloodshed.

This is an oft-repeated narrative by Marcos supporters. Even assuming there’s some truth to the claim, it doesn’t tell the real story, thus we rate it false.

“Ganito pla ang nang yari noong election Feb.07,1986 Panalo pa din ang dating pangulo pero hindi matanggap ng kalaban kya gumawa ng paraan at un ang edsa revolution mas pinili na lamang umalis ng bansa ng Dating Pangulo upang maiwasan ang pag danak ng dugo at maramibg nasaktan.salute Dating Pangulo FEM mas inidip nyo ang kapakanan ng sambayanan kaysa pangsarili lamang,” the caption of the Aug. 6 video claimed.

The downfall of the Marcos regime is well-documented.

“Marcos, who fled aboard American helicopters to the U.S. Air Force’s nearby Clark Air Base, was brought down by a combination of a “people’s power” uprising, military revolt and U.S. pressure,” the Associated Press, an American wire service, reported on Feb. 26, 1986.

A million Filipinos took to Epifanio de los Santos Avenue or EDSA, in between two military camps, to protect Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Armed Forces Vice Chief of Staff Fidel Ramos, who had defected from Marcos.

The New York Times reported that Marcos wanted to stay on with the help of the US. “The departure of Mr. Marcos from Manila ended a day in which he pleaded with Washington for help in clinging to office, then went through an inaugural ceremony that was held apparently after he had decided to leave,” the paper reported.

The US had a big role in the exile of the Marcoses to American soil. Washington in fact offered a safe haven to the deposed strongman and his family.

The Chicago Tribune wrote that “Marcos was a particular favorite of Ronald Reagan, who shared his unflinching views on communism.”

“In the end, though, it was Reagan who pulled the rug from under Marcos,” it said.

 

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