Obituary: Pro-democracy leader who toppled Ferdinand Marcos

Corazon Aquino, the former president of the Philippines who ushered in democracy after two decades of dictatorship under Ferdinand Marcos, has died aged 76.

She died after losing a 16-month battle with cancer, her son Senator Benigno Aquino Jr said.

Aquino had been diagnosed with colon cancer and confined to a Manila hospital for more than a month. Her son said the cancer had spread to other organs and she was too weak to continue her chemotherapy. “Our mother peacefully passed away of cardio-respiratory arrest,” Aquino Jr, told reporters in Manila. “She would have wanted us to thank each and every one of you for all the prayers and your continuous love and support. It was her wish for all of us to pray for one another and for our country.”

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who is on an official visit to the US, said: “The entire nation is mourning.” She declared 10 days of official mourning and announced a state funeral would be held. Joseph Estrada, another former president of the country, said: “Today our country has lost a mother.” He described Aquino as “a woman of both strength and graciousness.”

Despite her ill health Aquino, a devout Catholic, had up until very recently kept up public appearances and was a regular at weekend mass.

She came to power after leading a “people power” revolt against Marcos and sustaining democracy by fighting off seven coup attempts in six years.

“I don’t know anything about the presidency,” she said in 1985, a year before she agreed to run against Marcos, uniting the opposition, the business community, and later the armed forces to drive the dictator out. Her decision to run followed the assassination of her husband, Ninoy Aquino. He rose from provincial governor to senator and finally opposition leader. But Marcos, who had been elected president in 1965, declared martial law in 1972 to avoid term limits. He abolished legislature and jailed Aquino’s husband and thousands of opponents, journalists and activists without charges. Aquino became her husband’s political stand-in, confidant, message carrier and spokeswoman.

A military tribunal sentenced her husband to death for alleged links to communist rebels but, under pressure from then US president Jimmy Carter, Marcos allowed him to leave in May 1980 for heart surgery in America. After three years in exile he returned to the Philippines to regroup the opposition but was shot dead descending the stairs from the plane.

A week later Aquino led the largest funeral procession Manila had seen. With opposition mounting against Marcos, Aquino stood against him in elections and was sworn in as the country’s first female leader on 25 February 1986. The 1986 uprising ended a repressive 20-year regime and inspired non-violent protests across the world, including those that ended communist rule in eastern Europe.

Over time, the euphoria faded as the public became impatient and Aquino struggled to build alliances to push her agenda.Her leadership was labelled indecisive, leaving many of her closest allies disillusioned by the end of her term.

“People used to compare me to the ideal president, but he doesn’t exist and never existed. He has never lived,” she said in 2007.