August 1987 Philippine coup attempt
Failed military overthrow of President Corazon Aquino / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
On August 28, 1987, a coup d'état against the government of Philippine President Corazon Aquino was staged by members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) belonging to the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) led by Colonel Gregorio Honasan, who had been a former top aide of ousted Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile,[1] one of the instigators of the People Power Revolution that brought Aquino to power in 1986. The coup was repelled by military forces loyal to Aquino within the day, although Honasan managed to escape.
August 1987 Philippine coup attempt | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Philippines | Reform the Armed Forces Movement | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Corazon Aquino Rafael Ileto Fidel Ramos Renato De Villa Antonio Sotelo Loven Abadia Ramon Montaño Eduardo Ermita Rodolfo Biazon Alfredo Lim Voltaire Gazmin |
Gregorio Honasan Edgardo Abenina Federico Pasion Reynaldo Berroya Rodolfo Aguinaldo | ||||||
Military support | |||||||
Armed Forces of the Philippines | RAM Loyalists from the AFP | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
53 dead (including civilians); 358 wounded |
The coup was the sixth such attempt to overthrow Aquino and marked her final break with RAM, whose mutiny against the regime of President Ferdinand Marcos helped propel her into office. It was also the deadliest instance of infighting within the Philippine military at the time until it was surpassed by a subsequent coup attempt in 1989, which was also launched by Honasan and RAM to overthrow Aquino.