The Philippines: For Free Elections
Richard Lugar in front of a tally board during his observation of the elections in the Philippines. Although President Ferdinand Marcos claimed to have won the election, Corazon Aquino was later declared the true winner. Here, the numbers on this board show Aquino as the clear winner over Marcos.
Richard Lugar outside a polling station during the Philippine Elections, speaking with a group of people. In his book Letters to the Next President, Lugar discusses these kinds of conversations that he had with Philippine citizens. They often told him about incidents of election fraud they had witnessed.
Although the United States had a history of friendship and cooperation with the Philippines, by the mid-1980s the political situation under President Ferdinand Marcos had grown more troubling as reports of corruption and human rights abuses steadily increased. When presidential elections were scheduled for May 1986, there were concerns as to whether they would be fair and democratic. Those concerns escalated when Marcos called for the elections to be held three months earlier than planned, in February 1986. Senator Lugar, as Chair of the Committee on Foreign Relations, was especially attentive to the elections in the Philippines and their impact on U.S. foreign policy. After hearing reports of delegations that had travelled to the country, and after conducting several committee hearings, Lugar was convinced that election fraud was a very real possibility. At the request of President Reagan, Lugar was the co-chair of a delegation of 20 Americans who traveled to the Philippines as election observers. Evidence of election irregularities quickly mounted, and although Marcos claimed he was winning the election, Lugar was convinced that it was only through fraud.
President Reagan was reluctant to condemn Marcos, having been his supporter. However, Lugar was persistent and persuaded the President that the true victors were Corazon Aquino as President and Salvador Laurel as Vice President. Reagan recognized their victory and convinced Marcos to give up power. In 1989, commenting on Lugar’s role in the democratic elections, President Aquino said, “Senator Lugar served his country well by his actions in those days. Without him, there would be no Philippine—U.S. relations to speak of by now.”
Resource Book for the Philippine Elections, 1986.
Convinced that massive fraud had taken place on the part of President Ferdinand Marcos during the February 1986 elections in the Philippines, Senator Lugar convinced President Ronald Reagan to recognize Corazon Aquino and Salvador Laurel as the legitimate President and Vice President of the Philippines. Reagan did so, thereby supporting democratic elections. The Resource Book: Philippines Elections shown here outlines the different candidates, their parties, and their platforms. Aquino and Laurel were members of the UNIDO party. The pamphlet “Toward a Just Society” published for the UNIDO National Conference outlines the party’s beliefs. Among the basic principles laid out are, “Belief in God and a Moral Order,” “Human Dignity and the People’s Welfare,” and “A Pluralistic Democracy.” The copy shown here was given to Richard Lugar by Salvador Laurel.
Richard Lugar’s election packet for the Philippine elections, 1986. The packet contains clippings, a report, and other items that provide background information for the situation in the Philippines.
United States State Department, Resource Book: The Philippines' 1986 Election for President and Vice President.
Front cover of the booklet, "Hearing Before the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, First Session on Administration Review of U.S. Policy Toward the Philippines."
Press release, "Bipartisan Group to Visit Philippines."
Charlene Lugar and Senator Richard Lugar meet with President Corazon Aquino in Manila, 1986.
Letter from President Ronald Reagan to Senator Richard G. Lugar, March 24, 1986. In his letter, Reagan thanks Lugar for his participation as an observer during the Philippine presidential elections.