Radio Broadcast of the Philippine People Power Revolution

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On 22nd February 1986, deep-seated anger at the corrupt dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos suddenly boiled over. Hundreds of thousands of people spontaneously poured onto the streets, taking over the Epifanio delos Santos Avenue in Central Manila. They were strongly supported by continuous radio broadcasts from Radio Veritas, the Philippines Catholic Broadcasting service, which urged the people occupying the streets to go unarmed, carry statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary and flowers, and show no violence towards the Marcos Regime armed forces. On 23rd February the authorities destroyed the Radio Veritas broadcasting facilities, but the role of radio support was immediately taken up by another radio station, Radio Bandido ("Bandit Radio"), which continued to broadcast to those on the streets in the same tone and manner as Radio Veritas had done. On 24th February the Voice of the Philippines radio station (a government station) was taken over by a group of Radio Veritas broadcasters and it started broadcasting in the same way. A private radio station in Manila, DZRH, also broadcast similar message. On 24th February the local armed forces in Manila came out in support of the protesters. On 25th February the Marcos Regime fell and Marcos fled abroad.

This absolutely non-violent revolution which overthrew an entrenched dictatorship through a spontaneous popular uprising, documented and influenced by the 20th century medium of radio, is a major event in world history. At the time, it captured the imagination of the world, and subsequently it has been a powerful example to other people living under repressive and dictatorial regimes. Inscribed on the International Memory of the World Register in 2003 are 44 audiocassette tapes and 1 mini disc which cover 61 hours and 33 minutes of the four days of unedited broadcast to the protesters by the various radio stations involved.

International Register