ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the Philippine's path towards the democratic consolidation. People Power in the Philippines, when hundreds of thousands of Filipinos stopped loyalist troops and forced Marcos to flee to Hawaii, was a dramatic transition from authoritarianism to democracy. The Philippines, then, is a case of democratic transition that has successfully installed a democratic government by overthrowing an authoritarian regime. As a result, the democratic government that was installed was fragile, and the Aquino and Ramos administrations have been forced to focus primarily on the issue of stability. President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law on September 23, 1972, claiming that the government was 'in urgent danger of violent overthrow, insurrection, and rebellion'. The EDS A Revolution started the Philippines on a path toward democratic consolidation characterized by high levels of political conflict. So far, the new democracy has achieved the first step toward democratic consolidation by reducing levels of political conflict and is slowly moving from confrontation to conciliation.
