[1][2] The coup's intent was to take advantage of the public disruption arising from revelations of cheating during the 1986 Philippine presidential election, and replace Marcos with a military junta which would include Enrile, Philippine Constabulary Chief Fidel V. Ramos, then-Presidential Candidate Corazon Aquino, and Roman Catholic Cardinal Jaime Sin, among others,[3] which Enrile and the RAM Colonels would control from behind the scenes.
[1] The plot is notable for being the first major military action set in motion by the Reform the Armed Forces Movement,[1] and for advancing the timeline of the People Power Revolution,[4][5][6] which would otherwise have taken the form of a civil disobedience campaign led by Aquino, who had refused to back down after the revealed cheating in the 1986 Philippine presidential election.
[12][13]: "32" Once in power, he developed "a patronage system within the defense establishment" which he leaned upon when he declared martial law shortly before the end of his last constitutionally allowed presidential term in 1972.
[14][15] During the 14 years in which he ruled the Philippines after that, Marcos used the AFP as what the Davide Commission Report would later call his "martial law implementor,"[16] and "one of the vital supports of the regime.
[18] This led to a loss of morale among the middle-ranks of the AFP, because it meant a significant slowdown in promotions and caused many officers to retire with ranks much lower than they would otherwise have earned.
[15][16] Several cabals of dissatisfied officers eventually formed among the middle-ranks of the AFP, most notably the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) in the early 1980s.
Corazon Aquino rejected the results and held the "Tagumpay ng Bayan" (People's Victory) rally at Luneta Park on February 16, 1986, announcing a civil disobedience campaign and calling for her supporters to boycott publications and companies which were associated with Marcos or any of his cronies.
[22] The goal of the RAM coup d'état, planned by Colonels Gregorio Honasan and Red Kapunan, was to overthrow Marcos and turn power over to military junta which would include Enrile.
[3]) Historian Alfred McCoy notes that in any case, the junta was only designed to be a facade for Enrile and his trusted officers, who would hold the real decision making power behind the scenes.
[1] The plan eventually selected was for a commando team to assault Malacañang Palace at dawn on February 23, arrest Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, and “convince” them to step down.
[27] Once the decision to make a last stand in Camp Aguinaldo was made at lunchtime on Saturday, February 22, Enrile immediately contacted Philippine Constabulary chief General Fidel Ramos, asking for support.
[27] Despite Ramos' defection the coup plotters were essentially trapped in Camps Aguinaldo and Crame, and in the words of historian Vicente L. Rafael, "became sitting ducks for Ferdinand Marcos' loyalist forces.
"[7] At 6:45 PM on Saturday, February 22, Enrile and Ramos staged a press conference in Camp Aguinaldo that they were withdrawing their support from President Marcos, and were asking him to step down.
[29] Soon after, Cardinal Sin went on Radio Veritas asking people nearby to go to the vicinity of the camps and form a crowd that would discourage Marcos from wiping out Enrile and Ramos' forces.
[27] The February 1986 RAM coup is notable for being the first major military action set in motion by the Reform the Armed Forces Movement,[1] and for advancing the timeline of the People Power Revolution,[4][5][6] which would otherwise have taken the form of a civil disobedience campaign led by Aquino, who had refused to back down after the revealed cheating in the 1986 Philippine presidential election.