Benigno Ninoy Aquino, Jr.

Benigno Servillano "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. was born on November 27, 1932 and died on August 21, 1983. Benigno Aquino or Ninoy Aquino was a Philippine Senator, Governor of Tarlac, and an opposition leader against President Ferdinand Marcos. Benigno Ninoy Aquino was assassinated at the Manila International Airport (later renamed in his honor) upon returning home from exile in the United States. His death catapulted his widow, Corazon Aquino, to the limelight and subsequently to the presidency, replacing the 20-year Marcos regime.

Benigno Aquino was no stranger to Philippine politics. He came from a family that had been involved with some of the country's political heavyweights. His grandfather served under President Aguinaldo while his father held office under Presidents Manuel L. Quezon and Jose P. Laurel. Benigno Aquino became the youngest municipal mayor at age 22, and the nation's youngest vice-governor at 27.

As part of Republic Act No. 9256, the Monday nearest August 21 was declared (SECTION 1. Section 26, Chapter 7, Book I of Executive Order No. 292, otherwise known as the Administrative Code of 1987) a nationwide special holiday (Ninoy Aquino Day) by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines and approved on July 25, 2007 by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of the Philippines.

President Corazon Cory Aquino

On February 22, 1986, the People Power Revolution was triggered after two key Marcos allies, Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Armed Forces Vice-Chief of Staff Fidel Ramos called on Marcos to resign and holed up in two military camps in Quezon City. President Corazon Cory Aquino, who was in Cebu City when the revolt broke out, returned to Manila and insisted on joining the swelling crowd that had gathered outside the camps as a human barricade to protect the defectors.[ On the morning of 25 February 1986, at the Club Filipino in San Juan, President Corazon Cory Aquino took the presidential oath of office administered by Supreme Court Associate Justice Claudio Teehankee. Marcos himself was sworn into office at Malacañang Palace on that same day, but fled into exile later that night.

The relatively peaceful manner by which President Corazon Cory Aquino assumed the presidency through the EDSA Revolution won her widespread international acclaim as an icon of democracy. President Corazon Aquino was selected as Time magazine's Woman of the Year in 1986.

Sarangani

Sarangani is a province of the Philippines located in the SOCCSKSARGEN region in Mindanao. Its capital is Alabel and borders South Cotabato to the north and Davao del Sur to the east.

To the south lies the Celebes Sea, while it sandwiches at the center the highly urbanized city of General Santos.

The province is divided into two parts, separated by the Sarangani Bay and General Santos City, and it used to be part of South Cotabato until it was made an independent province in 1992.

According to the last general elections, it has a total voting population of 222,912 voters.

Sarangani celebrates its 16th foundation anniversary with its theme "Ang Galing Mo, Sarangan," with the November 27 to 29, 2008 6th "MunaTo Festival."

Its landmark "Isla Parilla" resort is now an "AA" world-class resort, built within a man-made island.

Sarangani also has, as treasure, its ancient burial jars, discovered by archaeologists from the National Museum in Ayub Cave, Maitum, in 1991 and in 2008, at Sagel Cave, Maitum (now declared by National Historical Institute as a national historical sites). Amid Mindanao's armed conflicts, artifacts found thereat prove settlements of pre-historic civilization in Maitum.