Cory Aquino Died at 76

MANILA, Philippines, July 31 (UPI) -- Corazon Aquino, the first woman to serve as president of the Philippines, has died at the age of 76, family members said.

Family members said Aquino died of colon cancer Saturday morning in the Philippines, The Washington Post reported.

Aquino, the daughter of a rich landowner who was partly educated in the United States, was known mainly as the wife of Benigno Aquino and mother of his five children until her husband, a former senator, was assassinated in 1983. He had just returned from exile to head the opposition to Ferdinand Marcos, the longtime Philippine president.

Three years later, Aquino, known to Filipinos as "Cory" was president after leading a "people power" revolution against Marcos. She spent six years in office, surviving seven attempted coups while a series of natural disasters, including a volcanic eruption and an earthquake shook the country.

In 1992, Aquino left office. The transition was the first peaceful one in the country in a quarter century.

In later years, she remained active in politics, joining the opposition to President Joseph Estrada and first supporting and then opposing the current president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

may she rest in peace, amen