On the presidential palace, activists rammed the gate with a fire truck and once the gate broke and gave way, the activists charged into the Palace grounds tossing rocks, pillboxes and Molotov cocktails. In 1983, opposition leader Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. was assassinated at the Manila International Airport upon his return to the Philippines after a long period of exile in the United States. The official election canvasser, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), declared Marcos the winner, despite a walk-out staged by disenfranchised computer technicians on February 9. "[32], According to World Bank Data, the Philippine's Gross Domestic Product quadrupled from $8 billion in 1972 to $32.45 billion in 1980, for an inflation-adjusted average growth rate of 6% per year. The Philippines is an island country in Southeast Asia in the Pacific Ocean.It has 7,641 islands. Crime rates decreased significantly after a curfew was implemented. World Heritage Encyclopedia™ is a registered trademark of the World Public Library Association, a non-profit organization. Republic of the Philippines . The Second was when the Americans granted us our independence on July 4, 1946. 1986 - Corazon C. Aquino February 25, 1986 – June 30, 1992 Fidel V. Ramos June 30, 1992 – June 30, 1998 Joseph Ejercito Estrada June 30, 1998 – January 20, 2001 Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo January 20, 2001 – June 30, 2010 Benigno S. Aquino III June 30, 2010 –