The former Philippine president, widow of assassinated Filipino opposition leader Benigno Aquino, died in the capital Manila after a 16-month battle against colon cancer.

Corazon Aquino, known as Cory to millions of Filipinos, was president from 1986 to 1992.

She was propelled into the spotlight in 1986 when she headed a massive "people power" movement that toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

The tumultuous events of 1986, which came to a head when up to a million people waving rosaries and flowers stopped Marcos' tanks advancing towards Aquino-backed army rebels, became a fairy-tale revolution that gripped the world's attention.

Reluctant leader

Aquino was a reluctant leader at the start. She shed the housewife's apron only after her politician husband Benigno was assassinated in 1983 on his return from exile in the United States.

Accusing Marcos of ordering the murder, the slain politician's widow led protest marches, but was hesitant when elections were called in 1986.

"What on earth do I know about being president?" she is quoted as having said before taking up the challenge to run against Marcos.

Both candidates claimed victory in the election, but Marcos and his wife Imelda went fled into exile when the army turned against him. It set a precedent for dissidents everywhere from South Africa to South America to Pakistan.

After she became president, however, a series of coup attempts by the military kept Aquino's administration under constant pressure. Apart from the possibility of army intervention, natural disasters, including Mount Pinatubo's volcanic eruption in 1991, also contributed to a presidency which was glaringly less successful than the revolution.

Frail but influential

Aquino seemed frail in later years, but was always ready to stand up for her people when she thought it necessary. She brought half a million people onto the streets in the 1990s when her successor Ramos flirted with the idea of extending his term in office.

She was also involved in protests that ended the presidency of Joseph Estrada in 2001. And until March last year, when she withdrew from public life after being diagnosed with cancer, she had been active in street protests denouncing corruption in the government.

She had also repeatedly demanded that current President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a former protégé whose nine-year presidency has been marred by scandals, step down.

Tributes from friends and foes

Arroyo, who is in the United States on a visit, announced a 10-day period of national mourning.

"Today the Philippines lost a national treasure. She helped lead our nation to a brighter day," she said in a message.

A statement from White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama "was deeply saddened" by Aquino's death, adding: "Her courage, determination and moral leadership are an inspiration to us all and exemplify the best in the Filipino nation."

Aquino's arch-foe Imelda Marcos, who returned to the Philippines after her husband died in exile, is reported as saying: "Now that Cory is with the Lord, let us all unite and pray for her and for the Filipino people."

As news of Aquino's death spread, hundreds of people began visiting her home and the EDSA shrine where her 1986 revolution culminated, leaving flowers and lighting candles. Many tied yellow ribbons to their cars, and on trees near her home.

Aquino's family has reportedly opted against a state funeral and plan to bury her beside Benigno after a private ceremony on Wednesday.

rb/Reuters/AFP

Editor: Kyle James