Reagan 's support did not waiver , despite the uproar over Marcos ' assassination of his chief political rival , Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. on August 21 , 1983 . After a Marcos-appointed board of inquiry , called the Agrava Board , blamed the murder on a plot among Aquinos ' military bodyguards , the Marcos-appointed Sandiganbayan court acquitted the 25 accused military personnel on December 2 , 1985 . Despite continued charges that the Marcos regime was corrupt and repressive , Reagan continued to stress the close links that existed between the Philippines and the U.S
assassination
Assassination of Benigno Aquino Jr.
Foreign policy of the Ronald Reagan administration