MANILA, Philippines (AP) - In February 1986, thousands of Filipinos brought down

strong-man Ferdinand Marcos. Seven years later, the economy is flat, crime is rampant

and nearly every institution is rocked by scandal.

The stirring "people power revolution," with its graphic images of nuns

and priests kneeling before Marcos' tanks, restored the democracy he had abolished

with his martial law declaration of 1972.

Corazon Aquino, the symbol of that uprising, served six turbulent years and left

office last June.

But the system, which the 1986 revolution installed, has been painfully slow in solving

the workaday problems of the 65 million Filipinos, most of whom remain locked in

grinding poverty.

"While it was the restoration of democracy, (people power) was not the restoration

of good government," wrote Rev. Joaquin Bernas, a former adviser to Mrs. Aquino.

"We have come to realize that it is much easier to set up the external trappings

of democracy than to make it work to the satisfaction of our people."