One year since the Aquino assassination: a gathering political typhoon

Aug. 21, 1983: Leading political opposition figure, Benigno Aquino Jr., is assassinated at Manila airport. Aug. 22: President Ferdinand Marcos claims assassin, later identified as Rolando Galman, was working for communists.

Aug. 24: Public reaction forces Marcos to set up Fact-Finding Board to investigate killing.

Aug. 31: Estimated 1 million people attend Aquino's funeral. In funeral homily, Jaime Cardinal Sin, Roman Catholic archbishop of Manila, delivers strong attack on Marcos.

Sept. 21: On 11th anniversary of imposition of martial law, an estimated half-million people march through Manila, climaxing weeks of demonstrations. More than a dozen people die in clash with security forces.

Sept. 30: Head of Fact-Finding Board resigns amid public skepticism about the commission's independence.

Oct. 4: President Reagan ''postpones'' planned visit to Philippines, as protests mount over suspected government involvement in assassination.

Oct. 5: Peso is devalued 21.4 percent as economy worsens. Many investors move capital out of country, fearing a Marcos downfall with no clear successor.

Oct. 10: Entire Fact-Finding Board resigns.

Oct. 14: Philippines gets 90-day moratorium from creditor banks on principal payment on the nation's $25 billion foreign debt. International reserves have fallen to $600 million from $2 billion in late August. Negotiations on debt resched-uling and $630 million standby credit from IMF still on hold.

Marcos names new, civilian commission to investigate assassination.

Oct. 31: Under pressure, Marcos names successor: Prime Minister and Finance Minister Cesar Virata.

Dec. 20: Central Bank admits it overstated foreign-exchange reserves by some

Mid-November: Two military officers express suspicion that Aquino was killed by military intelligence operatives, with the knowledge of armed forces chief of staff, Gen. Fabian Ver.

Dec. 23: In Japan, Reuben Regalado, an aircraft technician, says he saw military holding Galman by the wrists at the time that Aquino was shot.

Dec. 28: Ramon Balang, an airport technician, testifies he saw Galman standing with a group of soldiers when Aquino was shot.

Jan. 16: Debt moratorium is extended three months.

Jan. 29: Galman's wife is taken from her home by two men and disappears.

Feb. 1, 1984: Marcos agrees to restore vice-presidency with elections to be held in 1987.

March 1: Galman's step-daughter testifies that an associate of Brig. Gen. Luther Custodio (who handled security at airport) took Mrs. Galman away. She says, ''Mother said she was being summoned by the general,'' i.e., Ver.

March 7: 50,000 protesters, led by Aquino's brother ''Butz,'' urge boycott of May 14 parliamentary elections.

March 20: Efran Ranas, a private airport security guard, testifies he saw Aquino supported by escorts as he came down stairs; says escorts dropped Aquino face down on tarmac and there was blood on his back.

April 7: Aquino's widow, Cory, calls for opposition to vote in election.

May 14: Parliamentary elections give boost to opposition, which wins some 61 of the 183 seats contested.

June 5: Government floats peso, which falls 22 percent.

June 18: Marcos reinstates plainclothes marshals, ostensibly to combat crime in Manila; critics say it is to intimidate restive public.

Late June: Army launches drive against communists; critics say drive is to gain support.

June 26: Marcos hints he may reinstate martial law, which officially ended in 1981.

June 30: New Cabinet is announced.

July 14: Catholic Lawyers' Group and Philippine Bar Association say evidence points to ''military conspiracy of a high but restricted nature.''

July 23:Parliament opens.

Banco Filipino closes its doors because of withdrawal demand from depositors. Government later promises to loan enough money for bank to pay off its $165 million in deposits. But government intervention cripples Central Bank's austerity policy. Bankers say loan rescheduling and IMF agreement are now unlikely before 1985.

July 27: Marcos disbands secret marshals.

July 29: Ver says there is no need for martial law.

Aug. 14: Subroto Choudhury, independent technician, testifies that film of killing was tampered with. Film showed landing of plane, then bodies of Aquino and Galman on tarmac, but not frames in between.