The current "It's more fun in the Philippines" campaign has helped attract visitors to that vastly underrated country.

CNN: Top travel destinations for 2013

The Philippines' Corazon Aquino started her campaign against Ferdinand Marcos more than 14 years ago in remarkably similar circumstances: the fractious coalition, the ragtag convoys, the concern that contesting elections might be futile.

CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia

As part of his war on terrorism, George Bush sent more than 1, 000 American troops to assist the Philippines' armed forces in their campaign against the Abu Sayyaf, a band of a few dozen armed members of the country's Muslim minority.

ECONOMIST: America's military advice didn't do the trick