When Cory Aquino was in power I was too young to know anything about political parties and ideologies. I didn’t know that I would grow up to be an advocate for same sex marriage and universal healthcare. I hadn’t even considered which way my political views would eventually swing. What I knew was that in the country I was born and raised a woman led the government, and the country, with a strong will and the reputation as someone you did not take lightly. In the country of my heritage another, very different, woman led. This woman, small in stature who wore big glasses and a lot of yellow, came to lead a People Power Revolution that would change the world.

 

Corazon ‘Cory’ Aquino was a housewife. Having received her degree in French from the College of Mount St Vincent, New York she had never held political office and had never had any aspirations to, despite coming from a powerful political family. Following the assassination of her husband Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino Jr in 1983, then President Marcos’ biggest political rival; she was pushed headfirst into the political sphere against a corrupt and violent government that had clung onto power for 20 years.

 

This quiet and unassuming woman who was given political power was who the world would decide to nominate for the Nobel Peace Prize. She was who Time Magazine would decide to name Woman of the Year. She was granted these honours because she was the one chosen, by the people, to lead the Philippines.

 

 

As the 11^th President, and first woman to hold that office – not only in the Philippines but in the whole of Asia, her six years in power were not easy. There were several coup attempts and many Filipinos criticised her for relying too much on American power and influence for support. The large divide between the rich and poor remained and there were still problems with basic infrastructure.

 

However, when it came time for her presidency to end it was not marked by the same protests with which she was brought to the most powerful position in Philippine politics. She had restored the democratic process back to the Philippines. She not only enacted the 1987 Constitution which established the Philippines as a “democratic and republican State” she gave back to the Filipino people a government which they could have faith in and showed the world that the will of the people is a much more formidable force than tanks and guns.

 

I remember a joke I heard some time ago on a travel show about the Philippines. I can’t remember it very well but I’ll try. Back when the world was being formed and the different blessings bestowed on each country a few of the other countries started to get jealous when they saw what was being granted to the Philippines. They went up to the Creator and asked why the Philippines had been given so much. Bountiful oceans, luscious lands, a strong people. In every possible way, the Philippines appeared bless. At these questions the Creator simply smiled and said, ‘Wait till you see what kind of politicians I give them.’

 

Okay, so perhaps that’s only a joke Filipinos will find amusing, but it has always seemed to me that the Filipino people have come to accept that those who take Presidential Office will not be able to do so without some scandal or political unrest – at the very least. For a brief period though, in the Aquino years, and the Presidency of Fidel Ramos, her Defence Secretary and successor, I think the Filipino people were able to be proud of the people they chose to lead them. Their presidencies were not marred with claims of vote rigging or embezzlement. Not since the pre-Marcos years, and perhaps not since the Ramos years, have we been able to say that.

 

Following her presidency Cory Aquino remained active in politics and continued to work to make the lives of the Filipino people better. She led the non-profit PinoyME Foundation. As well as being a member of the Council of Women World Leaders she oversaw social welfare projects through the Benigno S. Aquino Foundation and continued to speak out on political issues.

 

In March 2008 she was diagnosed with colon cancer. Vigils were held around the country when it was revealed that her condition had worsened. Her battle finally ended on August 1^st 2009 when she suffered from cardiac arrest. The Filipino government has declared 10 days of mourning and she will be buried next to her husband.

 

She is survived by her children, Ballsy Cruz, Pinky Abellada, Viel Dee, Kris Yap, and Senator Benigno S. Aquino III, and her grandchildren. She is also survived by a nation who will be eternally grateful for her strength, courage, and compassion.

 

I’ve often wished that I was ten years older so that I could have known more about the People Power Revolution. It’s probably that time in history that I would choose to go back to if a time machine were ever invented. It is such an important part of not only my history, but the collective history of a people who have struggled to form their own identity following their colonial past. Cory Aquino will always be an integral part of that story.

 

She is perhaps for me, without my even realising, one of the first people to shape not only my political views but also so many of my world views. For so many Filipinos she will also be a shining example of the type of person we can become. She was mother to a nation, not just her children. Kind and gentle with incredible fortitude, she is our quiet hero that never stopped having faith that we, as a people, could be better.

 

Cory Aquino changed the history of the Philippines. Her life was lived to better that of her fellow Filipinos, and though – as with all politicians, she has her critics, her impact cannot be denied. She once said, ‘I would rather die a meaningful death than to live a meaningless life.’ Her life gave us back our country and gave a people hope that they had long been without. For someone who chooses to live a life of public service, I doubt there is any greater meaning to be achieved.

 

 

RIP Maria Corazon Cojuangco Aquino (1933-2009)

 

 

Posted on 7 August 2009 by Gemma in History, Politics

Tagged corazon aquino, cory, ferdinand e. marcos, fidel ramos, ninoy aquino, people power, revolution