What I Think... Bringing out a little Cory from everyone...

What I Think…

Bringing Out A Little Cory in Everyone

It’s amusing how I write an article about politics and then the next day, the best president Philippines ever had passes away. Ironic? Yeah, I think so too.

I am guessing by now, the death of Former President Corazon Aquino would be known worldwide, how couldn’t it be, the world loses yet again one of the best politicians who ever walked the face of this planet, a big loss? Definitely. She was named the “Saint of People Power”, if that’s not big, then I don’t know what is.

For a self-proclaimed plain housewife that she was, she made a kick ass job into becoming the President of the Philippines. Up until her husband, Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino’s death, she had no political background; and who would say she wanted it? But for the sake of her husband’s compassion for the people and his desire to bring democracy and stability back into our country, and for the undying love he showed to all Filipinos, she determinedly paved our way back to our former glory, she did what has to be done, she never hid and cowered from the pressures of the situation, but she faced them head on, by constant vigilance, faith in God, and faith in each and every Filipino, she led us to the transition back to democracy.

Nobody said it would be easy. And for a woman who only dreamed of becoming a math teacher or a language interpreter, being a president was surely out of the question. Nevertheless, under no circumstances did she allow that to hinder herself from achieving what her husband spent his life fighting for. For a mourning widow, she sure didn’t let her adversaries faze her; she never gave them the satisfaction by backing down and giving up. The simple, modest and uncomplicated person that she was, it wouldn’t be a surprise if she desired to avenge her husband’s murder. After all, Ninoy was a great man, he fought for the right causes and gave the most rational reasons, he died claiming that the “Filipinos are worth dying for’, any wife, who would have that for a husband would surely see what a wonderful man they have married, and Cory was that lucky woman and probably that was one of her reasons for sustaining the goal of Ninoy. Her newfound courage and resolution was beyond any man’s expectations. Who would’ve expected her to continue Ninoy’s fight for justice? No one. But she came through.

Cory’s faith in God, her constant vigilance, her love for her husband, and her faith in each and every Filipino, that was all she had, and that was all she needed. Those were her armor on the ongoing strife. She didn’t need guns, tear gases, tanks, choppers, fighter planes, or soldiers. Anybody could figure those stuff would cost a fortune, but she had something more powerful than that, hence succeeding. She had God and the support of every Filipino. The people was ready to fight the soldiers into a bloody battle, they were at their wit’s end, they used themselves as barricades to ward of the tanks, the cowardly administration then sent. They were ready to die to fight for their right. After knowing that their gateway to freedom has been gunned down in that damned tarmac at the airport, the Filipinos are enraged, they were prepared to avenge Ninoy’s death in any way that they can, there was no stopping them. However, Cory lived up to her honor, and as ironic and enigmatic as it may sound, she was the only person who was able to pull off leading the only peaceful revolution. Since when is a revolution peaceful, you ask? Since it was lead by Cory, I guess.

It is just sad and unfortunate that what Cory and Ninoy started are neglected by our current officials. The couple has strived hard to pick up the pieces of a broken country, they have strived hard to get us out of the hovel we are dumped in, Ninoy has risked his life to show us that he would be there with us until the end, he anticipated his death, he knew about it, yet he didn’t let it pull him down, he walked in that tarmac putting his whole life in jeopardy, but he did it with profound dignity and courage. Cory could’ve opted the easier way out and do nothing after her husband’s death, but no, she picked up where Ninoy left off, and pulled us through. How they managed to save a whole country with only so much that they have is beyond me. Their achievement would go down to history and it will always be remembered, it would even be published into millions of soft and hard bound history books and different political pieces, nonfictional references, endless editions of biographies, and billions of term papers. It would be turned into documentaries and subject for indie films. It would be turned into plays and musicals. Millions of people, not only in our country but in the whole world, would forever commend what they have done, how come these people who succeeded them fail to do the same? Can they at least try to pull their heads out their asses for once? Or is it really that hard?

Yes, Cory was able to pull us through the adversity we were once in, and from then on, we have received more than enough aid and assistance from the different countries that she bravely faced; She has laid out to them the different misfits and wrongdoings of the administration that destroyed our country’s honor, she reached out to them not with big words that politicians usually use to charm their listeners, but she used simple yet heartfelt terms. She once spoke in front of the U.S Congress, she presented them with a speech in hope of acquiring their support once more, which she got almost immediately after her articulation, and while she spoke her way through that discourse, she was unconsciously amazing each and every person present in that meeting. As the then U.S. House Speaker Tip O’Neill has said; Cory’s speech was; “The finest speech I’ve ever heard in my 34 years in Congress.” How could simple words and plain terms capture those people in that Congress? It wasn’t in Cory’s words; but in her expression, they saw her compassion for her people, they saw how important it was to her not only as the President, but as a survivor from the wretchedness the whole country was going through.

Corazon Aquino brought about democracy back into our country, something that no matter how many years we try repaying would remain invaluable and priceless. However, no matter how much Cory has achieved for our country, her legacy shouldn’t have stopped the moment she stepped down from presidency. But unfortunately, the reign of justice and stability in our country was short-lived.

Sure, Fidel V. Ramos who succeeded Cory did a great job being a president; he was after all a military man all his life, so he knew the ropes. He might have been an ally for the Marcos’ at their 20 year regimen, seeing as Ramos was the head of the Philippine Constabulary at that time. Whether it was cowardice or sincere hope for betterment that pushed Ramos and Juan Ponce Enrile who was then also one of Marcos’ cronies, to change their allegiance, it surely opened a brighter future for them. Cory even supported Ramos’ candidacy in the 1992 elections where he won with about 5.2 million votes. In the first few years of his term, Ramos did an excellent job in running our country, he managed to politically stabilize our nation, there was an economic boost, advancement in technology and there was an efficient distribution of necessities to the people. Highly commendable, huh? But not so fast, on the last remaining years that he was in office, the Asian Financial Crisis happened, it was, to say the least, a relatively huge blow in his administration, problems then just started to sprout everywhere, the unemployment rate sky rocketed once more, there was an importation decline, businesses were rapidly shutting down, and we found ourselves in financial instability once more. From then on, problems never stopped.

Ramos tried to amend the country’s constitution as well, which I remembered even as a grade school student, we were rallying against it. Charter Change. Everyone had divided impressions as to why Ramos wanted it, but Cory however wasn’t happy with his plans, and led protests with the Catholic Church. That movement seemingly stopped Ramos’ plan. Once again, Cory was there as a part of an act that saved our nation from a possible demise.

Cory retired into a private life right after her term as president, occasional appearances at political events are inevitable, but she made it a point to live her life once again as a common citizen, she has led and involved herself in a lot of organizations which she religiously supported. And just with those small acts, we see how compassionate she still is, even when she is not obliged anymore. She does it with a pure heart and clean conscience, with no underlying motives and schemes, which leads me to my next point.

The succeeding administrations, following hers and Ramos’ though, crumbled our country once again in shambles. Former President Estrada? Don’t even get me started with him. The amount of damage that he has cost our nation is immensely irrevocable and absolutely unforgivable, how someone can be as greed driven as he is, exceeds me; he thought he could just act his way through his mess, didn’t he? Good to know though, that we Filipino’s are not as vulnerable and callow as we were back in Marcos’ reign, in 2001, Cory played an active role into the 2nd EDSA People Power Revolution, which I am proud to be part of, she led us once again into a successful and peaceful revolution overthrowing a corrupt and maligned scumbag. He even had the nerve to blame EDSA Dos for having “inflicted a dent on Philippine democracy”. Really, now? Well we think you made a dent not only in the Philippine’s democracy but also the Philippine’s honor, you didn’t need the Filipinos to help you with that; you did a perfectly good job with jeopardizing our country all by yourself.

But still, Cory Aquino helped oust Estrada from position and was also there when Gloria Arroyo was installed as the new president; everything was smoothly running, everybody thought that having a second woman for a president was a good thing; she was doing well, until scandals came up, rigging allegations and mutinies. Rebellions and impeachment complaints, her public apology didn’t help either.

Is that how the officials show Ninoy and Cory their appreciation for the wonderful legacy they left us? Aren’t they supposed to be emulating to be just like the ‘power couple’? What Cory and Ninoy did was a great deal for each and every citizen of our country, but the current officials just don’t get it, do they? They think it is still easier to rob the nation and manipulate them, lead them on to believe that we are doing well, than to actually sacrifice and share some of their abundance and help us into becoming the ideal nation that we always dreamt about. It’s not really hard, is it? They just always opt for the easier way out. Typical. But we can do something about it, if Cory can, why can’t anyone else? She was a mere housewife, wasn’t she, but she made a difference, no matter how uncomfortable and foreign it was to her, she made it work, why can’t we?

If our officials think it is too late to make a difference now, that’s where they are wrong, it is never too late to reform and change for the better, if they love our country so much as they claim, then it is never hard, if they think that we really are worth the effort and the endless toil, then Ninoy would be happy, because like he said; “Filipinos are worth dying for.”

If our officials believe that the only thing that could save our country is a miracle, then they should continue believing that, just like Cory said; “I am not embarrassed to tell you that I believe in miracles”.

All we need is constant vigilance, I got that one from a character in Harry Potter, but hey, if it works, then why not?

If only by this way, we can show Cory and Ninoy our undying gratitude and indebtedness to them, then let it be.

If Ninoy was “the best president we NEVER had…”

Cory would be “the best president we EVER had…”

Either way, Cory did a great job in carrying out Ninoy’s objective, and more. It is a win-win situation. Kudos to you both.

Corazon Aquino… a woman, who has been given 24 awards and achievements in her name, but deserves so much more than that, who would’ve ever thought that she would manage all that and still remained humble. But she was, even when death came knocking on her door, she remained that simple, modest and uncomplicated woman we all knew and love.

Cory and Ninoy gave us the freedom we all yearned to have. They both have left a great legacy to all of us. What better way can we show our appreciation than by protecting our freedom and becoming better Filipinos, to show them that their endeavors are not worthless and that their love is not unrequited.

Goodbye President Cory, say hi to Ninoy from all of us.

You will never be forgotten.

JMags 08-04-09