Working for President Cory

Perhaps it was because last week the world commemorated the fifth death anniversary of Corazon Aquino. Then there was P-Noy’s SONA where, in an emotional moment, he reiterated that his parents, Ninoy and Cory were his inspiration to continue fighting for the Filipino people in the face of tremendous challenges and adversities.

Last week, friends, former colleagues and students at De La Salle University, where I am teaching, have asked me about my personal memories of Corazon Aquino especially during the time I served as head of the Presidential Management Staff during her presidency.

Before I start narrating my stories, I begin by clarifying my relationship with President Cory. There were many more people in Malacañang, at that time, with closer personal relationship with her. I also point out that I cannot say that my job description was to work with her.

There were two persons who could give me personal instructions in my job as PMS head  — the Executive Secretary  and the President. So I can state that I worked for President Cory which is very different from saying I worked with her. My most vivid memories of her were from that perspective.

One of my proudest memories is that I was one of the few lucky ones that started working for her on Day One of her presidency. That was the day after Marcos had fled the country and Corazon Aquino was the effective head of the Philippine government.

The night Marcos fled the country, there were several of us in a house in Wack Wack with her. When the news came that the Dictator had fled and the martial law regime had ended, a thanksgiving mass was held. Afterwards she announced some cabinet appointment including Joker Arroyo as Executive Secretary.

Sometime that evening, Joker called me and told me to report to him the next day. And so we started working without any title or official appointment. Malacanang was still being “de-bombed” and was shut down for security reasons. For the first few months the Office of the President  was in Cojuangco Building in Makati. During those early days, the technical staff serving the president was composed of two people — Joker and me.

But it was an easy transition because during the campaign days, I had already met the people — like Margie Juico, Maria Montelibano, Teddy Boy Locsin, Rene Saguisag — who would compose her personal and media staff.

The restoration of democracy had been a long struggle. Combating the forces that were trying to topple the democratic institutions being rebuilt proved equally daunting. There were the coup attempts like the “God Save the Queen” plot which led to the dismissal of Juan Ponce Enrile as Minister of Defence. There were others, like the one led by Gringo Honasan, during which the near fatal shooting of the President’s son, Noynoy, happened. During that coup attempt, I and many staff members had to live and sleep in Malacanang for a week.

There were also many high points. There were the rallies where people gathered to support her presidency in spite of threats from coup plotters. There were the accolades from the world and the speech to the United States where senior American political leaders pinned the Cory dolls to their coats when they attended the joint session to listen to her.

There was the convening of the Philippine constitutional assembly and the first democratic elections after which she voluntarily gave her legislative powers to the new Congress. I was with her as she literally toured the country meeting with different groups — from cultural minorities to business leaders to ordinary citizens. I was with her visiting areas devastated by natural calamities from the Baguio earthquake to floods.

I witnessed her resolving policy debates and political conflicts. But my favorite stories are those times she focused on directly helping the poor. She saw the poor as individuals with different needs and not just as economic indicators or poverty rates.

She instructed me to set up a structure whereby a certain percentage of Pagcor revenues would be channelled directly to projects to help the poor. That was why, in PMS, we created the President’s Social Fund.

Her instructions were that all the funds would be for projects that had a direct impact on the lives of the poor. We had to specify the final beneficiaries. Also the funding would be coursed through NGOs and all the undertakings would be what we now call micro-projects. These included classrooms, potable water systems, footbridges and livelihood projects.

 In all these years there was never a single case of a Napoles scam. However, she would always remind me that while the process was important, it should never stand in the way of helping people in need.

Here is one story. It was 1988 during the first year of the Fund. A certain Mrs. Estepanio Cabreros, head teacher of a public elementary school in Pagangan, Aleosan, Cotabato had written a letter to President Cory saying that her school artesian well was not working. Life for the schoolchildren was becoming difficult and unhealthy. This letter was sent before the dawn of the internet and website eras.

We composed an answer to be signed by the President addressed to Mrs. Cabreros. The proposed letter said: “...I advise you to approach your mayor or the local development council so these projects will be endorsed to the regional development council for possible inclusion in the program of the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Education.”

The following day, the memorandum with the proposed answer was sent back to me with a handwritten note at the bottom which said: “ Elfren Cruz. Pls. Take care of the artesian well. CA.” And we did.

Some of her instructions to me were conveyed in short handwritten notes. Sometimes they would be on official Malacanang stationery or sometime on her personal stationery with the name — Corazon Aquino — printed at the top.

But there were times, especially when I sent a list of projects for the Social Fund for approval, that the list would be returned with a small, yellow “post it” attached at the top with her handwritten instructions. Printed on top of the “post it” pad were the words “Boss Lady.” At the bottom would always be her handwritten initials “CA.”

I tell my family that was the best description of what it was like working for her. She was always a Lady — always courteous and polite. I never saw her humiliate or embarrass anyone or raise her voice in anger in public. One time, when two cabinet officials were having a vigorous policy debate in front of the whole cabinet, she simply told them they were giving her a headache and the debate immediately ended.

But for those who worked for her, we knew when a decision was final and that she was getting upset. With me it was when her tone, in saying my name, changed to a simple, curt “Elfren.” Then there were also times when her lips would tighten and we knew she was becoming upset and it was time to move on. Maria Montelibano is the person that, I know, has the most graphic description of what I just said.  That is when we knew the Lady was also the Boss.

The Corazon Aquino years was a turning point — a shining moment — in Philippine history. Those of us who had the privilege of working for her will always be grateful she gave us a chance to serve the Filipino people and to work for a true heroine.

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