In gratitude, Corazon Aquino

President Corazon Aquino was born on January 25, 1933 in San Juan de Dios Hospital in the City of Manila. She passed away in 2010 after battling cancer for more than a year.

To the Filipino people, she will always be remembered as the  inspirational leader in the fight to restore democracy and dignity to our country  after decades of dictatorship, cronyism and human rights violations during the Marcos martial law regime.

To the whole world, she was an icon of democracy and the Mother of People Power. One of the most touching statements, after she passed away,  came from then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who said “Aquino helped bring democracy back to the Philippines after many years of authoritarian rule with a faith in her country and its people that never wavered…Like millions of people worldwide, Bill (Clinton) and I were inspired by her quiet strength and her unshakeable commitment to justice and freedom.”

From the assassination of her husband, Ninoy Aquino, on August 21, 1983 to the time she stepped down as the President of the Philippines in 1992, she led her people through many struggles and coup attempts.

Sometimes I am asked what I thought were the core values of Corazon Aquino that made her the icon of democracy all over the world.  After 1992, instead of living a quiet, peaceful life, which she deserved, President Cory continued to publicly speak on many national and international issues. She even led street demonstrations, reminiscent of People Power, to speak out on major issues like corruption and Charter change.

It is in one of those speeches where she reiterated her values. In October 1996, she was awarded the J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding. Here are some of the most memorable lines from that speech:

“Authoritarian government is said to be the Asian formula for success. But we may yet prove that people power can achieve, perhaps more slowly, but more lasting and more widely beneficial effects. Democracy, in the end is the best system for ordinary people. It is the only one that exalts them and unites them in peace across all countries of the world. One can believe in a dictatorship, a few in oligarchy; but only to democracy can the many, in reason, adhere.

I ended my term with less exhilaration but more circumspection than I began it.

I realized that I could have made things easier for myself if I had done the popular things, rather than the painful but better ones in the long run. After all, in the long run, I wouldn’t be around to be blamed.

I could have invited the military to share in the government, rather than keeping them out and fighting them off to the disarray of the economy. But I was called to restore a democracy, not divide up a country as spoils.

I could have put pressure on the courts when they favored the enemies of democracy, but I felt that the best protection for freedom must lie in strong and independent courts.

I sued a newspaper for libel but never used my office to advance my cause. I lost the case.

I could have rolled back prices with a single word, but I would have distorted the painful wisdom of free markets which keep, it is alleged, economies on the right track.

I couldn’t adopt the ideal solutions proposed by those who had the luxury of private life. Quite often, often official actions were  dictated by the pressing realities of the moment.

I could have rigged the 1992 elections for my successor. Instead I directed the chiefs of the military to do the country proud by assuring a fair and free elections, whatever the result.

Better still I could have run myself. The constitutional limitation of a single presidential term did not apply to me; I had taken office under the old Constitution. But that limitation was a cornerstone of the new Constitution I had caused to be drafted and for which I vigorously campaigned. How could I serve as the first example of its moral violation?

June 30, 1992 was therefore one of my proudest moments of my life. I was stepping down and handing the presidency to my elected successor. This was what my husband had died for; he had returned precisely to forestall an illegal political succession. This moment is democracy’s glory; the peaceful transfer of power without bloodshed, in strict accordance with law.”

Many of the thoughts that she articulated after her presidency continue to have relevance today.. She had a message for those in business when she gave a speech to the Young Presidents’ Organization in 1996. The speech is entitled “The Ultimate Bottomline: People.”

She started by saying: “while I find nothing wrong with making a profit —even a large one – as long as it is made fairly and squarely, I am happy to know that you, the younger generation of company presidents and CFOs are interested in going beyond making a buck.”

She ended her speech with several questions to the young presidents:

“Which brings me to the last point I would like to take up with you today and that is the need for reflection. As you careen your way to success, working as if there were no tomorrow, you must take time to stop and reflect on what you are doing. Ask yourself the hard questions, like what is the relevance of your work to your family, to your employee, and the larger society? What are you working so hard for? How much is enough? When do you have too much? What is the point acquiring so much wealth and power? Have you given back as much as you have taken?”

At a Global Forum for Women Political Leaders in 2000, Corazon Aquino said: “Women are natural candidates for positions of leadership — in business, in the academe, in civil society, in politics. We, who are the keepers of the values of the family and of society, should not leave the important task of leadership in the political sphere to the men alone. It is a job men and women can and should do together, in complementarity, just like they should in the home.”

Corazon Aquino  talked of what women leaders can do to make a difference in society. She talked of selfless love for and service to the people, of total dedication to a higher cause, of unshakeable courage and integrity and of steadfast faith.

She used these words to describe Mother Teresa and Aung San Suu Kyi. In her humility, she would never use these words to describe herself. In fact, one time she also said “I am not a hero like Mandela.” But the accolades she received and continue to receive tell us that history will always remember her greatness.

Today would have been her 82nd birthday. A grateful nation will never forget the heroine, clad in yellow, who became the icon of democracy, the Mother of People Power and who never prayed for anything for herself but only for the Filipino people.

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Writing class for adults

Write Things begins its 2015 series of writing classes for adults with ?Memoir Writing: A Path to Clarity with Susan Quimpo, co-author and co-editor of Subversive Lives, a family memoir of the Marcos years. Quimpo is a writer, trained counselor and art therapist. The session is on Jan. 31 (Sat; 1-5 p.m.) at Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street. Call 0917-6240196 / email [email protected].

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Email: [email protected]