One Woman’s Strength and a Nation Forever Changed
With all the hoopla going on about our presidential elections and the visit of Sec. Clinton, I wanted to revisit my thoughts on our former president, Cory Aquino. She was a heroic and admirable woman, who showed Filipinos the true meaning of strength, love of country and God-fearing values. Even in her last days, Cory Aquino brought Filipinos together, to celebrate & uplift our Motherland and to rally the masses into action. On her deathbed, she still thought of us and still had this magnetism that stirs the consciousness of our minds.
Cory Aquino believed we could truly change our situation and make our country great again. Now, we are in the midst of an impending change, the elections are less than a year away and I am inclined to think that May 2010 is the perfect opportunity for Filipinos to seize the day. We wanted change, here it is. We wanted new leadership, let’s choose a candidate with only the nation’s interest at heart. We demand a better future, then vote for a person who will LEAD with honor and accountability and true democracy in mind, leader who will not only make milestones in his administration but will pave the way for the next generation of leaders to follow in his patriotic steps. I won’t tell people who to vote for, not yet anyway, but I hope that whoever they choose next year it is an individual very much like this woman, whom I will write about. A mother, a widow, a president, a friend, a spokeswoman, a patriot, a hero. Corazon Aquino are all these and more.
“Remembering Cory”
August 5, 2009
I mourn her passing not only because she gave our nation back its long lost freedom, but also because I have realized that more than an icon for democracy, Pres. Corazon Aquino was a good person. And the passing of a any good spirit from this Earth should be given due respect and grieved.
I am an admirer of the former president, but I am also a realist. I am sure that she had her fair share of mistakes in governing our nation. No one is faultless, even the heroine of Edsa I. But her love for our country and the sacrifices she had made for our people more than made up for whatever her critics come up with. Her sincerity to change this nation and her dedication to the task that the Filipino people thrust upon her that made her a leader of admirable and inspiring quality. Anything they claim will only pale in comparison to the gift she given to us - our democracy.
No Filipino can ever question or must never forget Cory’s actions, her role in our history. In one act of selflessness she showed us her love for the Philippines. She stood by the people in 1986. She chose to accept the hand dealt to her by God. Despite adversity she became more than the widow of Ninoy, she became the face of the Filipino revolution - faithful to God, nationalistic, brave and determined to find justice.
Cory could have declined despite being presented by Don Chino Roces one million signatures urging her to run against Marcos. She could have chosen to leave to protect her children from the possible wrath of the regime. Yet she stayed. She remained by us. Even in the years after her presidency, Cory was still there to fight whatever new foe came to threaten our democracy, our people. She is a shining beacon of inspiration. Advocating for the greater good, she made us want to be better Filipinos. She never lost faith in us or in God’s plan for this nation.
We lost a great hero last August 1, 2009, but we cannot lose the legacy she gave us. We cannot forget what one woman and the Filipinos who suffered at the hands of martial law had to go through to take back our nation. We must remember what those at Edsa, and the millions of others around the country rallied for. We have to keep fighting, because Cory believed that we can overcome anything. In her own words, she believed in the “inexhaustible giftedness of the Filipino people.” That alone is enough to remind me not to lose hope for the Philippines.