Of Saints  Heroes

By KATHERINE SY-CANCIO

CORAZON ‘Cory’ C. Aquino had never been a big fan of glamour. In 1992, after her historical six-year term as the 11th President of the Philippines, and the first woman at that, she humbly rode away from her successor’s inauguration in an austere white Toyota Crown she purchased, disregarding the government-issued Mercedez Benz. Her point: she was once again an ordinary citizen—no different from the others. And even as her presidency came to an end, her otherwise hapless children—the Filipinos—always had a mother figure who believed the very same thing her equally selfless husband, Ninoy Aquino, did, that we are worth dying for.

If you asked Cory to describe herself before the hullaballoo of martial law and Ninoy’s demise on the staircase leading to the tarmac of the Manila International Airport on August 21, 1983, she would unfussily say, “I’m a plain housewife.” Never mind that she came from the second richest Chinese-Mestizo clan in the Philippines, or that she earned multiple degrees from various prestigious universities in the United States, Manila, and Tokyo. How do we label a commendable leader who’s not fond of putting herself on a pedestal?

A Fighter in Her Own Right

You could say Ninoy’s death instigated the 1986 revolution, that the series of succeeding events were just ripples, and that the Filipinos were bound to retaliate anytime. The question is, could it have been more compelling if somebody else took Cory’s place?

After the assassination of Ninoy, Cory actively participated in countless rallies seeking justice for her husband’s demise. She was under the notion, though, that the public’s fascination and curiosity towards her will soon come to an end, thus, she can go back to her normal life and fight President Ferdinand Marcos without being too visible.

In 1985, Marcos announced a snap election, and Cory, who was reluctant at first, was propelled into candidacy for President by fate.

She then resurrected the Philippines which was on the verge of economic death. Cory acknowledged debts incurred by the former administration and a new Philippine Constitution began to take effect in 1987. She also enacted relevant legal reforms, including the famous agrarian reform law which allowed the redistribution of agricultural lands to tenant-farmers from landowners. Her administration faced numerous adversaries and a range of natural disasters from killer earthquakes to rampant flooding, but she always emerged well-composed.

As a President who wasn’t covered by the stiff six-year rule, she had the option to consider reelection when her term expired. Instead she chose to make a graceful exit and endorsed her defense secretary, Fidel V. Ramos, for the Presidency. After leaving her post, Cory continued to receive several awards and citations. In 1994, she was named one of the 100 Women Who Shaped World History, a literary masterpiece by Gail Meyer Rolka, published by Bluewood Books in San Francisco, California.

Cory’s legacy as the mother of Philippine democracy proved laudable by the day. She quashed tyranny and gave hope to the oppressed.

A Life of Prayer

Cory led by example. Her personal virtues inspired a whole nation to believe not only in People Power, but in the overwhelming power of prayers as well. During Ninoy’s incarceration, she attended daily Mass and said three Rosaries a day. She also taught her five children to live a simple life.

Her reverence for the Almighty and high regard for divine guidance could be credited as her formula for such a blessed existence. In November 1985, before conceding to the people’s clamor for her to run against Marcos, she prayed and meditated for 10 straight hours at the convent of the Sister-Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration.

Even in her vigorous involvement in various political activities post-presidency, Cory gave her opinions and vouched for presidential and senatorial candidates she ardently had faith in.

As proof of her compassion beyond politics, Cory spearheaded social welfare and scholarship assistance projects via the Benigno S. Aquino Foundation, the EDSA People Power Commission, and the PinoyME Foundation, a non-profit organization that assists microfinance institutions through the provision of loans.

Her battle with colon cancer ended with a miraculous sign, as one member of the Holy Adoration Sisters had predicted—Cory would join her master on a first Saturday, a manifestation of what her devotion to Our Lady of Fatima promised. And leave us on the first Saturday of August 2009 she did, with over a million mourners around the globe whose lives she touched paying their final respects in person and through every sort of medium possible:  the Internet, television, print, radio, all of which Cory Aquino rightfully deserved.

Hero? Saint? She’s Cory Aquino, and that’s we all know—for now.