Corazon Cojoangco Aquino Passes Away--Taking the Limelight Off of Philippines President Arroyos Visit to White House
By Kevin Stoda, Manila
Corazon "Corry" Aquino, icon of the Philippines' first People Power Revolt in 1986, and the country's first female President, passed away Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, Gloria Arroyo, the current female president, was in Washington, DC with a record number of Philippine Senators and larger entourage to improve relations with the USA today and to get more respect for Filipino citizens and efforts on behalf of the USA military forces around the world.
President Arroyo's administration is fairly unpopular. She is supported by less than 40% of the people, and some observers are worried she might become involved in a coup of sorts to stay in power. Earlier this past month, the president's office was involved in obvious bribes of governors of various provinces. Human rights records have not improved under her administration.On one hand you have a newly elected, young, idealistic, dynamic, US president; a superb orator who just happens to be Black, and who told world leaders during his inaugural address "To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history...." On the other hand you have a lame duck Philippine president who has been dogged by one controversy after another since taking office, and who hopes to legitimize herself in the eyes of her constituents and the world by standing side-by-side with President Obama in the White House."
"CORRY"
"While at law school ["Corry" Aquino] met her future
husband, Benigno Aquino and married him in 1954. The marriage united two of
Tarlac's most prominent families. Aquino's husband belonged to a family whose
involvement in politics went as far back as the last century. One year after
they were married, Aquino's husband was elected mayor of the city of Concepcion at the age of
22. Her husband was considered one of the Philippines' brightest political
hopes." (Source: http://www.bookrags.com/biography/corazon-cojoangco-aquino/ )
Later, "[a]s her husband rose in prominence, he became an outspoken critic of the regime of President Ferdinand Marcos. When Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972, Aquino's husband was one of the first persons arrested and put in jail. During the long years of her husband's incarceration from 1972 to 1980, Aquino's role as a quiet wife slowly changed. Becoming her husband's main link to the outside world, she was instrumental in having his statements passed along to the press and to activists outside the prison walls. From inside his cell, Aquino's husband even ran for a seat in Parliament, with his wife conducting a large portion of the campaign."
Finally, "Ninoy", as Mr. Aquino was lovingly known by the greater Filipino population, eventually went into exile under the continuing dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. When Ninoy Aquino arrived back in the country after free elections were called in 1984, he was assassinated within 24 hours.
According to many accounts, "[t]he public reacted angrily to the Aquino murder. Rallies and other forms of resistance sprang up in cities and towns all over the Philippines. During the next two and a half years all segments of the population, including the upper and middle classes, joined the struggle to get rid of Marcos. Finally, yielding to pressure from his people (and the U.S.), Marcos called for presidential elections to prove he still had widespread support."
Soon, "Benigno Aquino's widow Cory, a self-described housewife, ran against Marcos. The election was marked by widespread fraud, with Marcos' thugs beating up election workers and scrambling voter rolls. The government declared Marcos the winner."
After protesting the results of the Marco's manipulated election before a crowd of 1 million Filipinos in Manila, things quieted down until in February 1986 when "Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Deputy Chief of Staff Fidel Ramos defect from the Marcos government. Enrile and Ramos barricade themselves in the Defense Ministry headquarters in Manila, along with a small group of sympathetic troops. They say they are prepared to die rather than continue supporting the corrupt Marcos regime."
PEOPLE POWER 1986
People Power, a populist resistance movement arose:.
-Marcos' soldiers and weapons are met in the streets by tens of thousands of ordinary Filipinos who are surrounding CampCrame to protect the rebel officers.
-As the tanks start forward into the crowd, people sit down in front of them.
