‘The Woman Who Changed Asia.’ Former Philippine President Corazon Aquino graces the cover of Time Magazine again. The publication named her as Woman of the Year in 1986 (left) and one of its 60 Asian Heroes in 2006 (right). Images from TIME.com

It was a fitting capstone for the person it hailed as its Woman of the Year in 1986 and listed as one of its Asian heroes when it celebrated its sixth decade in 2006.

Renowned international publication Time Magazine has once again paid tribute to and celebrated the life of former President Corazon Aquino, who it named as “the woman who changed Asia.”

Mrs. Aquino passed away last August 1, 2009 after a long battle with colon cancer. Her death has gripped the whole Philippine nation and stunned the world, as seen in the outpouring of mourning and sympathy following her demise.

Time Magazine’s August 17, 2009 Asian edition devoted three special reports chronicling Mrs. Aquino’s ascent to power, how she ran the Philippine government as “a miracle worker,” and how people-backed, nonviolent protests across the world drew inspiration from the historic 1986 EDSA Revolution.

The tribute begins with Hannah Beech’s article calling Mrs. Aquino as “The Saint of Democracy.”

“The only weapon (Mrs. Aquino) possessed was moral courage. But with it she discovered a groundbreaking truth: that a populace holding nothing more than candles and rosary beads could face a cavalcade of tanks, topple a dictator, and most improbable of all, usher in democracy,” it said.

The article described the Philippine’s first People Power Revolt as the catalyst of peaceful uprisings against authoritarian regimes in Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and the Soviet Union.

It even quoted South Africa’s former Archbishop Desmond Tutu as saying: “When we were struggling with apartheid, we spoke of People Power. You had to be with the people to make things happen.”

The magazine also republished “I am Not Going to Surrender,” which first appeared in Time’s March 10, 1986 issue, a few days after the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos’ 20-year dictatorship was toppled.

The article recounts the dramatic sequence of events from February 22 to 25 of that year that started with the defection of then Defense chief Juan Ponce Enrile and Armed Forces Vice Chief of Staff Fidel V. Ramos and concluded with the unceremonious expulsion of dictator Marcos.

’Divine Inspiration’

Howard Chua-Eoan’s piece titled “A Miracle Worker in a Plain Yellow Dress” details how the 1983 assassination of Mrs. Aquino’s husband, Ninoy, fuelled sentiments against the Marcos regime and thrust the soft-spoken widow as an opposition symbol.

“The devout and stoic Roman Catholic widow became the incarnation of a pious nation that had itself suffered silently through more than a decade of autocratic rule,” it said.

Even as her six-year rule was besieged by military coup attempts, the woman in yellow, armed with her faith, had restored the democratic processes and institutions that were left in shambles by her predecessor.

This, despite her late husband’s prediction that anyone who would succeed Ferdinand Marcos would wear out after six months in office “like horse manure.”

Icon of Democracy

It is not the first time that Mrs. Aquino had graced Time Magazine’s cover.

In 1986, she was named Woman of the Year, the first female to receive Time’s annual distinction after Queen Elizabeth II in 1952.

She was also recognized in 2006 as among the 60 Asian Heroes, along with Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, Mohandas Gandhi, and fellow democracy icon, Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi.

Three other Filipinos made it to the list. They are: billiards champion Efren “Bata” Reyes and Philippine Daily Inquirer founders Eugenia Apostol and Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc.

Time also featured Mrs. Aquino for three times in February and March 1986, in the wake of the historic People Power revolution that catapulted her to the world’s spotlight. - GMANews.TV

Arnold Bañares is a Silicon Valley (CA)-based Filipino maker of all kinds of puzzles. Arnold emailed: “I cannot pay my personal respects to President Cory. Hence, this, my little tribute.”

She found comfort in her prayers, they found comfort in their poems.

One of the most remarkable qualities of former President Corazon Aquino was her unwavering faith in God.

During the most trying times of her life — from her husband Sen. Benigno Ninoy Aquino’s assassination to her turbulent presidency and, finally, to her painful battle with colon cancer — Cory drew strength from prayer.

She even wrote her own prayers expressing praise, thanksgiving and her most fervent requests to God.

In Cory’s official website, a page is dedicated to prayers Cory wrote from 1994 to 2004.

A prayer Cory wrote on September 2, 1994 reflects her gratitude as well as compassion for her countrymen.

On October 3 of the same year, Cory’s prayer “Come, Come to My Aid,” pleaded for divine mercy hinting at a difficult trial that she was going through.

Epitomizing the perfect mother who loves unconditionally, Cory also composed prayers for her children and grandchildren seeking help for their hardships or expressing gratitude for their successes.

On Kris’ 24th birthday, Cory wrote a heartfelt prayer for her favorite daughter who was then involved with actor Philip Salvador.

She also prayed with gratitude during her son Noynoy’s victory when he ran for congressman in Tarlac in 1998.

In 2004, then 71-year old Cory wrote “Prayer for a Happy Death” that imparted a very valuable reminder on how to live a good life.

The prayer inspired a mother with a cancer–stricken son and prompted her to attend Cory’s Quarant’ore (the 40-hour prayer vigil for Cory’s speedy recovery) held at the EDSA Shrine Chapel last July.

Poems for Cory

After GMANews.tv launched the tribute microsite for Cory in June, several supporters left encouraging comments and prayers for the ailing president.

High school student Vida Andreana Palacio was the first to offer a poem for the beloved Cory that honored her contributions to the country and prayed for her full recovery.

An Overseas Filipino Worker in Dubai Gerry Suanjr remembered Cory’s most important role as the mother of Philippine democracy.

After Cory passed away on August 1, Symphony John Castillo composed a 15 – stanza poem that narrated his grief not for Cory but for his mother country.

Meanwhile, Rolly Pasilan from Escalante City, Negros Occidental wrote a poem that cherished Cory as the Philippine Rose — reminiscent of Elton John’s tribute song for the late Princess Diana, “Goodbye England’s Rose.”

Gripped by grief over the country’s great loss, more readers posted their poems in the comments section of GMANews.tv’s Cory tribute microsite to convey their gratitude, praise and farewell to a great president, an exemplary Filipina and a loving mother who touched many lives.

It could only be hoped that after Cory is laid to rest, the Filipino people would still remember what she and Ninoy fought for and continue their mission to restore the Philippines to greatness.

CARLA MONTEMAYOR, GMANews.TV
08/02/2009 | 03:37 PM

When I was a teenager, ordinary Filipinos helped depose a tyrant by blocking tanks and offering flowers to soldiers. Few people anywhere in the world can say that and few people will understand the pride and hope it brought me as a young Filipino.

The end of the Marcos regime signaled the impending deaths of other authoritarian regimes in Southeast Asia and the Edsa revolution of 1986 was the first among the peaceful revolutions that later occurred in Eastern Europe and elsewhere in the world.

We can argue about the quality of democracy it “restored” in the Philippines, but that is another story. For now, let me remember the woman at the center of that revolution: Cory Aquino.

Cory was the only other president I knew apart from Marcos while I was growing up. The first time I saw her on television was in 1983 during Ninoy’s funeral.

When she emerged as the opposition’s presidential candidate two years later, I recall thinking, “Why her?” I thought she was meek and unprepossessing.

She spoke softly and appeared calm. She wore glasses and did not even look angry. How could she unite an outraged nation? But she did. The sheer contrast of her demeanor to that of the dictator (and especially the dictator’s wife), her modesty and dignity galvanized us. I wore Cory buttons to school even though I could not even vote yet.

I was radicalized during the years of democratic transition in the late 1980s.

The slaughter of farmers along Mendiola, the assassinations of Ka Lando Olalia and Lean Alejandro and the massacre of farmers (again) in Lupao in 1987 were equally life-changing events for me and I struggled to reconcile them with the so-called democracy that had just been introduced to an expectant nation.

Yet even as I and my fellow student activists were angered by these atrocities, I don’t think many among us really believed that Cory sanctioned them. Attempts to designate Cory as a “class enemy” and an object of hatred just exposed the zealotry of those who espoused them.

Nevertheless, there were real failures that can be undeniably attributed to Cory’s presidency, among them her own family’s thwarting of land reform, the missed opportunity to repudiate onerous debts and to assert real independence from US influence. I was among the many who felt bitter and betrayed when Cory tried to convince the Philippine senate to renew the US bases treaty when it ended in 1991.

Yet twenty six years since I first came to know of Cory, I am among those who feel orphaned at her passing. And it is not those policies and political decisions that I dwell on, but her life, who she was and what she stood for.

For even as we seek to reform institutions and structures, as we search for models upon which to build our democracy, Cory showed us the power and value of personal example.

It will have been said a thousand times now but I shall repeat it because it is important to me: Cory was unfailingly kind and gracious. So much so that grown men she had worked with weep openly upon her death and even her neighbors speak fondly of her touching gestures.

She was incorruptible — and this I also emphasize because it is so rare among our leaders to leave office untainted by some scam or another. Cory made sure her own family did not get too close to power or engage in shenanigans. (Okay, she could not do anything about Kris but who can?)

The thing I most admire about Cory is that she did her best.

Personal excellence is not something that immediately leaps to our minds when we think of Cory. It is only by reading obituaries that we remember that she was valedictorian of her grade school class at St. Scholastica, for example; or that she majored and excelled in French and mathematics in college and was set on a career in law before she married.

I truly marvel at how, with every single challenge, Cory did her best.

She was the sheltered daughter of a wealthy clan who suddenly found herself subjected to the indignity of being strip-searched on her visits to her jailed husband.

She was a housewife with five children who was asked to unite a nation in fighting a tyrant.

She was an old woman, content in her retirement, who never faltered in her fight against corruption and made a stand against two presidents who succeeded her.

What pain and disappointment Cory must have felt to see the Philippines in the hands of another woman whom she helped put in power in 2001 — an error of judgment Cory was humble enough to acknowledge in her public apology to Erap. Do you know of anyone else who has apologized?

I cringe at the Time magazine obituary that proclaims Cory a “saint” of People Power.

Let us resist the temptation to canonize her because it only takes away from the immensity of her achievements.

Cory, despite her well-known association with the Catholic church, championed a modern and secular idea: democracy. Yes, Cory was religious, she was prayerful, but she was not a saint.

She was a Filipino who did her best when thrust into the most difficult and unfamiliar of circumstances. Some of her responses and decisions, especially when she was in government, were flawed but no one can question the character and spirit of the woman who made them.

Pettiness, vulgarity, vindictiveness, hatred, arrogance, greed—these are words we will never associate with Cory. When we think of Cory we remember courage, humility, justice, self-sacrifice and decency.

We tend to think of heroism as consisting of dramatic acts: hunger strikes, armed resistance, martyrdom. Seldom do we pause and see heroism in everyday actions.

In Cory we saw how each decision had a moral quality to it; that she tried, even in the most ambiguous of predicaments, to determine what was right and wrong, what was just and unjust. It says a lot about the state of our society that one has to be heroic just to stay decent.

Cory embodied the best in us and now she is gone. We are orphaned and I am afraid to contemplate our future. - GMANews.TV

Carla Montemayor, who used to write for Newsbreak magazine, is currently based in London.

Back in September, she had been suffering from cancer for at least six months, had undergone chemotherapy, and was only making rare public appearances, let alone sit-down interviews. She just didn’t have the strength.

Our public affairs team at the time was producing a special program called Newsmakers, featuring all the living Philippine presidents past and present. Cory Aquino, of course, had to be an integral part of the show. But she was ailing, and our producers had the delicate task of trying to arrange for her to still be part of the show, if it was at all possible.

After her three daughters Ballsy, Pinky and Viel were interviewed together for the show, they promised they would try to convince their mom. Sure enough, Ballsy — the daughter who was also Cory’s right hand during her six years in Malacanang — texted a day later to say her mother had agreed to be interviewed.

According to program manager Ella Evangelista-Martelino, who conceived of the project, the interview was initially set to take place at her office in the Cojuangco Building in Makati, but “Cory decided to see us at Times instead as this might be more convenient for us. How considerate could she be!” Martelino recalls.

(Times refers to the home on Times Street in Quezon City that Cory shared with husband Ninoy and their children.)

In the living room at the family home on Times Street, from left to right, program manager Ella Evangelista - Martelino, Jason Dimbla, and Jessica Soho.

Cory finally sat down on September 3 with Jessica Soho for one of her last full-length interviews. Frail but smiling, and summoning a still-sharp memory, she gave us more than an hour of reminiscence, insights, and just the down-to-earth goodness that endeared her to the nation. None of us dared talk about it at the time, but all those who were at the shoot knew this would be one of their final encounters with her, if not the very last.

“I still have great hopes. Tayong mga Pilipino, sasabihin, ‘Ano ba naman, bakit hindi tayo umangat katulad ng iba nating kalapit bansa?’ Sabi ko, darating at darating din iyon.”

She herself talked almost matter-of-factly about soon joining Ninoy, with the tone of contentment of someone who felt she had already accomplished her life’s mission on earth. Even as she neared death, her calmness served as a lesson for us all.

She was interviewed in the living room within sight of a portrait of her as a young attractive woman by national artist Fernando Amorsolo, a gift from Ninoy early in their marriage.

Alas, our airtime for Newsmakers could only include a few minutes of that conversation with Jessica. But we felt that Cory agreed to speak not just for the show but as a way of leaving some parting words for the nation.

“I realized I have so much to be grateful for.” The paintings in the background are by the former president. She took up painting in her retirement.

In the “A gift from Cory Aquino” video, and in the previous one we uploaded while she was still alive (Cory Aquino: Woman of our time), we chose some of her most revealing soundbites, the ones that moved us most, and the nuggets of wisdom and encouragement that we want future generations to take to heart.

This is one of her farewell gifts to us — to those of us at GMA News and Public Affairs who were fortunate enough to be part of that production… and to the Filipino nation that she loved unconditionally.

Thank you, Tita Cory.

– Howie Severino

From the interview, recalling her campaign against Marcos in early 1986:

Doon sa isang pineapple plantation sa Mindanao, nagsasalita na ako tapos nakita ko, may isang bucket na pinapasa-pasa doon ng mga taong nakikinig sa akin.

Sabi ko, ano kaya ang ginagawa nila? Pero sige pa rin ako doon sa aking talumpati.

Noong natapos ang aking talumpati, umakyat iyong barangay captain, binigyan ako ng isang bilao ng saging at pineapple at nagpasalamat naman ako.

Pagkatapos, mayroong nag-abot sa kaniya nung plastic bucket na nakikita ko, sabi, “Para sa iyo ito.”

Nung tiningnan ko, mga piso, bills at saka coins. Alam mo, parang gusto kong maiyak dahil ang hirap na nila, yet they were giving whatever they had to me.

(Click here for a transcript of the interview in the video player above)

Aug 1, 2009 | 05:22 AM

Former President Corazon Aquino flashes the ‘Laban’ sign as she speaks to thousands of people at an anti-Charter change rally on Sept. 21, 1997 at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila. AP-Bullit Marquez

MANILA, Philippines - Former Philippine President Corazon Aquino, icon of people power in the Philippines and around the world, passed away at 3:18 a.m. Saturday, her son, Senator Benigno Aquino III, said. The official cause of death was cardiorespiratory arrest.

The 76-year-old Aquino was diagnosed with colon cancer in March of last year and was treated with chemotherapy. Last May, she underwent surgery to remove parts of her colon and was brought to the Makati Medical Center in June due to loss of appetite. She never left the hospital, as her declining condition sparked a wave of emotion in the country and prompted the widespread appearance of yellow ribbons - on trees, car antennas, and even the Web.

“She would have wanted us to thank each and everyone of you for all your continued love and support. It was her wish for all of us to pray for one another and for our country,” Senator Aquino said. “Hinihiling ng aming pamilya ng kaunting panahon para makasama ang aming ina.”

He added that other details will be announced later in the day.

Dressed in her signature yellow, Mrs. Aquino rallied the middle class in a series of protests culminating in the 1986 people power revolt that toppled the 20-year regime of strongman Ferdinand Marcos and swept her to the presidency.

She blamed the Marcos government for the assassination of her husband, opposition leader Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., who was gunned down at the Manila airport upon returning from exile in 1983.

The former housewife reluctantly took over as Marcos’ main challenger, becoming an international icon of democracy after her victory sparked a wave of pro-democracy movements around the world. Time Magazine named Mrs. Aquino its Woman of the Year in 1986.

Adopting a policy of national reconciliation, Mrs. Aquino freed more than 500 political prisoners, including some of the top leaders of the Communist Party of the Philippines, when she became president.

She oversaw the writing of a new constitution through a commission that hammered out a new charter. The 1987 constitution replaced the Martial Law-era 1973 Constitution and restored democratic institutions such as free elections, the bicameral congress and an independent Supreme Court that were absent during Marcos’ rule. To prevent a reprise of Marcos’ one-man rule, the new charter set term limits on elected officials, including six years for the presidency.

The economy started to recover from the slump when she assumed office, with the gross domestic product rising progressively and reaching 6.7 percent two years later. However, the contraction of the US economy in 1991, along with a series of coup attempts against her and 10-12 hours of blackouts during her last few years, crippled the Philippine economy.

Critics have also claimed that she fell short of the promise of social and economic reforms, refusing to write off the country’s massive foreign debt which many of her supporters hoped would follow the ouster of Marcos.

But supporters point out that Mrs. Aquino also pushed for labor-intensive projects and started the trend of setting targets for the reduction of poverty and unemployment in the country.

Former presidents Corazon Aquino, center, Fidel Ramos, left, and Joseph Estrada, right, release doves on Feb. 22, 1999 in Quezon City to celebrate the 13th anniversary of the ‘People Power’ revolution that ousted the 20-year-rule of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos. AP-Bullit Marquez

Solita Collas Monsod, who served as Socioeconomic Planning Secretary during Mrs. Aquino’s term, said that although the former president was landed, one of her landmark programs was the passage of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

The first three years of her administration were tumultuous, with restive soldiers and Marcos loyalists mounting a series of violent coup attempts against her. Mrs. Aquino survived all of them, holding office until 1992. She then campaigned for Fidel Ramos, a key figure in the People Power Revolution, whose presidential victory is widely credited to Aquino’s endorsement.

In an article commemorating the 20th anniversary of the people power revolt on the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism website, Aquino was quoted as saying, “I don’t know how they will judge [my
presidency], but I just hope that they will realize that it was not an easy thing restoring democracy after a dictatorship. Also being the first woman president certainly had its problems and then we were dealing with a very strong military that were spoiled during the Marcos dictatorship.”

Influential figure

After her presidency, Mrs. Aquino retired to private life. She took an active interest in painting, with flowers and women as subjects, and joined various art exhibits to raise funds for her advocacies: the Senator Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. Foundation, PinoyMe, ASA Foundation, and People Power People.

But she remained an influential figure in Philippine politics, lending her presence to political causes that needed her iconic stature.

In January 2001, she participated in the second EDSA Revolution that brought down the popularly elected President Joseph Estrada, who was accused of plunder, and installing his vice president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo into power.

Former President Corazon Aquino and Jaime Cardinal Sin join forces at an anti-Charter change rally at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila on Sept. 21, 1997. AP

In 2005, Mrs. Aquino supported the group of cabinet secretaries that resigned in the wake of the “Hello Garci” wire-tapping scandal, and joined opposition figures in calling for the resignation of Arroyo over allegations of vote-rigging in the 2004 presidential elections.

She remained active in social and political causes in recent years, publicly supporting Marine Col. Ariel Querubin during a stand-off at the Marine headquarters in 2006 and NBN-ZTE whistleblower Jun Lozada last year.

Mrs. Aquino has expressed regrets for supporting EDSA II due to the controversies hounding the Arroyo administration, and apologized publicly to Estrada.

In an interview last year for Newsmakers on GMA7, Mrs. Aquino said about her illness: “I used to think all of us have certain quotas for suffering and I felt I had filled up my quota, e hindi pala ganun e (it’s not like that).

“Of course who wants to get sick? But if that’s my fate, so be it… I don’t want to live for such a long time. Sabi ko nga, 75 na ako, tama na iyon (I have said, I’m 75, that’s enough).” - With reports from Sophia Dedace, Andreo Calonzo, Aie Balagtas See, Ruby Anne M. Rubio and Cheryl M. Arcibal GMANews.TV