The below is an article i had taken from the dailiy inquirer online. A very thought provoking article indeed. With the Nation mourning the loss of not just a significant figure in the History of the Philippines but also an inspiration to many. I did not know her personally but I’ve done my own research on her, her works, her life as a wife, mother, public figure, a president and a hero. Just like many, I too, appreciated what she had done for the country, the sacrifices she and her husband had to endure to make the Philippines a better place for the future generation and i think people like the Marcos’, and the Arroyo’s should stop their hunger for power if they want the future generations to see the beauty of our country Philippines..
Cory Aquino puts shroud on Arroyo’s US visit
By Emil Guillermo
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 10:22:00 08/02/2009
Filed Under: Cory Aquino, Diplomacy
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Advertisement CALIFORNIA, United States—I’ll always see Cory Aquino as the demure amateur thrust into the limelight. I first saw her in 1983 in the Santo Domingo Church in the Philippines. I was there for KRON-TV in San Francisco doing a story for the NBC network. I was covering the funeral of her late husband the charismatic Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, the former journalist and Philippine senator who was considered the main foe of Philippine autocrat Ferdinand Marcos.
Cory Aquino wore a black, not yellow dress, as she took to the vestibule in mourning and asked the assembled at the funeral of her assassinated husband, to “not let Ninoy die in vain.”
She then led a crowd of at more than a million people through the streets of Manila in what was a magnificent funeral procession and a harbinger of the “People Power” revolution that would take place within the following three years.
Cory Aquino didn’t do half bad, really, as political wives go.
The feelings for Benigno Aquino and the negative feelings for Marcos were so strong, that the momentum was set up for anyone who dared to stand in the spotlight.
Cory Aquino was it by default.
She had enough in her to inspire the millions ready for change to boldly stand with her in 1986 against the dictator. This was the peaceful revolution known as People Power. The assassination, the distraught situation of the Philippine people, and the unwillingness of the country to accept a fraudulent Marcos election bestowed on Aquino a kind of democratic sainthood.
That was Cory Aquino’s role. She was perfect at that…But as president, she was a bit lacking.
In interviews, she admitted she had no real idea what she was doing. The devout Catholic had her sincerity, her earnestness. But we learned that public policy is not built on prayer alone. Aquino did manage to survive and keep things together, no small task considering that by the time she left office in 1992, she had survived six coup attempts.
The real disappointment of her reign, however, was not that Cory couldn’t do it, but that the Filipino people who thrust her into power couldn’t do it. With Marcos gone, the deck was merely reshuffled among the governing class. The Ins were Outs. The Outs were In.
Exiled leaders came home to their lost fortunes. Former leaders came to America, or accepted lesser posts. The poor did not/could not rise. The country’s collective fate did not improve.
Unfortunately, it’s still debatable if the Philippines is better off now than it was under Marcos.
Since Aquino left office, the Philippines has been reliving watered down versions of its past. Corruption is dialed back, but not eliminated. A bad president (Estrada) is thrown out by “mini-people power,” and is replaced by another oligarch, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Arroyo, who was with President Obama this past week, is the anti-Cory in every way.
I’ve called her Marcos Lite. All the taste of the former dictator, but with fewer calories.
Even Cory Aquino marched in protests that called for Arroyo’s resignation.
Ironically, Cory Aquino’s death may actually make her an even more powerful force in such a devoutly Catholic country. Death solidifies Aquino’s role as the spirit of a democratic ideal for the Philippines.
I can hear the prayers now.
ARROYO’S COLONIAL VISIT TO THE U.S. GOES BUST
Imagine how snakebit Arroyo must feel. She goes to Washington, DC last week for no real good reason other than she desperately needs a photo op with the new imperial leader, US President Barack Obama.
If you are a Filipino nationalist, that must have been a hoot, as has the entire Arroyo era.
Aside from domestic corruption, all Arroyo has to show is how well she sucked up to George W. Bush positioning the Philippines as the flea that backed the coalition against Iraq.
The ploy did get the country ally status equal to Israel and Australia. But it placed the Philippines as an ally to Bush’s losing Iraq strategy. It also made the country a target of terrorists and necessitated this visit to the new pres to make sure there are no misunderstandings.
Fortunately, there are new controversies with Burma and North Korea that push the Iraq mess into the background. Arroyo let Obama know she’ll play with him too, just as she did Bush.
Obama, in turn, gave her a few good soundbites, as in the Philippines “punches above its weight in the international arena,” and the praiseworthy passage.
Ah, the gift of credibility.
“President Arroyo,” Obama continued, “has done outstanding work on a whole range of issues. She mentioned the areas where the United States and the Philippines are of one accord, but as evidenced here today, she’s somebody who knows the issues. She has experience leading the Philippines through some very difficult times.”
Is that not earmarked for a future Arroyo campaign?
Except for die-hard nationalists, most in the Philippines should eat that stuff up. Obama likes Arroyo. That’s like a blessing from the pope. In the US, however, Arroyo’s meeting gets flea-worthy coverage, trumped by the Gates/Crowley race meeting a few hours earlier in the Rose Garden.
So a mixed result with Obama Thursday night for Arroyo. But then to totally obliterate Arroyo from the news, Aquino passes away Friday. It is front page of the New York Times. Aquino is uplifted, Arroyo is under a shroud.
The night before in the middle of the US traveling, I talked to people about Arroyo and no one has a clue who she is. They think Aquino is still president, if they even bother to think about the Philippines. That’s how low a standing the Philippines has in the consciousness of the average American.
Perhaps that’s fortunate for Arroyo. Instead of blame, she remains an anonymous leader of a screwed up, underachieving Third World country in Asia.
E-mail emil@amok.com
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Tags: arroyo, cory aquino, death, future, generations., Philippines, president
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