Content and Contextual Analysis: Speech of Corazon Aquino

Speech of Corazon Aquino

1. Author's background Cory Aquino was born as Maria Corazon
Sumulong Cojuanco on January 25, 1933 in Tarlac
Province, North of Manila. She belonged to a
wealthy and politically prominent family. In 1954, she
graduated Mount St. Vincent College in New York
City with a bachelor’s degree in French and
Mathematics.
In 1955, she abandoned further studies to marry
Benigno Simeon Aquino, Jr., who was then a
promising young politician. They had five children,
four daughters and one son. Later on, her husband,
became a prominent oppositionist of Ferdinand
Marcos, hence he was jailed for 8 years during the
Marcos administration (1972-1980).
In February 1886, when Ferdinand Marcos called
for presidential elections, Cory Aquino run for the
opposition’s presidential candidate.
Cory Aquino, was a Filipino politician who served
as the 11th President of the Philippines, becoming
the first woman to hold that office. She was the most
prominent figure of the 1986 People Power
Revolution, which ended the 20-year rule of
President Ferdinand E. Marcos. Due to this, she was
widely accredited as the “Mother of Asian
Democracy”. She was named Time magazine's
Woman of the Year in 1986.
As President, Aquino oversaw the promulgation
of the 1987 Constitution, which limited the powers of
 the Presidency and re-established the bicameral
Congress. Her administration provided a strong
emphasis on and concern for civil liberties and
human rights and on peace talks to resolve the
ongoing Communist insurgency and Islamist
secession movements.

Her presidential term lasted for six years, starting

from February 25, 1986 until June 30, 1992. On
August 1, 2009, at the age of 76, she died as she
was diagnosed with colon cancer in the year 2008.
After her death, monuments of her peace and
democracy, in the capital of Manila and her home
province of Tarlac, were established.

2. Historical background of the Corazon’s husband, Ninoy Aquino, had become

document
an outspoken critic of Ferdinand Marcos's
regime and was expected to win the 1973
presidential elections since Marcos was term-limited
and could not run according to the Constitution.
However, Marcos declared martial law on
September 21, 1972, and abolished the Constitution,
refusing to relinquish power. Hence, Ninoy was
jailed by Marcos for eight years, and Corazon
accompanied him into exile in the United States in
1980. 
When Marcos called for a presidential election on
February 1986, Corazon run for the opposition’s
presidential candidate with Salvador Laurel as her
running mate for vice president. Corazon was
officially reported to have lost the election to Marcos,
Corazon and her supporters challenged the results,

3. Content Analysis: 
Understanding the historical
information.
Identify and describe the
content of the primary source.
charging widespread voting fraud. This led to the
People Power Revolution that ousted Marcos and
secured Corazon’s seat as the president on
February 25, 1986.
Seven months after assuming presidency,
Corazon Aquino visited America as she gave a
speech before the joint session of the United States
Congress in September, 1986. In her speech, she
sought help in addressing the 26 billion dollars of
foreign debt and a communist insurgency that grew
from 500 armed guerillas to 16,000 during Marcos’
regime. Moreover, she called on America to help the
Philippines in preserving the freedom which the
Filipinos have won for themselves.
Her speech, which was penned by her
speechwriter Teddy Locsin Jr., and which she
delivered in Washington, D.C. on September 18,
1986, managed to influence the votes to favor the
200 million dollars financial aid towards rebuilding
the Philippine economy.
Corazon Aquino’s speech was composed of countless
references to her husband — Former Senator
Ninoy Aquino — whom the Filipino nation had assigned as
the poster boy for anti-Marcos movements.
In the first part of her speech, she acknowledged the
speaker, Senator Thurmond, and the distinguished member
of congress. She reiterated her grief when she left America to
bury her husband three years before her presidency. She
said that she had returned as the President of free people.
She detailed about her husband’s struggles, how it
affected their family, and its impact on the nation.
She talked the first time she lost her husband 14
years ago after Marcos implemented the martial law
that suspended the constitution and shut down the
Congress, and how Marcos detained Benigno and
thousands of others who had spoken for the
democracy.
She also elaborated how painful it was for her
and her children to permanently lose the foundation
of their home - her husband and the father of her
children. However, Ninoy Aquino’s death was the
Philippines’ resurrection and the courage and faith
by which alone its people could be free again.
She quoted Archibald MacLeish who had said
that “democracy must be defended by arms when it
is attacked by arms, and with truth when it is
attacked by lies.” After which she spoke how he
failed to say how it shall be won.
“Still, we fought for honor, and, if only for honor,
we shall pay.” She emphasized that the fight they
started was not wasted and it was not a nonsense
one. That they, the Filipinos put up a good fight
against the administration.

Moreover, she also included in her speech the

happenings during the presidential elections on
1986, how the Filipinos united to go against the
Marcos’ regime that has burdened them for more
than a decade – it was a declaration that the country
and its people finally gained freedom.
“The task had fallen on my shoulders to continue

4. Contextual Analysis:
What are the factors that could
have influenced the author in
the writing of the document?  situation for over more than one decade. This
Explain.
offering the democratic alternative to our people.”
She took the responsibilities in taking care and
fighting for the sake of freedom of the whole country.
However, shortly after being victorious against
the dictatorship of Marcos, the Philippines was still
reckoning with everything his administration had
inflicted. That included $26 billion in total foreign
debt, and a communist insurgency that grew,
throughout the Marcos era, from 500 armed guerillas
to 16,000. The country was just at the start of a long
road to recovery. Hence, by detailing the state of the
country to the congress, her speech also lodged an
appeal for help or for financial assistance in
restoring full constitutional government and for
recovering the economy of the country.
The speech of Corazon Aquino was influenced by
the situation of the country after the Marcos’
administration. The country was left in an oppressed
caused the Filipino citizens to be left and be
burdened with the debt committed by Marcos during
his regime, which they did not receive any benefit
from.
The dust after the Martial Law was only starting
to settle, but the Philippines was reckoning with
everything Marcos’ administration had inflicted. That
included $26 billion in total foreign debt, and a
communist insurgency that grew, throughout the
Marcos era, from 500 armed guerillas to 16,000. 
The Philippines had no enough means to
compensate for the debt, hence, Corazon filed an

5. What is the relevance /
contribution of the document in
Philippine history?
6. What are the author's main
appeal for financial aid from the United States
Congress.
Moreover, since the Filipino people had really
fought hard against the administration to free the
country and as well as themselves, Corazon wanted
to preserve the freedom that Filipinos won for
themselves. Therefore, in her speech, she also
expressed her plea of help to aid the Philippines
financially in its road to constitutional and economic
recovery. She delivered a historic speech that
managed to sway in our favor the vote for an
emergency $200-million aid appropriation.
The document is relevant in the Philippine history
especially in the diplomatic and political history since
this has arguably cemented the legitimacy of the
EDSA government in the international arena.
Moreover, The ideology of the new democratic
government can also be seen in the same speech.
Furthermore, this document contributed to the
Philippine history as it also traced back the first step
of the country to restore the democracy that the
Marcos government outlawed. This document allows
the Filipino to people to know and to not forget the
harsh reality during the dictatorship of Marcos.
Lastly, since Corazon Aquino was the first female
president of the country, her speech had a strong
impact not just in the country but also on the world's
perception of women in power.
The author’s main arguments focused on the

arguments?
7. Your own overall observation
and insights on the primary
source 
constitutional and economic recovery of the country
after the dictatorship of Marcos. Corazon Aquino
wanted seek financial assistance from the
Americans to help the country recover. Moreover,
Corazon’s speech was also to officially declare and
mark the freedom of the Filipino people and to
express how the Filipino citizens united to take back
the democracy that was taken away from them
during the Marcos’ era.
Corazon Aquino's speech was based on her
experiences before and after the death of her
husband, Ninoy Aquino. Also, it was based on the
fact that as a Filipino she also felt devastated about
the situation of the country for experiencing more
than a decade of social and political oppression.
As she took the presidency, she had strongly
impacted her nation and as well as the world to view
women as someone capable of handling authority
and power. With this, she has been described as
both the "mother of Philippine democracy" and as
the "housewife who led a revolution."
In my own opinion, looking at her speech in
today’s perspective, I have observed that what had
happened in the past - the America helping the
Philippines - was somewhat a give-and-take
relationship. It seemed like Cory Aquino really
trusted the America out of all the countries
worldwide that was why she lodged an appeal for
help from the US Congress in the recovery and the
preservation of the Philippine democracy.
Subsequently, this favor from the America
 somewhat resulted for Philippines to have some
sense of obligation to return the favor, thus, the
assistance from the US Congress during the
recovery state of the Philippines from dictatorship
may also seem like somewhat a strategic political
plan.
However, it goes without saying that Corazon
Aquino is still an inspiration to the Filipinos since she
took the lead towards freedom, hence, she became
a major key factor in claiming back the democracy of
the Philippines.

SOURCE:
Readings in Philippine History handout (Corazon Aquino’s Speech before the
Joint Session of the United States Congress, pages 41-44)
REFERENCES:
https://www.thoughtco.com/corazon-aquino-biography-195652
https://www.esquiremag.ph/politics/news/revisit-cory-aquino-s-historic-1986-
speech-before-the-us-congress-a00207-20180125