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1986 Speech of President Corazon


Aquino in US Congress

XXXXXXXX X. XXXXXXX

November 2021
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1986 Speech of President Corazon Aquino in US Congress

Introduction

The dust had hardly begun to settle when former President Corazon Aquino spoke
before a joint session of the United States Congress in September 1986. It was her first
trip to America since dictator Ferdinand Marcos was toppled in February of that year,
and the Philippines was still dealing with the consequences of his rule. Former President
Corazon Aquino's speech provides insight into how Filipinos pushed for independence
and how past insisted resistance has motivated Filipino revolutionaries in our own
period. It also clarifies what actually transpired during Ninoy Aquino's presidency. The
document details the Aquinos' efforts to assist the Philippines in achieving
independence. The debt committed by the previous government prior to Cory Aquino
was also addressed in the text.

Thesis Statement: This speech demonstrates how a dictatorship evolves into a


democratic administration. From the president to the laws, order, and rules that govern
the country.

Scope and Delimitations


The analysis focus on determining the message of the speech of President Corazon
Aquino that entails the situation of the country. This will provide an insight on the impacts
of the speech of Corazon Aquino towards the citizen of the country. The focus on the
impact of words that the President tells to the US Congress and audience. This will only
cover the effects of Martial law on the country that is entails in the speech. The will focus
on elaborating the impact of President Corazon’s words towards the Congress.

Rationale
The author conducted this analysis in order to provide deeper understanding about the
speech of President Corazon. In order to determine the impact of words that the
President tells to the US Congress and to the audience. And the to provide a conclusion
regarding on the effects of the speech in the recovery of the country that is entails in the
speech.
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Significance of the Speech


This analysis will provide an insight about the impact of words that the President tells to
the US Congress and audience. The analysis will benefit the following beneficiaries:

Government – The analysis will provide a deeper understanding on the speech of


President Corazon that impact the citizen. The analysis will elaborate the understanding
words that the President tells to the US Congress and to the audience. This provide an
insight on the importance of the speech of President Corazon in the present times.
Student – The analysis will provide a deeper understanding on the speech of President
Corazon that impact to them as they concern for the country. The analysis will elaborate
the understanding words that they needed to know. This provide an insight on the
importance of the speech of President Corazon in the present times that they needed to
know.
Teacher – The analysis will provide a deeper understanding on the speech of President
Corazon that impact of the word in the speech that reflect to themselves. The analysis
will elaborate the understanding words that they needed to know. This provide an insight
on the importance of the speech of President Corazon in the present times that they
needed to know in order to teach in their student.

Goals of the Analysis


The analysis main objective is to determine the impact of message made President
Corazon Aquino that entails the situation of the country. The specific objective will aim to
provide an insight on the impacts of the speech of Corazon Aquino towards the citizen of
the country. And to focus on the impact of words that the President tells to the US
Congress and audience. Since the situation in the Philippines following the Marcos
government had an impact on Corazon Aquino's speech. For more than a decade, the
country was in a state of oppression. As a result, Filipino citizens were left with the debt
incurred by Marcos during his reign, from which they received no benefit.

Review of Related Literature


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According to Escobar (2018), it was the second time they'd misplaced him. Ninoy was
returned to Fort Bonifacio on August 27, 1973, to face a Military Tribunal on allegations
of murder, unlawful possession of firearms, and subversion. They imprisoned him in a
military camp in the north, in a cramped, virtually airless cell. They stripped him naked
and threatened to execute him in the middle of the night. Ninoy stood firm in the face of
adversity. The authorities would not notify his family what had happened to him for forty-
three days.

According to Philippine Daily Inquirer (2016), new elections for parliament were held
in May 1984, and opposition parties won 58 of the 183 seats available, despite
widespread suspicions of election fraud. All of the candidates competing for the
opposing parties had been openly endorsed by Corazon. Marcos recently called for
'snap,' or early presidential elections, in response to widespread local and international
criticism of his management of a growing communist insurgency and a severe economic
crisis.

In addition to Locsin (2018), despite her lack of political experience, Corazon Aquino
said she would consider running against Marcos if 1 million signatures were collected
requesting her to do so. As of 6:35 p.m., former newspaper editor Joaquin Roces, 72,
stated his group had collected 1,005,882 signatures. Mrs. Corazon Aquino was elected
President of the Philippines and Mr. Salvador Laurel was elected Vice-President of the
Philippines on Monday in support of her candidacy.

According to Slideshare (2018), Aquino declared a provisional constitution and


created a panel to draft a new constitution shortly after. She failed to implement key
economic and social changes, and her popularity dwindled as a result of public outcry
about economic inequity and political corruption. Persistent combat between the
communist insurgents and a military whose allegiance to Aquino was shaky exacerbated
these issues. Her economic initiatives were criticized for being inconsistent or shaky in
the face of widespread poverty. Fidel Ramos, Aquino's former defense secretary, took
over as her successor.

According to BBC NEWS (2021), President Aquino and President Reagan addressed
President Aquino's tireless efforts to enhance her country's democratic institutions, as
well as to ensure its security and economic strength. And he assured her that America
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as a whole wants the Philippine democracy to succeed and prosper, and that we will do
everything we can to assist. Even while they carry a large share of the free world
defenses in the Pacific, Filipinos face a communist insurgency that feeds on economic
deterioration, it is also mentioned that they face a communist insurgency that feeds on
economic deterioration. These are just two of the many difficulties that the people must
bear while attempting to construct a respectable and long-lasting home for their new
democracy.

Method

Historical inquiry process is thus at the heart of history instruction and learning, and
author must be given opportunities to practice and engage in historical research in order
to gain the skills required in this analysis of the speech. The use of an inquiry question in
each unit serves as a focal point for the analysis to investigate, extract, order, collate,
synthesize, and analyze data in order to generate and test hypotheses and achieve a
conclusion that is addressed in the syllabus. It's a cyclical process that starts with the
formulation of overarching historical questions. The next step is to locate and analyze
historical sources in order to establish historical evidence. After then, the historical
evidence is employed to create historical interpretations that attempt to address the
guiding historical questions.

Locale of the Identified history

The speech is significant in Philippine history, particularly diplomatic and political history,
because it arguably established the EDSA government's legitimacy in the international
arena. Furthermore, the new democratic government's ideology can also be seen in the
same speech. Furthermore, this publication contributed to Philippine history by tracing
the country's first steps toward restoring democracy, which the Marcos regime had
prohibited. This publication allows Filipinos to understand and remember the brutal
realities of the Marcos tyranny. Finally, as the country's first female president, Corazon
Aquino's speech had a significant impact not just on the country but also on the world's
opinion of women in positions of power.

Data Analysis
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The situation in the Philippines following the Marcos government had an impact on
Corazon Aquino's speech. For more than a decade, the country was in a state of
oppression. As a result, Filipino citizens were left with the debt incurred by Marcos
during his reign, from which they received no benefit. Furthermore, because the Filipino
people had battled hard against the regime to free the country and themselves, Corazon
wished to protect the freedom that the Filipinos had gained. As a result, she also made
an appeal for financial assistance to the Philippines on its path to constitutional and
economic recovery in her speech.

Result and Discussion

Based on the analysis Corazon Aquino's speech was inspired by her experiences before and
after her husband, Ninoy Aquino's death. It was also founded on the fact that, as a Filipino, she
was horrified by the country's plight after more than a decade of social and political persecution.
As she assumed the presidency, she influenced her country and the rest of the world to see
women as capable of handling authority and power. She has been dubbed the "mother of
Philippine democracy" as well as the "housewife who led a revolution" as a result of this. The
United States of America assisted the Philippines in a give-and-take partnership. Cory Aquino
appeared to have the greatest faith in America of all the countries in the world, which is why she
petitioned the US Congress for assistance in the restoration and protection of Philippine
democracy.
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Conclusion

Former President Corazon Aquino's speech provides insight into how Filipinos pushed for
independence and how past insisted resistance has motivated Filipino revolutionaries in our
own period. As a result of this benevolence from America, as a result, the Philippines may feel
obligated to repay the favor, and the assistance provided by the US Congress during the
Philippines' transition from dictatorship may appear to be a strategic political plan. However, it
goes without saying that Corazon Aquino continues to be an inspiration to Filipinos as she led
the country toward freedom, and as a result, she became a crucial player in reclaiming the
country's democracy. It demonstrates the dilemma that Cory Aquino faced as soon as she was
elected President. Take, for example, poverty and unemployment. After Ninoy Aquino's death,
two elections were held, according to the document. His wife ran in the election and was
defeated in the first round. She was elected president in the second election, which was a snap
election, and declared democracy in the country.

References

Escobar M. (2018). Revisit Cory Aquino's Historic 1986 Speech Before the U.S. Congress

https://www.esquiremag.ph/politics/news/revisit-cory-aquino-s-historic-1986-speech-before-the-
us-congress-a00207-20180125

Philippine Daily Inquirer (2016). Inauguration speech of President Corazon Aquino

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/790497/inauguration-speech-of-president-corazon-aquino

Locsin TL. (2018). Philippine Embassy – Tokyo, Japan

https://tokyo.philembassy.net/the-secretary-of-foreign-affairs/teodoro-l-locsin-jr/

Slideshare (2018). Corazon Aquino's speech

https://www.slideshare.net/clarealcober/corazon-aquinos-speech

BBC NEWS (2021). Benigno Aquino III: The quiet son of Philippine democracy icons

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57591170
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Iowa State University (2017). Speech before the joint session of the United States
Congress

https://awpc.cattcenter.iastate.edu/2017/03/21/speech-before-the-joint-session-of-the-united-
states-congress-sept-18-1986/

Appendices

Appendix A.

Appendix B.

Appendix F.

Revisit Cory Aquino's Historic 1986 Speech Before the U.S. Congress

Retrieved from: https://www.esquiremag.ph/politics/news/revisit-cory-aquino-s-historic-1986-


speech-before-the-us-congress-a00207-20180125
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Corazon Aquino makes a speech March, 1987 in the Philippines.

Retrieved from: https://www.gettyimages.no/detail/news-photo/corazon-aquino-makes-a-


speech-march-1987-in-the-philippines-news-photo/748693?et=0xtnuLqMTS9SFOCnHajPyw

Corazon Aquino makes a speech March, 1987 in the Philippines.

Retrieved from: https://www.pinterest.ph/sboudreaux27/cojuangco-aquino/

Philippine Diplomatic Visits: United States ~ Philippines 1986

Retrieved from: http://philippinediplomaticvisits.blogspot.com/2016/05/united-states-philippines-


1986.html
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Corazon Aquino

Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corazon_Aquino

President Corazon Aquino's Compiled Speeches

Retrieved from:https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com

%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DCtQ3WxxZt_c&psig=AOvVaw2OEzKSHwTw5Uz62_E_iaC0&ust=1636099

048531000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CA0Q3YkBahcKEwjA1v_Znv7zAhUAAAAAHQAAA

AAQQg

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