Summary of Corazon Aquino's Speech before the US Congress

The 11th President of the Philippine Republic, Maria Corazon “Cory”

Aquino, delivers Historic Address to the U.S. Congress in Washington DC. It
happened on September 18, 1986, almost seven months after she became the
President.
In the first part of Cory Aquino's speech, she shared her grief over the loss
of her husband, Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr., member of the Philippine Senate
during that time. After that, she explained how the freedom of Filipinos who were
begging for democracy ended up being her responsibility. She spoke about her
firsthand experience with the electoral commission's corruption and praised the
people’s bravery and unity through persecution. She also mentioned former
president Ferdinand Marcos and this became the center of her speech. In her
address, she disclosed the $26 billion in debt accumulated by the Marcos
government, succeeded in establishing agreements to allow the previous
administration to gradually pay it off and made a plea to the international
community for more aid. She described how the death of her husband started the
first People Power Revolution, with Filipinos demanding for democracy and
freedom from the country's dictators, and spoke up on behalf of all those who
were victimized by the Marcos regime.
As her speech was over, she acknowledged and thanked the American
people for their contributions in advancing the democracy that the Filipino people
had struggled for. Cory Aquino's speech, which she finished with Teodoro Lopez
Locsin Jr.'s help, serves as the main narrative of the Martial Law period in the
Philippines.