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TEST II. Content and Contextual analysis of Corazon Aquino's Speech Before the US
Congress (Candelaria and Alporha, 2018). (Excerpts from the Corazon Aquino's Speech
Before the US Congress, September 18, 1986)

On September 18, 1986, seven months after Cory Aquino became President of the Philippines,
she went to the US and spoke before the joint session of the US Congress. Cory was welcomed
with long applause as she took the podium and addressed the US about her presidency and the
challenges faced by the new republic. She began her speech with the story leaving the US three
years' prior as a newly widowed wife of Ninoy Aquino.
"The government sought to break him by indignities and terror. They locked him up in a tiny,
nearly airless cell in a military camp in the north. They stripped him naked and held a threat of
a sudden midnight execution over his head. Ninoy held up manfully under all of it. I barely did
as well. For 43 days, the authorities would not tell me what had happened to him. This was the
first time my children and I felt we had lost him."
Cory continued that when Ninoy survived the first detention, he was then charged of subversion,
murder and other crimes. He was tried by a military court, whose legitimacy Ninoy adamantly
questioned. To solidify his protest, Ninoy decided to do a hunger strike and fasted for 40 days.
Cory treated this event as the second time that their family lost Ninoy. She said:
"When that didn't work, they put him on trial for subversion, murder and a host of other crimes
before a military commission. Ninoy challenged its authority and went on a fast. If he survived
it, then he felt God intended him for another fate. We had lost him again. For nothing would
hold him back from his determination to see his fast through the end. He stopped only when it
dawned on him that the government would keep his body alive after the fast had destroyed his
brain. And so, with barely any life in his body, he called off the fast on the 40" day."
Ninoy's death was the third and the last time that Cory and their children lost Ninoy. She
continued:
"And then, we lost him irrevocably and more painfully than in the past. The news came to us in
Boston. It had to be after the three happiest years of our lives together. But his death was my
country's resurrection and the courage and faith by which alone they could be free again. The
dictator had called him a nobody. Yet, two million people threw aside their passivity and fear
and escorted him to his grave."
Cory contributed the peaceful EDSA Revolution to the martyrdom of Ninoy. She stated the death
of Ninoy sparked the revolution and the responsibility of "offering the democratic alternative"
had "fallen on her shoulders."

In doing your content and contextual analysis, please answer the following guide questions:
(50 POINTS)
1. What was the content of Cory Aquino's speech in the US Congress?
Cory Aquino's speech was entirely focused on the agony she felt as Ninoy Aquino
endured at the hands of the unlawful dictator. She also remarked about how heartbroken her
children were about what their father had to go through. According to her, they felt lost three
times. First, it was when Ninoy was in the cell at the time. The second occurred when Ninoy
agreed for fasting to challenge the people who had detained him. The third and last one was
when Cory heard the announcement of Ninoy’s death. Her speech describes what happened
to her beloved husband, the suffering he endures, how they cope with it, and the pain they
feel as a result of those events. Her speech made it quite evident what misery Ninoy was
going through as a consequence of the criminal charges. Cory thinks that Ninoy's hardships
inside the cell are caused by the unjust system in the Philippines under the leadership of
Ferdinand Marcos Sr. She also went on to her speech about the EDSA revolution because
Ninoy’s death became her driving force to form a revolution gathering millions of Filipinos
to end the dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos. It says that the goal of the revolution
was to achieve democracy and freedom.

2. In the context of her speech, what kind of government did the Philippines have
during the Marcos administration when she shared that Ninoy was imprisoned
solitarily unknown to his family and was tried before the military
court/commission?
We can infer from her speech that the Philippines is the kind of country where the
government does not worry about the welfare of the Filipinos. Our countrymen had to suffer
in our own nation, and it is not something a good government should do to their own people.
Their main responsibilities were to serve the Filipinos and bring peace to humanity. Upon
hearing and reading her speech, we can assume that the Philippine government was worse.
Based on the substantial presence of the EDSA revolution to oust the government, we can
also conclude that the majority of Filipinos dislike the president's administration since a lot
of them wanted the president to oust him. The Filipinos have to attack the Marcoses to seek
justice and freedom in the country. That is their only way to achieve their goal and get what
is right for them. Filipinos believe that abuses are very widespread and death rates are rising
as a result of the previous martial regime without really knowing what really happened and
what the reasons behind that are. They believe it to be unconstitutional and accuse Marcos of
abusing his position as president at the time. As a result, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. gained a
reputation as a dictator in the Philippines. Cory Aquino describes Marcos as a dictatorial
ruler of the Philippines. For 14 years, he was the Philippine president. We can also draw the
conclusion that the Philippines has an unfavorable judicial system from the context of her
speech describing the sufferings of her husband, as her husband had to endure a great deal of
misery inside the cell without the proper procedure for persecuting somebody. Inside, they
tortured him.

3. Who was the dictator she was referring to on the third paragraph of her speech?

It is very obvious that she was referring to the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.  In the
history of the Philippines, President Marcos was known as a dictorial ruler who ruled the
Philippines for 14 years. They claimed that Marcos was hungry for power and wanted to
extend his reign for another year. A lot of news regarding this was also disseminated in the
news, newspapers, media, and other platforms that Cory Aquino has an ill relationship with
the Marcoses. Not only Cory but also towards Ninoy Aquino. In her speech, she shared her
sentiments about her husband's experiences under the governance of President Marcos.

4. How do you find Ninoy Aquino as a person or as a senator fighting against the
Marcos government?

My basis for my own statements comes from the news I've read and how I interpret it
because I was not there when what happened decades ago. I believe Ninoy Aquino to be a
decent individual who wants to help the Filipino people. In the hearts of the Filipinos, he
leaves behind his own remarkable leadership as a President of the Philippines. For me, he
wasn't the best president we've ever had, but he was a great one, better than others. Due to the
numerous historical revisions from that era, it is difficult to make a definitive claim in the
absence of solid evidence, so this is only my own view. I will make an attempt to be fair in
my views, in my opinion, Ninoy Aquino's decision to oppose the Marcos administration as a
senator was very unwise. Revolt causes our country to experience a crisis. We should rather
support the government. Instead of constantly criticizing the government, we ought to put
more effort into strengthening it. There are still those Filipinos who believe that our country
is divided because we didn't choose the same president. Always keep in mind that we are
Filipinos. We should act as one. That’s why, for me, I perceived Ninoy Aquino as a rebel for
fighting against the government. As an ordinary citizen of the Philippines, I always prefer to
respect the government's decisions and always support them. Whoever is in the position, they
will always have my respect and I'll just be a good citizen fellow who does the responsibility
and duties.

5. What is your opinion regarding Ninoy as a hero?

This is the first time I've heard of Ninoy being regarded as a hero. In my opinion,
Ninoy is a hero for having been able to help millions of Filipinos. I think all presidents who
dedicate their lives and carry out their duty for the good of the nation are heroes. He commits
a portion of his life to serving his beloved countrymen. Although there has been criticism of
his leadership, I always look at Ninoy Aquino's efforts as merited during his administration.
He left a legacy and that will always be part of the history. Although there are remarkable
happenings in the past that confuse the present generations, I always believe that Ninoy is a
political figure who created a huge difference.