Foundation University

Dumaguete City

College of Arts and Sciences

History 102_ (Reading in the Philippine History)

The Speech of Pres. Corazon Aquino Before the U.S Congress

Submitted to:
Mr. Mick Ian M. Cornelia

Submitted by:
GROUP 4
Belista, Angela Mae Caresusa, John Paulo
Vidal, Gen Trixy San Agustin, Leo
Ty, Rica Joy Del Socorro, Marvin
Bato, John Lloyd Miral, Jannedel
Alcoran, France

Date: September 12, 2023

 Foundation University

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History 102_ (Reading in the Philippine History)

ORAL PRESENTATION RUBRIC

DIMENSIONS CONTENT POINTS
Introduction  Contained a complete and well-organized (10)
overview statement
Completeness  Addressed all required report elements (10)
Organization  Well-organized (10)
 Moved from general topics to specific
Participation  Had everyone equally share in the (10)
presentation – each with his or her
own role
Speaking Skills  Gave detailed explanations (10)
 Easy to understand
 Had presenters who maintained
eye contact with the audience
Visual Aids  Contained visual aids that helped the (10)
audience understands
 Visual had a neat and professional
appearance.
Questions and  Had team members all of whom (10)
Answers could clearly and accurately
answer questions
Total Points (70)

Score Rating Scale Group name/ topic:

9-10 5 – Excellent
7-8 4 – Very Satisfactory Members:
5-6 3 – Satisfactory
3-4 2 – Unsatisfactory
1-2 1 – Needs Improvement
 Foundation University

Dumaguete City

College of Arts and Sciences

History 102_ (Reading in the Philippine History)

The Speech of President Corazon Aquino Before the U.S Congress

Mr. Speaker, Senator Thurmond, Distinguished members of Congress.

Three years ago, I left America in grief, to bury my husband, Ninoy Aquino. I thought I
had left it also, to lay to rest his restless dream of Philippine freedom. Today, I have
returned as the President of a free people.
In burying Ninoy, a whole nation honored him by that brave and selfless act of giving
honor to a nation in shame recovered its own. A country that had lost faith in its future,
founded in a faithless and brazen act of murder. So, in giving we receive, in losing we
find, and out of defeat we snatched our victory. For the nation, Ninoy became the
pleasing sacrifice that answered their prayers for freedom.
For myself and our children, Ninoy was a loving husband and father. His loss, three
times in our lives was always a deep and painful one. Fourteen years ago this month,
was the first time we lost him. A president-turned-dictator and traitor to his oath,
suspended the constitution and shutdown the Congress that was much like this one
before which I'm honored to speak. He detained my husband along with thousands of
others - Senators, publishers, and anyone who had spoken up for the democracy as its
end drew near. But for Ninoy, a long and cruel ordeal was reserved. The dictator
already knew that Ninoy was not a body merely to be imprisoned but a spirit he must
break. For even as the dictatorship demolished one-by-one; the institutions of
democracy, the press, the congress, the independence of a judiciary, the protection of
the Bill of Rights, Ninoy kept their spirit alive in himself.
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History 102_ (Reading in the Philippine History)

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 forty-three 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.
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 to 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 40th day. God meant him for other things, he felt. He did not
know that an early death would still be his fate, that only the timing was wrong. At any
time during his long ordeal, Ninoy could have made a separate peace with a
dictatorship as so many of his countrymen had done. But the spirit of democracy that
inheres in our race and animates this chamber could not be allowed to die. He held out
in the loneliness of his cell and the frustration of exile, the democratic alternative to the
insatiable greed and mindless cruelty of the right and the purging holocaust of the left.
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.
And so began the revolution that has brought me to democracy's most famous home,
The Congress of the United States.
The task had fallen on my shoulders, to continue offering the democratic alternative to
our people. Archibald MacLeish had said that democracy must be defended by arms
when it is attacked by arms, and with truth when it is attacked by lies. He failed to say
how it shall be won. I held fast to Ninoy's conviction that it must be by the ways of
democracy. I held out for participation in the 1984 election the dictatorship called, even
if I knew it would be rigged. I was warned by the lawyers of the opposition, that I ran the
grave risk of legitimizing the foregone results of elections that were clearly going to be
fraudulent. But I was not fighting for lawyers but for the people in whose intelligence, I
had implicit faith. By the exercise of democracy even in a dictatorship, they would be
prepared for democracy when it came. And then also, it was the only way I knew by
which we could measure our power even in the terms dictated by the dictatorship. The
people vindicated me in an election shamefully marked by government thuggery and
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History 102_ (Reading in the Philippine History)

fraud. The opposition swept the elections, garnering a clear majority of the votes even if
they ended up (thanks to a corrupt Commission on Elections) with barely a third of the
seats in Parliament. Now, I knew our power.
Last year, in an excess of arrogance, the dictatorship called for its doom in a snap
election. The people obliged. With over a million signatures they drafted me to
challenge the dictatorship. And I, obliged.
The rest is the history that dramatically unfolded on your television screens and across
the front pages of your newspapers. You saw a nation armed with courage and integrity,
stand fast by democracy against threats and corruption. You saw women poll watchers
break out in tears as armed goons crashed the polling places to steal the ballots. But
just the same, they tied themselves to the ballot boxes. You saw a people so committed
to the ways of democracy that they were prepared to give their lives for its pale
imitation. At the end of the day before another wave of fraud could distort the results, I
announced the people's victory.
Many of you here today played a part in changing the policy of your country towards
ours. We, the Filipinos thank each of you for what you did. For balancing America's
strategic interest against human concerns illuminates the American vision of the world.
The co-chairman of the United States observer team, in his report to the President said,
"I was witness to an extraordinary manifestation of democracy on the part of the Filipino
people. The ultimate result was the election of Mrs. Corazon Aquino as President and
Mr. Salvador Laurel as Vice-President of the Philippines."
When a subservient parliament announced my opponent's victory, the people then
turned out in the streets and proclaimed me the President of all the people. And true to
their word, when a handful of military leaders declared themselves against the
dictatorship, the people rallied to their protection. Surely, the people take care of their
own. It is on that faith and the obligation it entails that I assumed the Presidency.
As I came to power peacefully, so shall I keep it. That is my contract with my people and
my commitment to God. He had willed that the blood drawn with a lash shall not in my
country be paid by blood drawn by the sword but by the tearful joy of reconciliation. We
have swept away absolute power by a limited revolution that respected the life and
freedom of every Filipino.
Now, we are restoring full constitutional government. Again, as we restore democracy
by the ways of democracy, so are we completing the constitutional structures of our new
democracy under a constitution that already gives full respect to the Bill of Rights. A
jealously independent constitutional commission is completing its draft which will be
submitted later this year to a popular referendum. When it is approved, there will be
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History 102_ (Reading in the Philippine History)

elections for both national and local positions. So, within about a year from a peaceful
but national upheaval that overturned a dictatorship, we shall have returned to full
constitutional government.
Given the polarization and breakdown we inherited, this is no small achievement. My
predecessor set aside democracy to save it from a communist insurgency that
numbered less than five hundred. Unhampered by respect for human rights he went at it
with hammer and tongs. By the time he fled, that insurgency had grown to more than
sixteen thousand. I think there is a lesson here to be learned about trying to stifle a thing
with a means by which it grows. I don't think anybody in or outside our country,
concerned for a democratic and open Philippines doubts what must be done. Through
political initiatives and local re-integration programs, we must seek to bring the
insurgents down from the hills and by economic progress and justice, show them that
which the best-intentioned among them fight. As president among my people, I will not
betray the cause of peace by which I came to power. Yet, equally and again, no friend
of Filipino democracy will challenge this. I will not stand by and allow an insurgent
leadership to spurn our offer of peace and kill our young soldiers and threaten our new
freedom.
Yet, I must explore the path of peace to the utmost. For at its end, whatever
disappointment I meet there is the moral basis for laying down the Olive branch of
peace and taking up the sword of war.
Still, should it come to that, I will not waiver from the course laid down by your great
liberator.
"With malice towards none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us
to see the right, let us finish the work we are in to bind up the nation's wounds. To care
for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and for his orphans to do all
which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all
nations."
Like Abraham Lincoln, I understand that force may be necessary before mercy. Like
Lincoln, I don't relish it. Yet, I will do whatever it takes to defend the integrity and
freedom of my country.
Finally, may I turn to that other slavery, our twenty-six-billion-dollar foreign debt. I have
said that we shall honor it. Yet, the means by which we shall be able to do so are kept
from us. Many of the conditions imposed on the previous government that stole this
debt, continue to be imposed on us who never benefited from it.
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History 102_ (Reading in the Philippine History)

And no assistance or liberality commensurate with the calamity that was vested on us
have been extended. Yet ours must have been the cheapest revolution ever. With little
help from others, we Filipinos fulfilled the first and most difficult condition of the debt
negotiation, the full restoration of democracy and responsible government. Elsewhere
and in other times, a more stringent world economic conditions, marshal plans and their
like were felt to be necessary companions of returning democracy.
When I met with President Reagan, we began an important dialogue about cooperation
and the strengthening of friendship between our two countries. That meeting was both a
confirmation and a new beginning. I am sure it will lead to positive results in all areas of
common concern. Today, we face the aspiration of a people who have known so much
poverty and massive unemployment for the past 14 years. And yet offer their lives for
the abstraction of democracy.
Wherever I went in the campaign, slum area or impoverished village. They came to me
with one cry, DEMOCRACY. Not food although they clearly needed it but
DEMOCRACY. Not work, although they surely wanted it but DEMOCRACY. Not money,
for they gave what little they had to my campaign. They didn't expect me to work a
miracle that would instantly put food into their mouths, clothes on their back, education
in their children and give them work that will put dignity in their lives. But I feel the
pressing obligation to respond quickly as the leader of the people so deserving of all
these things.
We face a communist insurgency that feeds on economic deterioration even as we
carry a great share of the free world defenses in the Pacific. These are only two of the
many burdens my people carry even as they try to build a worthy and enduring house
for their new democracy. That may serve as well as a redoubt for freedom in Asia. Yet,
no sooner as one stone laid than two are taken away. Half our export earnings, two
billion dollars out of four billion dollars which is all we can earn in the restrictive market
of the world, must go to pay just the interest on a debt whose benefit the Filipino people
never received.
Still, we fought for honor and if only for honor, we shall pay. And yet, should we have to
ring the payments from the sweat of our men's faces and sink all the wealth piled by the
bondsman's two-hundred fifty years of unrequited toil? Yet, to all Americans, as the
leader to a proud and free people, I address this question, "Has there been a greater
test of national commitment to the ideals you hold dear than that my people have gone
through? You have spent many lives and much treasure to bring freedom to many lands
that were reluctant to receive it. And here, you have a people who want it by themselves
and need only the help to preserve it."
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Three years ago, I said, thank you America for the haven from oppression and the
home you gave Ninoy, myself and our children and for the three happiest years of our
lives together. Today I say, join us America as we build a new home for democracy;
another haven for the oppressed so it may stand as a shining testament of our two
nations' commitment to freedom.

Relevance:
Though this would be one of many speeches that Cory Aquino would deliver as
President of the Philippines, it was this speech that gave credence to the People Power
Revolution not only to the Americans but to the world that change was possible through
peaceful means. When she finished her speech, Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole
said to Mrs. Aquino, “Cory, you hit a home run”. Aquino smiled back and said, “I hope
the bases were loaded. “Five hours later, the House of Representatives voted,203 to
197, in favor of $200 million as emergency aid for the Philippines.

Characters:
The speech you're talking to was most likely delivered by President Corazon Aquino to
the United States Congress on September 18, 1986. President Aquino addressed a
joint session of Congress in her speech. After the People Power Revolution that
deposed dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Congress will seek support for her government and
democracy in the Philippines. The following are the main characters and their
involvement in this historical event:
President Corazon Aquino: She was the President of the Philippines and the key
speaker in this address. Corazon Aquino was a symbol of the People Power Revolution
and was seeking political and economic support from the United States.
Ferdinand Marcos: The former President of the Philippines, who was ousted from
power after years of authoritarian rule and election fraud. His regime was a central issue
in Aquino's address.
Members of the United States Congress: These individuals represent the legislative
branch of the U.S. government and were the audience for President Aquino's speech.
Their role was to listen to her address and potentially take action in support of her
government.
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History 102_ (Reading in the Philippine History)

U.S. President Ronald Reagan: Although not a character in the speech itself,
President Reagan played a crucial role in U.S.-Philippines relations during this period.
His administration supported Aquino and democracy in the Philippines.

Content:
BACKGROUND OF THE DOCUMENT
When former President Corazon Aquino spoke before a joint session of
the United States Congress in September of 1986, the dust was only beginning to
settle. It was her first visit to America since the dictator Ferdinand Marcos had been
deposed in February of the same year, and the Philippines was 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. We were just at the start of a long road to recovery.
So, Aquino lodged an appeal for help. Addressing the House, she delivered a
historic speech that managed to sway in our favor the vote for an emergency $200-
million aid appropriation. In the moving speech penned by her speechwriter (and our
current ambassador to the United Nations) Teddy Locsin, Jr., Aquino defended
her reconciliatory stand on the communist insurgency a sensitive issue in the U.S.,given
that this was 1986—and asked for financial aid towards rebuilding the
Philippine economy.
"We fought for honor, and, if only for honor, we shall pay," she said, agreeing to pay
the debt that was stolen by Marcos. "And yet, should we have to wring the payments
from the sweat of our men’s faces and sink all the wealth piled up by the bondsman’s
two hundred fifty years of unrequited toil?
"The speech was impassioned, deeply personal, and effective; interrupted 11 times
by applause and bookended with standing ovations. House Speaker Tip O'Neill called it
the "finest speech I've ever heard in my 34 years in Congress." Senate Majority Leader
Robert Dole told her, "Cory, you hit a home run." And House Minority Whip Trent Lott
said, "Let's just say the emotion of the moment saved the day." It would go down in the
annals of our history as one of the former President's finest speeches.

CONTENT AND ANALYSIS OF THE IMPORTANT HISTORICALINFORMATION

FOUND IN THE DOCUMENT
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History 102_ (Reading in the Philippine History)

 On September 22, 1972, opposition Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. Together with
Senators, publishers, and anyone who had spoken up for the democracy was
arrested at the Manila Hilton Hotel in Ermita, Manila by elements of
the Philippine Constabulary-Metropolitan Command (PC-METROCOM) led by
Col.Romeo Gatan. This arrest happened a day after President Ferdinand E.
Marcos signed Proclamation Number 1081 declaring the entire Philippines under
Martial Law. This was the first time that his family lost him.
 This was the second time they’ve lost him. On August 27, 1973, Ninoy was
brought back to Fort Bonifacio where he faced a Military Tribunal on charges of
murder, illegal possession of firearms, and subversion. 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. For forty-three days, the authorities would not tell his
family what had happened to him.
 On August 13, 1983, Aquino began a meandering, week-long flight that took him
from Boston to Los Angeles and through Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
Because Marcos had cut off diplomatic relations with Taiwan, the government
there was under no obligation to cooperate with his regime's goal of keeping
Aquino away from Manila. As China Airlines Flight 811 descended into Manila
International Airport on August 21, 1983, Aquino warned the foreign journalists
traveling with him to have their cameras ready. "In a matter of three or four
minutes it could all be over," he noted with chilling prescience. Minutes after the
plane touched down, Aquino was dead—killed by an assassin's bullet. So, Cory
Aquino left America to bury her husband.
 “The task had fallen on my shoulder to continue 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.
 In May 1984, new elections for parliament took place and opposition parties
claimed 58 of the 183 available seats even though there were large allegations of
election fraud. Corazon had publicly endorsed all of the candidates running for
the opposition parties.
 Marcos recently called for 'snap,' or early, presidential elections amid sharp
domestic and U.S. criticism over his handling of a growing communist
insurgency and a severe economic crisis.
 Corazon Aquino, despite a lack of political experience, said she would consider
running against Marcos if 1 million signatures had been collected urging her to
enter the race. Former newspaper publisher Joaquin Roces, 72, said his group
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History 102_ (Reading in the Philippine History)

had collected 1,005,882 signatures as of 6:35 p.m. Monday in support of

her candidacy.
 The ultimate result was the election of Mrs. Corazon Aquino as President and Mr.
Salvador Laurel as Vice-President of the Philippines. And yet, despite all
these serious challenges, not once did Aquino consider declaring martial
law. Her stubborn adherence to the democratic process(“Archibald
MacLeish had said that democracy must be defended by arms when it is
attacked by arms and by truth when it is attacked by lies.) is all the more notable
when one recalls that even as she was fighting off military rebels, she was also
dealing with a fractious Cabinet, long-standing domestic rebellions and
pernicious problems like a bankrupt economy, corruption and poverty
—the shambles left behind by the Marcos regime.
 In March 1986 Aquino proclaimed a provisional constitution and soon thereafter
appointed a commission to write a new constitution. She failed to
undertake fundamental economic or social reforms, and her popularity steadily
declined as she faced continual outcries over economic injustice and
political corruption. These problems were exacerbated by persistent warfare
between the communist insurgency and a military whose loyalties to Aquino were
uncertain. In general, her economic policies were criticized for being mixed or
faltering in the face of mass poverty. Aquino was succeeded in office by her
former defense secretary, Fidel Ramos. The ratification of the new
Constitution was followed by the election of senators and congress that
same year and the holding of local elections in 1988.
 President Aquino and President Reagan discussed her strenuous efforts to
bolster the democratic institutions of her country and to ensure its security and
strengthen its economy. And he assured her that all America wants the Philippine
democracy to succeed and to prosper and that we’ll do what we can to help.
 Most of the money went to buy the 1986 snap election. On top of that, we have
been left with a staggering foreign debt of $26 billion and nothing to show for it
except some remarkable architecture in New York. Half of our much-needed
export revenues are required just to pay for the interest on that debt.
 It is stated also that Filipinos face a communist insurgency that feeds
on economic deterioration, even though they carry a great share of the free world
defenses in the Pacific. These are only two of the many burdens the people carry
even as they try to build a worthy and enduring house for their new democracy.
Half the export earnings, $2 billion out of $4 billion, which was all they could earn
in the restrictive markets of the world, went to pay just the interest on a debt
whose benefit the Filipino people never received.
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 Cory Aquino was devastated and sad about the situation of the country; about
two decades of social and political oppression.

CONTRIBUTION AND RELEVANCE OF THE DOCUMENT IN UNDERSTANDING

THE GRAND NARRATIVE OF PHILIPPINE HISTORY
The speech of former President Corazon Aquino gives us the insights on how
Filipinos struggled to attain freedom and between the insisted resistance from the past
have inspired Filipino revolutionaries in our current era. It also gives clarification about
what really happened during the time of Ninoy Aquino. The document describes the
struggles faced by the Aquino’s to help the Philippines achieve freedom.
The document also mentioned about the debt incurred by the former government
before Cory Aquino. This speech also shows how the dictatorship transforms
into democratic government. From its president down to its laws, order, and rules. The
document also mentioned the killing of Ninoy Aquino and the terror from torture and
conviction during the Martial Law.
It shows the problem faced by Cory Aquino as soon as she became the
President. For instance, the poverty and unemployment. The document mentioned two
elections occurred after the death of Ninoy Aquino. His wife participated during the
election and lose in the first election. During the second which is snap election, she
became the president and declares democracy in the country.

GUIDE QUESTIONS:
1. Discuss the context the speech was delivered.
 Cory's address was peppered with references to her husband, former Senator
Ninoy Aquino, whom the Filipino people had made the poster boy for anti-Marcos
rallies. Her speech even went so far as to link Ninoy's battle with the fight of the
entire nation, tying their family's history to the fate of the entire country. She
explained her presence in front of the United States. Congress used symbolic
and metaphorical language, alluding to her relationship with the late Ninoy
Aquino on the one side and fulfilling her responsibility to the Filipino people on
the other.
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2. Watch the speech of Cory Aquino and describe the scene. How was the speech?
How did the audience react to her half-hour-long address?
 On September 18, 1985, President Corazon Aquino delivered a speech to the
joint session of the United States of America in Washington DC, which was
packed with people eager to hear Aquino's speech. The participants in the
session greeted her enthusiastically. Before she began her remarks, she
received a standing ovation and a round of applause. Many audience members,
including cabinet members, senators, ambassadors, and congressmen,
demonstrate their support by wearing her distinctive yellow shirts, blouses, ties,
handkerchiefs, and ribbons. The speech was delivered confidently and smoothly.
It was moving and heartwarming. It was also genuine and perhaps personal to
Aquino because it referenced her family's experiences under the Marcos
administration. She also addressed America's demand for financial assistance to
the Philippines. Throughout her half-hour speech, the audience applauded 11
times and gave standing ovations at the end, demonstrating their approval and
support for the Cory administration.
3. What was in her speech that convinced the House of Representatives to grant two-
hundred-million-dollar emergency aid to the Philippines? What were the issues raised or
views pointed out in her address?
 In the moving speech of Corazon Aquino, she defended her reconciliatory stand
on the communist insurgency. Aquino said, “You have spent many lives and
much treasure to bring freedom to many lands that were reluctant to receive it.
And here you have a people who won it by themselves and need only the help to
preserve it.” Aquino also raised in her speech issues of poverty and
unemployment. She said that she agrees to pay the debt that Marcos stole. As
she ends her speech, she thanked America for being her family’s “haven from
oppression”. Then, she asks America to join her as she builds “a new home for
democracy, another haven for the oppressed.” After delivering her speech,
Aquino gained the trust of the cabinet members and people present in the
session. House Speaker Tip O'Neill said that it was the "finest speech I've ever
heard in my 34 years in Congress." Above the din of cheering officials, Senate
Majority Leader Robert Dole told Mrs. Aquino, "Cory, you hit a home run."
Without missing a beat, Aquino smiled and shot back: "I hope the bases were
loaded."
4. How did the speech affect you as a viewer? In what way would it be rendered
relevant to the current conditions of our country? Cite specific lines from the speech.
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 As a viewer, I felt proud that President Aquino, the first female president of the
Philippines was able to convince the House of Representatives to grant two-
hundred-million-dollar emergency aid to the Philippines. “Like Lincoln, I
understand that force may be necessary before mercy. Like Lincoln, I don’t relish
it. Yet, I will do whatever it takes to defend the integrity and freedom of my
country.” Her confidence and willingness to defend the freedom and democracy
of the Philippines are very inspiring. However, I felt disappointed with the last part
of her speech – thanking America for the oppression. “Three years ago, I said
thank you, America, for the haven from oppression, and the home you gave
Ninoy, myself and our children, and for the three happiest years of our lives
together. Today, I say, join us, America, as we build a new home for democracy,
another haven for the oppressed, so it may stand as a shining testament of our
two nation’s commitment to freedom.” As a Filipino viewer, I am not in favor of
her giving gratitude to America because Filipinos also suffered from American
colonization. The freedom of our country and our rights were also oppressed. In
the current conditions of our country, we have issues about the dispute in the
West Philippine Sea. In the past few weeks, the tensions in the West Philippine
Sea have flared as the Chinese vessels were found swarming in the area. In my
opinion, the most we can learn from the speech, I believed, is that we cannot
entrust our redemption to another sovereign state – that applies in the current
situation of the Philippines and China. Our government should take action now
and fight the rights of our country in the West Philippine Sea. We must act now or
it will too late.
5.. What are the points in her speech that you agree and disagree with? Which lines hit
you?
 In Aquino’s speech, she said that the communist insurgency feeds on economic
deterioration. The first communist rebellion in which Martial Law was supposed to
terminate is continually spreading and deepening its roots. I think this is because
inequality is increasing. The solution for the rebellion is addressing the causes,
and we should always be careful entrusting our redemption to any other
sovereign state. I also agree with her regarding defending the integrity and
freedom of my country. Like Lincoln, I understand that force may be necessary
before mercy. Like Lincoln, I don’t relish it. Yet, I will do whatever it takes to
defend the integrity and freedom of my country.” As Filipino, we should defend
our country from any possible threat of colonization and protect our rights.
However, in the last part of Aquino’s speech, I didn’t agree with her thanking
America’s oppression in our country. “Three years ago, I said thank you,
America, for the haven from oppression, and the home you gave Ninoy, myself
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History 102_ (Reading in the Philippine History)

and our children, and for the three happiest years of our lives together. Today, I
say, join us, America, as we build a new home for democracy, another haven for
the oppressed, so it may stand as a shining testament of our two nation’s
commitment to freedom.” Maybe for her, it’s a good thing but to some Filipinos
who experienced sufferings under American colonization, it printed scars in their
feelings and memory. The wound that Americans brought to the Philippines will
still be there.

Assessment:
I. Multiple Choice: Choose the correct answer.

1. What was the primary purpose of President Aquino's speech before the US Congress
in 1986?
A. To request military assistance
B. To seek economic aid
C. To promote diplomatic relations
D. To address human rights concerns
2. Why was the date September 18, 1986, significant for the speech?
A. It marked Philippine Independence Day
B. It was President Aquino's birthday
C. It commemorated the People Power Revolution
D. It coincided with a major trade agreement
3. What was the political context in the Philippines at the time of the speech?
A. A military dictatorship led by Ferdinand Marcos
B. A thriving democracy with stable leadership
C. An ongoing civil war
D. A constitutional monarchy
 Foundation University

Dumaguete City

College of Arts and Sciences

History 102_ (Reading in the Philippine History)

4. Who was President Aquino's predecessor and political rival in the Philippines?
A. Ferdinand Marcos
B. Benigno Aquino Jr.
C. Corazon Aquino
D. Joseph Estrada
5. Why did President Aquino address the US Congress specifically?
A. To announce her resignation
B. To request military intervention
C. To seek economic aid and support for democracy
D. To discuss bilateral trade agreements
6. What major event in Philippine history led to the need for President Aquino's speech?
A. The declaration of martial law
B. The assassination of Benigno Aquino Jr.
C. The overthrow of Ferdinand Marcos
D. The signing of a peace treaty
7. What role did the United States play in Philippine history leading up to this speech?
A. The US was a colonial ruler of the Philippines
B. The US was a neutral observer
C. The US provided military support to Marcos
D. The US was a key ally in the People Power Revolution
8. Which international principle or value did President Aquino emphasize in her speech?
A. Isolationism
B. Democracy and human rights
C. Military dictatorship
D. Authoritarianism
 Foundation University

Dumaguete City

College of Arts and Sciences

History 102_ (Reading in the Philippine History)

9. What impact did the People Power Revolution have on Philippine politics?
A. It strengthened authoritarian rule
B. It led to a period of political stability
C. It restored democracy and removed Ferdinand Marcos
D. It triggered a civil war
10. How did President Aquino's speech contribute to US-Philippine’s relations?
A. It strained relations
B. It had no impact on relations
C. It improved diplomatic ties and support for democracy
D. It led to a military alliance

II. True or False: Write True if the statement is TRUE and FALSE if not.

1. President Corazon Aquino's speech before the US Congress in 1986 was primarily
aimed at requesting military intervention.

2. The date of September 18, 1986, was significant because it marked Philippine
Independence Day.

3. At the time of her speech, President Aquino was the successor to Ferdinand Marcos,
who had been overthrown.

4. The United States had a colonial history in the Philippines, which influenced its role in
the events leading up to the speech.

5. President Aquino's speech emphasized the importance of democracy and human

rights, aligning with the principles valued by the United States.
 Foundation University

Dumaguete City

College of Arts and Sciences

History 102_ (Reading in the Philippine History)

III. Matching Type: Match the items in Column A with the corresponding descriptions in
Column B. Fill out your answer page with your response.
Column A
1. People Power Revolution
2. Ferdinand Marcos
3. September 18, 1986
4. US-Philippines Relations
5. Democracy and Human Rights
6. Colonial History
7. Primary Purpose
8. Political Context
9. International Support
10. Legacy
Column B:
A. The overthrow of this leader led to President Aquino's rise to power.
B. The date of President Aquino's speech before the US Congress.
C. The historical backdrop of US rule in the Philippines.
D. The key focus of President Aquino's address to Congress.
E. The broader political environment in the Philippines at the time.
F. The movement that played a pivotal role in Philippine politics.
G. The long-term impact of President Aquino's speech on relations between the
two nations.
H. The values and principles emphasized in President Aquino's speech.
I. The level of international support and assistance sought by President Aquino.
J. The former Philippine dictator who was in power before President Aquino.
K. The United States had a colonial history in the Philippines, which influenced its role
 Foundation University

Dumaguete City

College of Arts and Sciences

History 102_ (Reading in the Philippine History)

in the events leading up to the speech.

IV. Essay. Write an essay. In your own understanding about the Speech of Pres.
Corazon Aquino Before the U.S Congress answer the following questions briefly.
1. How did President Corazon Aquino's address impact U.S.-Philippines relations during
her presidency?

2. What role did symbolism play in President Corazon Aquino's speech to the U.S.
Congress?

Answer Key:
Multiple Choice: True or False
1. C 1. False
2. C 2. False
3. A 3. True
4. A 4. True
5. C 5. True
6. B
7. A
8. B
9. C
10. C

Matching Type: IV. Essay (5 points each)

1. F
2. J
3. B
 Foundation University

Dumaguete City

College of Arts and Sciences

History 102_ (Reading in the Philippine History)

4. D
5. H
6. C
7. G
8. E
9. I
10. A