RodsheenE.

Al
ejandr
ia,
ABPolSci Nov
ember25,
2021

READI
NGSI
NPHI
LIPPI
NEHI
STORY

UNI
T3

Week7

Sal
vadorLaur
el’
sLet
tert
oPr
esi
dentCor
azonAqui
noonLeav
ingHerAdmi
nist
rat
ion

Republ
icoft
hePhi
li
ppi
nes

Of
fi
ceoft
heVi
ce-
Presi
dent

Ex
ecut
iveHouse,
Mani
l
a

August13,
1988

DearPr
esi
dentAqui
no:

Iwri
teatati
meofdeepanguishforourpeopl
e.AndsoIshal
lnotbur
deny
ou
wi
thunduesent
iment
.Ishal
lgost
rai
ghtt
ot hepoi
nt.

YouandIwer ecall
edbyPr ovidencetoserv
eatat ur
ningpointinourhistory
.
Ourcal
ltoservi
cewasunique.Wehadsoughtourpeopl e’
svoteinanelecti
on,butthey
gaveussomet hi
ngmoreinabl oodlessr ev
olut
ionthatwastoastoundthewor ld.At
EDSA,weforgedacov
enantwi t
hGod, countr
yandpeople.

Ihavetr
iedt
oliv
ebyt hecov enant.Becauseofi t,Ihav ekeptf
ait
hwit
hy our
presi
dency,ev
enwhenitwasnotpossi bl
et odi
scernitspur pose.Li
kemanyconcer
ned
Fil
ipi
nos,It
oohadmydoubts.Butthear denthopesrekindledatEDSAmademedeci de
togiveyoumybestar
mt ohel
py ouleadourpeopl etobettertimes.

Butitdi
dnotworkoutthatway.Andsoaftert
empori
zi
ngfor18mont hs,
Iwas
compel
l
edt oresi
gnasSecr
etar
yofForeignAff
air
sonSeptember8,1987.Att
hatpoi
nt,
‘
fundamentaldiff
erences’hadgr ownbetweenust hatwent‘t
ot heveryr
ootsofpol it
ical
beli
efsandmor alpri
ncipl
eswhi chdetermineourconductandper f
ormanceas‘ serv
ants
oft hepeople’
swi l
land thepeopl e’
swel lbeing.’Indeed,weseemedt o standon
opposit
esidesoft heideol
ogicalconfl
ict
.Butseeingt hepossiblehar
mt hatoursudden
separat
ionthencoul dinfl
ictupont henat i
on,Idecidedatmyownexpense,t omut e
thesedif
fer
encesandt ohol dmypeace.Idi dnotjointheoppositi
on.

NowIf eelImustwrit
ethi
slet
tertoyouandIdosowi thaheavyhear
t.Foryou
andIhav egonet hroughmuchhardshipanddangertogetheri
nourl onel
yf i
ghtto
restor
edemocracyi nourcount
ry—andt her
earefeel
i
ngs,t
houghtsandmemor i
esthat
pressforut
ter
ance.

Butthetruest ateoft henat i

onmustbet old.Andt hepai nfult
ruthisthatt
he
nati
onhasgonef r
om badt owor se,whil
ey ouchooset ostandasi deinthepueril
ehope
thattheprobl
emswoul dsimplysol vethemsel ves.The‘ new mor alorder’t
owhi chwe
weresolemnlycommi t
tedhasbeenper v
erted.Ithasbecomeahav enforassassi
nsand
adenoft hi
eves.Corruption,betr
ay aloft
hepubl ictrustandot herhighcri
meshav ebeen
l
aidaty ourdoor ,includingacompl ai
ntf orimpeachment ,whi chy ourchiefall
yin
Congresshasalreadyconsi gnedt othearchives.

Wepr omisedourpeopl emoralit

yanddecencyi ngover
nment .Whatdowehav e
i
nstead?Thev er
yopposi t
e.I tisnow openlyadmi tt
edbymany ,i
ncludingyourf or
mer
Soli
citor-
Generalandsomeofy ourowncl oserelat
ivesinCongress,thatthestenchof
“accumul at
edgar bage”— I ’
m quot i
ngy ourownf i
rstcousi
n,Congr essmanEmi gdi
o
Tanjuatco,Jr.—r i
sestohi ghheav en;thatthepasty ear
sofMar cosar enowbegi nni
ng
tolooknowor set hanyourf i
rsttwoy earsi
noffice.Andthereportedcontrover
siesand
scandalsi nvolvi
ng yourcl osestr el
ati
veshav ebecomet heobj ectofourpeopl e’
s
outrage.

Wepr omisedt o‘breaktheback’oft heinsur

gency.Butwhati stherecord?
From 16,500NPA r egul
arwhenMar cosfell
,thecommuni st
snow cl ai
m anar med
strengt
hof25,200, ofwhich2,500areinMet r
oMani l
a.Theyhaveinf
il
tr
atednotonlythe
tr
adeuni ons,t
heschool s,thechurchesandt hemediabutyourgovernment,aboveal l
,
andnow ‘ aff
ect’20per centoft hecountr
y ’
s42,000barangays,accordi
ngtoof f
icial
stati
sti
cs.

Inthefi
ghtagainsttheinsurgency
,thenat ion,par
ticul
arl
yourArmedFor ces,
expectedyoutoprovi
detheleadershi
p,andtogivedeci si
ve,
clearandconsi
stentor
ders.
Buty ouhav echoseninsteadtobehav eli
keani nnocentby st
ander
,ast houghthe
i
nsurgencywer ethesoleconcernofoursol di
ers,theirwidowsandor phans.Atthe
heightofourpeopl e’seuphoriaini n1986,v eryf ew daredtoquestiony ourunilat
eral
decisiontor el
easethecommuni stdet ainees,decl ar
eaceasefireandhol dpeacet alks
wi t
ht heNat i
onalDemocr at
icFront .Butithassi ncebecomecl eart
hatt heseunilat
eral
acts ofy ours have pr
ov i
ded t he bi ggestboon t ot he communi str evol
utionary
mov ement .Yet,inyourspeechbef oret heI nternati
onalLaborOrganization(ILO)i n
Genev alastJune,yousi ngl
edout ,asoneofy ourmosti mpor
tantachievements,y our
freeing ofthecommuni stdetainees,wi th speci alemphasison JoseMar i
aSi son,
founderoft heCommuni stPartyoft hePhi li
ppines.

I
ny ourrecentSt
ateoftheNat i
onaddr
essy
out
oldourpeopl
ethaty
ouhav
e
al
readybrokenthebackofthei
nsurgency.

Thetrut
hi sthatthepeaceandordersi
tuat
ioni
smuchwor set
odayt
hanwhen
y
oucameint
ooffice.Iti
snowt henumberoneprobl
em oft
henat
ion.

Fr
om ci tytocountryside,anarchyhasspr ead.Ther
eisanar chywit
hinthe
gover
nment ,anarchywithi
nther ul
ingcoalescedparti
es,andanarchyinthestr
eets.
Theserequi
rey ourdi
recti
nter
v enti
on.Yetyouconti
nuet oi
gnor
ethisprobl
em.

Onanumberofoccasi onsIhav eproposedt hatyouconv enet heNat i

onal
Securit
yCounci landt heCounci lofStat
et odeli
berat
eand,i fpossibl
e,takeacommon
standont hemanycr iti
calissuesconfronti
ngt henat i
on.Your epeatedlyrej
ect edall
thesepr oposal
scl ai
mi ngthattheybelongtoy ourexclusive‘
prer
ogatives’asPr esident
,
andt herefor
ey oualonewi l
ldeci det
hem.Youi nsi
stonhol dinginthehol low ofy our
handal lyouroptionsf ornati
onalsurviv
al,yetyourefuset oadoptneededpol iciesand
programst hatdetail
thoseopt ions.

Despi temyl i
mitedaccesst oyou,whichbecameev enmor elimitedafterIl
eft
theCabi net,Itriedt of ocusy ouratt
enti
onont heneedf orawel l
-defi
nedpr ogram of
government .Suchapr ogram wasmadeav ail
abl
et oyoubyUNI DO( Unit
edNat i
onali
sts
Democr aticOr gani zati
ons)f rom the ver
yst art
,when itmade y ou its presi
denti
al
candidate.Buti nt otaldisr
egardofallpoli
ti
calnorms,youcompl et
elyignoredtheparty
plat
form,r efusedt oacknowl edgey ourobli
gati
onstothepartythatsponsor edyourbid
forpower ,andt oleratedallopenorunderhandedassault
sagainstit
.

IfIhav ehel dmypeaceunt ilnow inspiteofy ourdecisi

ont oignoreme
alt
ogetherandt oli
steninsteadonlytot hecounselofthosewhosepol it
ical
,economic
andsoci ali
nterestsaremor econgruentwithy ourown,itisbecausemysenseof
responsi
bil
it
yf orthi
snew gov er
nmentgoesmuchf ar
therbackint i
me.I twasIwho,
alt
houghal r
eadynomi natedf orPresidentbytheUNI DO Nati
onalConv enti
oninJune
1985,offer
edy ou,notami l
l
ionsignaturesonapet i
ti
on,butasoli
d,pre-exi
sti
ngpolit
ical
st
ructur
ethatwouldassur
eyouofv
ict
oryandachancet
oful
fi
lthehopesanddr
eams
ofoursuff
eri
ngpeopl
e.

WhileIacceptmyshareofmor alr
esponsi
bil
i
tyforhavi
nghelpedplaceyour
admini
strati
on in power
,thatr esponsibi
li
ty mustbe propor
ti
onatet othe act
ual
opport
unitygiv
enmet opart
ici
pateint hedecisi
on-
makingprocess.Thatoppor
tuni
ty
wasclosetozero.

I
tpainsmet ohavetowr i
tethi
sl ett
ert
ot hebel
ovedwidow ofmychil
dhood
fr
iend,Ni
noyAquino.Butt
hetr
uthmustbet ol
dandIcannotavoi
daddressi
ngt
hisl
ett
er
toal adywhohappenst obePr esi
dentoft hePhili
ppi
nesandwhoassuch,cannot
escaperesponsi
bil
i
tyfort
hegr
ossmi sgovernmentofourRepubl
i
c.

Letmeconcl
udewi
that
ri
tebutcr
uci
alr
emi
nder
:

THECOUNTRYMUSTCOMEFI
RSTANDNOSACRI
FICEI
STOOGREATFORI
T!

Ther
esponsibi
li
tytotaketheessenti
alsteptoeaset henation’ssuffer
ingis
yoursal
oneandIwoul dnotwi shtousurpit.Butif
,inyourconscience,y oufeelyou
mustnowmaket hesupr emesacri
ficebysteppi
ngdownf rom thepresidencyandcall
foranimmediat
eel ecti
ontoenableourpeopl etochooseanot herleaderf orthese
cri
ti
calt
imes,
Iwanty outoknowthatIam r
eadytomakethatsamesacr i
ficewithyou.

Shouldyou,however
,choosetoremaininoff
iceandcont inuet
omi sgovernthe
nat
ion,Iwillhavenochoicebuttofor
thwit
hdisassociat
emy sel
fcomplet
elyfrom your
gover
nment .Iwi l
lbeabletoserveourcountrybetterbyspeaki ngoutfr
eelyf orthe
nat
ionalint
erestandalwaysf
orthesakeoftrut
h,j
usti
ce,freedom,anddemocr acy.

Si
ncer
elyy
our
s,

Source:Cor rectPhil
i
ppines.(2010).Doy Laurel
's Let
terto Cor
y on Leav
ing Her
Administr
ation. Retr
iev
ed August 30, 2021 f
rom
ht
tps://
correctphi
l
ippi
nes.or
g/l
ett
er_of
_doy_t
o_cory
/
 TheCont
ri
but
ionoft
hisPr
imar
yHi
stor
icalSour
cet
oPhi
li
ppi
neHi
stor
y

Fardi f f
er entf rom mostv ict or's hi story ,the l etterofSal vadorLaur elt o
Presi dentCor azonAqui nor eveal edwhathashappenedaf tert heMar cosr egime.Thi s
par t
icul arpr imar yhi stori
calaccountgr eat l
yemphasi zeswhathashappenedi nt hepast ,
speci fical lydur ingCor yAqui no' sadmi nist rationt hathasmai nl yshapedt hepol i
tical
l
andscapeoft hePhi l
ippinesasi tist oday .WhenSal vadorLaur elbr okeal lpol iti
calt ies
wi t
hPr esidentCor azonAqui no,i twasbecauseofwhathecal l
ed, “ af undament al
disagr eement ”wi thAqui noonhow t ocombatt heCommuni sti nsur gency .Wi tht his
communi sti nsur gencydur i
ngAqui no' sadmi ni strati
on,i thascl ai medmor et han2, 000
l
ivesi nt hey earof1987al one.I nt hel et ter,Laur elhi ntedt hatheagr eeswi t ht he
thousandsofsol dier swhot ol dhi mt heybel iev et herear eCommuni st sorCommuni st
sy mpat hi zersi nAqui no’sCabi netandt hatt heyshoul dbef ired.I nt hepast ,ifwel ook
backatoneofhi si nterviews,heal sosai d“ mi litaryintelli
gencer epor t s”conf i
rmedt hat
sev eralCabi netai des ar el eftists orCommuni stsy mpat hizer s.The v ice-presi dent
believ edt hatt her emustbeanal l-
outsuppor tbyt hegov ernmentt ohel pt hemi li
t aryi n
remov ing al lknownorper cei vedsy mpat hizer swi tht heCommuni stPar t
yf rom t he
gov er nment .Butt henheaddedaper cept i
ont hatAqui nowi l
lr etai nsome.Wi t
ht hi s,
Laur elur ged“ anal l-
outcompr ehensi vecount er insurgency ”appr oacht hatwoul di ncl ude
notsi mpl y mi li
tar yf orce buti ntensi ver uraldev elopmentpr oject s by al lci vili
an
depar tment sofgov ernment .Ashebel iev edt hatAqui no'sowncount er i
nsur gencypl an
wasnotal l-
outanddeci sive.Howev er, Aqui nosai d,"Iacceptt hataggr essi oncannotbe
theonl yr esponset othei nsur gencypr obl em"addi ngt hatherpol i
cyi s“ acombi nat ionof
mi l
itar y of fensi ve,r espectf ordemocr at i
c pr ocesses and suppor tf oreconomi c
progr amst hatwi llupl if
tt heFi lipinopeopl e".Thus,t hisl etterofSal vadorLaur elt oCor y
onl eav ingheradmi nistrat i
onf ollowed.I tr ev eal edt hatt hepeaceandor dersi tuat i
oni s
muchwor sedur i
ngAqui no' sadmi nist ration.Andt hati thasbecamet henumberone
probl em oft henat ionaccor dingt ot het henv ice-presidentLaur el .Usi ngt hiscer tain
primar yhi stor icalaccount ,theFi lipinopeopl e,mostespeci allyst udent sofpol i
tical
science,cant akeal ookatanot heri mpor tantv i
ewpoi ntr egar di nghi stor y.Fr om t his
viewpoi nt,t her e can be an anal y sist owar ds a mor ef ruitfuland conv incing
under st andi ngofpol it
icalt ransf ormat ioni ngener al.Becauseupunt ilthepr esent ,the
Philippi neshast hewor l
d’ slongest -runni ngcommuni sti nsurgency .Onegr eatex ampl e
oft hisi st het r
agi ccaseoft heCommuni stPar tyoft hePhi l
ippi nes- NewPeopl e’ sAr my
(CPP- NPA) .Whi l
et hePhi li
ppi negov ernmentv iewst heCPP- NPAasat hreatt hatmust
beel i
mi nat ed,amor ecy nicalv i
ewi st hatPhi lippinepol iti
caldy nami csal l
owi tt oexi st
topr eser vet hest atusquo.I thaspar adoxi cal lyev olvedf rom bei ngananomal yt oa
necessaryingredienti
nPhilippi
nepowerpol iti
cs.Themov ementhasbecomeat oolfor
thesameel i
tesandpol it
icalorderi thassor abidl
ysoughtt o dest r
oy.Incurr
ent
Phil
ippine polit
icaldynami cs,the CPP- NPA has become a scapegoat f or the
government ,ameanst okeept hemi l
itaryr
elevantandawayf r
om poli
tics,andatrapto
sti
fl
et hef ormationofmor ev i
ablemov ementsf orsocialchange.Thus,DoyLaur el'
s
l
etterrevealedaconstantandpr e-exi
stingconfli
ctthatneedstobecont endedasitcan
becomeasi gnif
icantt
hreatorhindranceinachievinganidealpoli
ti
calor der.