Who is Corazon C. Aquino?

Maria Corazon Aquino, née Maria Corazon Cojuangco, born January 25, 1933, Tarlac province,
Philippines—died August 1, 2009, Makati, was a Philippine political leader who served as the first
female president (1986–92) of the Philippines, restoring democratic rule in that country after
the long dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. Corazon Cojuangco was born into a wealthy,
politically prominent family based in Tarlac province, north of Manila. She graduated from
Mount St. Vincent College in New York City in 1954 but abandoned further studies in 1955
to marry Benigno Simeon Aquino, Jr., who was then a promising young politician.

How did she become a President of the Philippines?

Corazon remained in the background during her husband’s subsequent career,
rearing their five children at home. Her husband, who had become a prominent
opposition politician, was jailed by Marcos for eight years (1972–80), and Corazon accompanied
him into exile in the United States in 1980. Benigno was assassinated upon his return to the
Philippines in August 1983. This event galvanized opposition to the Marcos government.
When Ferdinand E. Marcos unexpectedly called for presidential elections in February
1986; Corazon Aquino became the unified opposition’s presidential candidate.

Though she was officially reported to have lost the election to Marcos, Aquino and her
supporters challenged the results, charging widespread voting fraud. High officials in the
Philippine military soon publicly renounced Marcos’s continued rule and proclaimed
Aquino the Philippines ‘rightful president. Then in September 18, 1986, Corazon Aquino spoke
before the Joint Session of the United States Congress that resulted in an emergency $200-million
aid appropriation to help deal with the Philippines’ economic distress.

Pres. Corazon C. Aquino’s Speech before the joint session of

the United States Congress
(Sept. 18, 1986)
The speech was prepared by Teddy Locsin, marked her first appearance before Congress since
she helped overthrow former Philippine strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos.

Here are the unforgettable lines of her famous speech:

“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.”

“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”

“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.”
“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.”

“But his death was my country's resurrection and the courage and faith by which alone they could be
free again.”

“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.”

“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.”

"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."

“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.”

"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."

“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.”
REFLECTION OF THE SPEECH:

In her speech recalled the sufferings of her husband, Benign Simeon Aquino, Jr., under the
Marcos dictatorship until the day of his death which led to the revolution that ousted the dictator.
She also narrated how she became the president and the revolution that happened which she called
“the cheapest and most peaceful revolution”.
Corazon also showed her bravery and commitment to protect the Philippines from anyone
who will threaten to destroy the new peace that her people won. She then laid out the economic
situation of the Philippines after the Marcos regime—the 26 billion dollars foreign debt of the
country which they never benefited from and the interests that the Filipino people are obliged to
pay. She then appealed to the support and assistance of the American government for resolving the
said issue.
Lastly, she thanked America for the haven from oppression it provided for her family for
three years and asked for another haven from oppression for her people. Corazon Aquino’s
speech became a great tool for the Philippines to recover, economically, after the
dictatorship of Marcos. The speech is indeed very helpful in understanding the grand
narrative of Philippine history, especially today that fake news and one-sided stories are just
available online.
Reading the manuscript allows us, to know how cruel the authorities during the
dictatorship. Through this, we are able to discover how we were freed from the hands of the
dictator and how the brave and collective acts of everyone changed the Philippines for the better.
This touched me emotionally and made me realize how brave Filipinos are for fighting for our
freedom even if their lives are at stake just by doing so. This act of bravery is still known and will
continue to be instilled to the future generation, all thanks to sources like this that preserve such
heroic acts.