PRESIDENT CORAZON

AQUINO’S SPEECH BEFORE THE

U.S. CONGRESS SEPT. 18, 1986
SPEECH
I. AUTHOR’S BACKGROUND
CORAZON AQUINO’

Maria Corazon “Cory” Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino was a

Filipino politician who served as the 11th president of the
Philippines from 1986 to 1992.
Born: January 25, 1933
Died: August 1, 2009
• Title / Office: president (1986-1992), Philippines
 CORAZON AQUINO

Corazon Aquino graduated from the College of Mount Saint Vincent in 1953.
She earned a major in French and a minor in Mathematics
Studied law at Far Eastern University in Manila.
• She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People Power Revolution,
which ended the two-decade rule of President Ferdinand Marcos and led to
the establishment of the current democratic Fifth Philippine Republic
II. CONTRIBUTION AND RELEVANCE
OF THE DOCUMENT IN
UNDERSTANDING THE GRAND
NARRATIVE OF PHILIPPINE HISTORY
• The speech of the 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 describe the struggles faced by the Aquinos 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.
III. CONTENT OF THE SPEECH
• As a victim of the Marcos’ cruel regime.
• The faithful wife of Senator Benigno
Aquino
• The people’s champion.
• The Mother of Asian Democracy.
IV. CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS
THE MOTHER OF ASIAN DEMOCRACY

Corazon Aquino lead the “people power” peaceful revolution in the Philippines that saw the
end of the brutal, kleptocratic 20-year dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos and the return of
the country to democracy.
• When her husband, Benigno Aquino, challenged Marcos’s brutal rule, he was first
imprisoned for eight years, then sent to exile, where Cory followed him with their
children. After three years of exile, Benigno Aquino returned to the Philippines in 1983 to
challenge Ferdinand Marcos in presidential elections. He was assassinated as soon as he
landed at Manila airport.
THE MOTHER OF ASIAN DEMOCRACY
This created an uproar in the country, and the opposition asked Cory to run in her late husband’s
place. “What on earth do I know about being president?” she said in an interview, according to New
York Times. She repeatedly referred to herself as an ordinary housewife, but she ultimately decided
to run: “The only thing I can really offer the Filipino people is my sincerity,” she said.
Marcos’s refusal to step down created another turmoil in the country. But, Cory lead the “people
power” movement in a strictly peaceful manner to ultimately force Marcos out without a single life
lost. When she was sworn in as president in 1986, one of her first acts was to reinstate the
constitution, return the power to the parliament and limit the power of the president – her own power.
• Corazon Aquino survived multiple coup attempts, and successfully lead the country back to
democracy. “I would rather die a meaningful death than to live a meaningless life,” was one of her
better-known quotes. She remained president of the Philippines for six years, and peacefully
transitioned power to her successor at the end of her term.