Today, the late President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino will be buried at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City. A mass will be held at 9AM at the Manila Cathedral, after which, her remains will be brought to Parañaque. She will be laid to rest beside her husband, Ninoy Aquino, one of our national heroes and one of the most pivotal characters in our country’s modern history.
For those who do not know, Cory Aquino became president after Marcos’ fall. In 1986, after the Filipino people decided that they had had enough of the dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, they marched to EDSA with the cry of “Tama na! Sobra na!” (“This has got to stop! We have had enough!“) What ensued was a 4-day series of demonstrations and prayer rallies, known as the People Power Revolution or the EDSA Revolution. It was the revolution that toppled the Marcos government. It was the revolution that stunned the world and served as an inspiration for people power movements in other countries, not because of the fact that it ended a 20-year dictatorship, but because it was able to end that dictatorship through non-violent means. Some of you have probably seen the pictures: the military among the civilians, holding their guns, but not using them; people giving roses to the soldiers; the soldiers smiling at the people, as if they were one with them.
I’m glad that I’m old enough to remember People Power. I was 9 years old in 1986. I was just a self-absorbed kid who was still playing with her Barbie dolls, but even then, the images I saw on screen touched me. I wanted to be part of the momentous events that I was witnessing on TV. But I was just a kid, and the grown-ups wouldn’t let me go with them. Until now, though, whenever I see footages of the EDSA revolution, I still get chills.
The Filipino people love Cory, that much is evident from the unanimous grief that is almost palpable in the air today. I think we have always loved Cory. Her detractors called her weak; some people thought she was too nice and too good to lead a nation. In this country, one has to have a heart ruled by greed and balls of steel to become a politician. She had neither. What she had, though, was principles. She sometimes made mistakes in supporting candidates (she used to support Gloria), but it was apparent that she wanted what was best for the Philippines. When it became too obvious that the present government was (and still very much is) an extremely corrupt one, she withdrew her support.
Today has been declared a special non-working holiday in her honor. If I didn’t have to work today, I would go to the Manila Cathedral even though I’m agnostic. I just want to pay my respects. But we nurses have no holidays, so I guess I’ll just have to watch from the sidelines again.
Who among you are hoping that Cory’s death and the memory of her life, as well as the legacy of EDSA, will rouse this sleeping country once again; rouse it enough to say, once again, “Tama na! Sobra na!“?
Crosses & Redirects