Cory celebrates birthday with much hope, little regret

Former President Corazon Aquino celebrates her 74th birthday today with much hope and little regret.

"During Ninoy’s incarceration and before my presidency, I used to ask why it had always to be us to make the sacrifice. I would say, why does it always have to be Ninoy? And then when Ninoy died, I would say, why does it have to be me now? It seemed like we were always the sacrificial lamb. But I also realized and I believe that while we’re in this world, we still have to do whatever we can to make life better, not only for ourselves but for others, especially those who have been disadvantaged in life," she told The STAR.

With only two security aides trailing her, Mrs. Aquino walks to a chapel near her Makati office everyday to hear Mass and isn’t bothered anymore by critics and detractors, especially those who did not appreciate her presidency

"People used to compare me to the ideal president, but he doesn’t exist and never existed. He has never lived," she says.

Quoting from an old speech, she says the ideal president "would have the courage of (Jose) Abad Santos, the intelligence of (Jose) Diokno, the charisma of Magsaysay and the love of country of the men and women and children who converged on EDSA in February 1986."

She believes a parliamentary system will never work in the Philippines, "because the Filipino people want the privilege of being able to directly elect their leader."

Saying she has been blessed all her life, she has no birthday wish for herself, only for the Filipino people. "I wish that we Filipinos will be able to work together to provide better lives for the underprivileged," she told The STAR.

Mrs. Aquino is throwing her support behind the PinoyME movement, which stands for Pinoy Micro-Enterprise.

"For the rest of my good years, I don’t say all my years because I don’t know how many good years I have left, I’d really like to devote time to micro-finance," she says.

Three days before her birthday, Cory marked the first year of the PinoyME movement. It’s a consortium of companies, banks micro-finance institutions, academics and non-government organizations. Its goal is to make micro-finance reach five million poor households and raise P5 billion to help micro-finance institutions achieve this in five years.

"I want to make PinoyME an irresistible force for poverty reduction, people empowerment and national solidarity," says the country’s first woman president, who was honored last year by Time magazine as one of Asia’s heroes.

Today, Mrs. Aquino will quietly mark her birthday by attending Mass at the Pink Sisters Convent in Tagaytay. Sources say she is praying for guidance for a very important decision, which they would not disclose.