Peping remembers his adventures with his Ate Cory

Peping’s family has always been private and into themselves. When Cory became ill she chose from the very beginning not to allow anyone, not even her sisters and brothers, to see her. She wanted to be only with her happy family and not spread sadness.

One day, my daughter and her five-year-old son Pablo saw her bravely working at the Cojuangco building. She gave Paolo chocolates and when he didn’t finish the entire bar she kept it for him for the next day. Then we saw her again at the Meralco Theater for Bing Pimentel’s Cory, the Musical. She was so happy and Peping was so careful about holding her, she had to tell him, “Pepote, hawakan mo ako,” as she went down the theater steps. He wasn’t sure if she’d allow him to hold her arm in case she wanted to show the audience she was still strong enough.

So I reprimanded Peping that he should pay more attention to what is not said and feel what can’t be heard.

A few days before the Cebu rally for Cory’s boycott campaign after the snap elections, Col. Almonte came to the house suggesting that Peping stop Cory from going to Cebu. He said it wouldn’t be “long now,” and that he reported to Gen. Ramos that something was about to happen. Yet Cory stubbornly insisted on going to Cebu. She said, “What would the people in Cebu say if I did not appear?” When Peping relayed this to Col. Almonte, he suggested that Peping accompany Cory on this trip. He seldom went with her but now he had to. They used the two private planes regularly available for Cory even to fly her to Malaysia at tree-top level to avoid radar detection, if the Marcoses or the military went after her.

Peping said, “The night before Cory and I left for Cebu, then Capt. Bodette Honrado came to the house and informed me that ‘they’ would make their move at 2 a.m. of Sunday. He suggested I hide Cory until he could get in touch with me to tell me the situation. Col. Almonte (now the retired General) though did not tell me the exact time. So my information came from Capt. Honrado who kept me abreast of every situation. But plans went astray. The RAM’s connection in Malacañang was discovered before the RAM’s implementation.”

In the meantime in Manila that late afternoon of Saturday, Feb. 22, the rumblings of people power were heard. Juan Ponce Enrile and Fidel Ramos had defected. That early evening of Saturday, Gen. Ramos and Minister Enrile were looking for Cory and Peping. 

Strangely disconnected — rather, cut — were telephone lines between Manila and Cebu. Enrile and Ramos were still frantically looking for Cory and Peping who were in Cebu with their sister Terry for that huge rally organized by Cory’s Region 7 organizers Joe Macachor, Raul del Mar and Tony Cuenco. She was also accompanied by Nene Pimentel and Monching Mitra. Why had we lost communication with Cory? Jake, our radio operator, accompanied Kris and Terry to the movies! 

“What a time to see a movie,” Peping stewed. Jake had brought the family’s only means of contact to Manila, the single-side band radio. Only until Cory and Peping were at the Quisumbing residence after the rally did Cory, Ernile and Ramos speak to each other. That night, the opposition leaders agreed that Cory should go into hiding, that she should be safe for the revolution to continue and succeed. 

Everyone left the Quisumbing residence in a motorcade. Cory was in Tony Cuenco’s car driven by Tony with Kris, Terry, Nancy and Peping. Somewhere in the city, Tony’s car broke away from the motorcade and proceeded to the Carmelite Monastery. As I write this I can’t help bringing a message to our friends to remember Joe Macachor, Ding Tanjuatco and Monching Mitra with a prayer.

Anyway, to add to the suspense, “It was the first time that the two men slept in a monastery,” Peping said.

Monching and Nene were looking for Cory, Peping and Tony the whole night. Learning about their whereabouts they knocked at the monastery door endlessly. No one opened its doors until the light of day came. When they couldn’t find Cory, both Monching and Nene agreed that she should ask Marcos to leave the country to avoid bloodshed. Cory carried on that line.

Peping told us, “In spite of Cory’s insistence, I refused to allow her to leave the Carmelite monastery until 9 a.m. which was the advice of Capt. Honrado. By 9 a.m., I could no longer hold back an irritated Cory and we proceeded to Hotel Magellan where she held a press conference.”

Immediately after her Cebu press conference, she sent word to Peping to hurry. We could almost hear her command, “Pepote, bilisan mo.” Minutes later they all sped away from the Magellan Hotel for the airport. In their haste, they forgot the pilots. 

“Where are the pilots?” Cory asked Peping. 

“In their room!” he answered. 

“You said let’s go. I didn’t know where you wanted to go.” So the angry Ate and confused younger brother waited at the airport while Ambet Antonio and Jun Carrascoso fetched the pilots.

Peping discussed with Capt. Lacson Cory’s covert departure from Cebu as their movements were constantly being monitored by the military. There were a number of contingency plans adopted to depart out of Cebu between Peping, Bodette, Tommy Henson and Len Oreta. At that point, Tessie and Len had arranged with the Prince of Johore in Malaysia that Cory be allowed to land in Malaysia should the ouster of Marcos prove unsuccessful. Ninoy was “guardian” to the prince in Boston for about a year.

Another plan was hatched with Peps Bengzon taking charge. Peps, another revolutionary leader, has since passed away, too. A plane owned by Virgilio Co of Avson Industries and piloted by Capts. Morelos and Lacson would be sent to Lingayen. They would park the plane by the Pangasinan airstrip for two days, claiming it was out of order. Ready with fuel, this metal bird would stand ready to take off at any given moment. Firstly, they were to fly the Cessna to Plaridel, Bulacan to pick up Cory and bring her to Malaysia or Taipei or Hong Kong, flying low to avoid radar detection. 

Another option was to fly Cory to the southernmost tip of Palawan and from there proceed to Sabah. Mitra and Capt. Morelos had planned the route. These pilots were employed by the Jose Cojuangco and Sons to fly family members to and fro Tarlac or to fly Ninoy in the Baron & Queen Air and the tiny two-seater chopper around the Philippines. Capt. Morelos’ license had been revoked during martial law like the other three. For six years Toti worked as night shift security guard in the Los Angeles Airport. Capts. Vic Palpalatoc and Jess Sarol went into farming. Their six- year suspension hurt their careers, families and pocket books when we lost the planes and Ninoy was incarcerated.

Now to go to the immediate concern in Cebu, Peping’s plane with Mitra, Ambet and Jun would serve as decoy while Cory was to leave inconspicuously on her plane with her sister Terry, son-in-law Eldon, Fritzi Aragon, and Kris. The military would not know which plane Cory would be on. Peping and company made themselves highly visible registering their flight plan to Manila while Cory took off in her Cessna 421, bound for Manila with Capt. Lacson, Cory’s lead pilot. A few minutes later, Peping and his group followed in a Duke plane piloted by Morelos and Sarol that Sunday of Feb. 22.

It was at this point that all precautions went awry. The shortminded Capt. Yumul who was Cory’s security then was nowhere to be found and was left behind. He failed to instruct the Cessna 421 pilot not to reveal his passenger’s manifesto. When Cory’s plane took off, the Cebu tower inquired if indeed Cory was on board. The pilot answered in the affirmative. The tower guides in the Mactan Airport all shouted, “Congratulations.” It was the same when Cory landed in Manila. The Manila tower inquired if Cory was on board. “Affirmative,” Lacson replied. Whereupon tower personnel began to shout, “Cory, Cory, Cory.”

Peping’s plan to keep his sister’s arrival underwraps had miscarried. Upon her arrival Cory hurriedly headed to her sister’s residence, Josephine Reyes, in Wack-Wack where she was informed by Ambassador Bosworth of the Marcoses’ departure. Her selection of the cabinet members was discussed there before heading for EDSA in front of the POEA where she delivered a speech. Peping felt uncomfortable about that risk. Cory got into the car left him to follow and sped away.

She briefly saw millions gathered at this crucial spot that became a part of history in an atmosphere of a grand picnic. It was also there on EDSA that the goodness and nobility of men manifested themselves. Right after, with Peping in tow, Cory left EDSA…to go right back to Ate Josephine’s residence.

When Cory decides what she wants, she does it. Peping took it in stride again. She was, after all, to become the president of the Philippines and Peping was but her younger brother.

The country and the Filipino had taken precedence. Every Filipino was now a member of her family.