Ex-President Cory Aquino’s death is one event that causes a deep sense of great loss like deaths in one’s family. Learning about her demise just could not stem the shedding of tears by the entire nation. Even if almost everybody already know for quite a time that she has a lingering and fatal illness and she may leave us anytime, her death still caused so much shock and grief. This reaction clearly reflects the tremendous impact her life had made on the lives of so many Filipinos, not only on her immediate family, relatives and close friends.
“Tita” or “Ate” Cory, as she was endearingly called, really embodied every description given her by her loving and grateful countrymen. Even the rest of the world considered her as the “icon of democracy” for her courage to face a dictator in an election where all the powers and resources of a ruthless government were ranged against her. She accepted the challenge despite being belittled by her opponent as a mere “housewife” and despite her self assessment that she was indeed unworthy to assume such a powerful position. She courageously responded to the call of the hour obviously because of her great faith in God and her compassion for her “bayang inaapi” looking up to her as the only one who could rally and unify them in toppling the dictator and restoring democracy in our land.
Looking back at those momentous events in our country’s history during this time of grief over the death of Ate Cory who is its central figure and major player, it can now be said without fear of contradiction that her strong faith in the Almighty God and her love of country and people contributed a lot to the happening of the EDSA “people power non-violent revolution”— a revolution considered by many as a “miracle” because tanks were halted and guns were silenced by millions of lay and religious people praying the Rosary and invoking the intercession of our Blessed Mother to save our country from further oppression and injustices. Without her daring to challenge the tyrannical rule, the EDSA “miracle” would not have happened.
The abrupt transition from the “one man rule” to a populist regime however apparently gave the “icon of democracy” so many problems as she took over the reins of government. To be sure her regime was not spared of the usual harmful effects of too much freedom suddenly acquired and enjoyed by the people. In fact it was taken advantage of by the supporters of the former regime who staged coups after coups in efforts to regain power. Even some people in her own administration abused their newly acquired power and pelf apparently overwhelmed by their intoxicating effects.
But under these most adverse circumstances, Ate Cory managed to hold the nation together and made democracy work. Her leadership by example somehow rubbed off on most of the public officials serving under her administration. Amidst the many pitfalls of a corrupt government she inherited, she steadfastly held on to her moral compass and showed us how to handle the secular powers of the State; how to render selfless public service with only the people’s well being in mind; how to avoid being corrupted by power.
As the first woman leader in Asia, she proved that women, especially Filipinas can also rise to great heights in whatever profession or undertaking they set out to do. In a big way she thus contributed to eliminating discrimination against women in society who had been looked down upon as the “weaker sex”. Indeed she was one of the few women who graced the cover of the prestigious and widely read Time Magazine as “woman of the year” in 1987 which had been previously dominated by men.
I was fortunate enough to become part of her administration in a small way when she appointed me as one of the trustees in charge of the Legal Department of the Asset Privatization Trust then headed by Atty. Ramon T. Garcia and tasked with managing and disposing off the non-performing assets acquired by the government from PNB and DBP to prevent their financial collapse. And in the rare occasions I met and saw her in connection with our job, I was struck most by her simplicity and humility and her seeming “uneasiness” in having and wielding too much power. The message or the impression she imparted that became deeply etched in my mind up to now is the timeless reminder especially to those in government that “sic transit gloria mundi” or “the glory of this world passes”. I would like to believe that this is one of her greatest legacy to our nation which should not be forgotten or cast aside especially by public officials.
With her death last Saturday August 1, 2009 we really lost a great gift. Actually however we should not really grieve too much over that loss. Ardent devotees of our Blessed Mother like Tita Cory who was reportedly praying the Rosary up to her last breath, die happy deaths and go straight to heaven on the first Saturday of the month. This is what our late daughter Joyce kept telling us. And this is confirmed by the Pink Sister who reportedly predicted Cory’s death on first Saturday of August despite her doctors’ prognosis that she would die in 72 hours. Thus we should even rejoice because we now have somebody closer to God interceding and praying for the welfare of our country especially for our exploited and long suffering poor people.