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WASHINGTON DC, United States—It doesn’t matter that millions of Filipinos such as myself are overseas trying out opportunities not found in the homeland. Cory Aquino has touched many lives wherever people are.
Her death made me rethink of the 1986 People Power Revolution which ushered her to power. It caused me to pause and reflect on what catapulted such a bloodless revolution: the 1983 Ninoy assassination, the tyrannical rule of Ferdinand Marcos, and last but not least, the decades of persistent grassroots organizing by progressive forces across the archipelago.
Deservingly, Cory Aquino has been championed by Time Magazine as the People Power Saint.
Her death also made me revisit and re-analyze the 2001 Edsa II Revolution which, quite unfortunately, ushered Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the Presidency by removing former President Joseph Estrada, the actor. Hands down, I prefer the first and original bloodless revolution in 1986.
Her death similarly made me question why Cory Aquino’s security details were allegedly pulled out several times in the years that Mrs. Arroyo sat as president. Was it because Aquino sought transparency and change while Arroyo merely wanted to hold onto power? It made me also wonder why ex-President Estrada is roaming around the metropolis and the country as a free man and bragging that he might run again.
President Cory Aquino has succumbed to cancer, a grave physical illness that seemingly has no cure to date. But what’s clear is that she didn’t succumb to the cancer of society which includes corruption, incompetence, mediocrity, blind deference to the elite, and political self-perpetuation. She has passed but what a legacy she has left behind.
Who knows, maybe the resurgence of the Cory Aquino Magic will later on transform into, or help inspire, a genuine reform movement the country so desperately needs.
Aquino Magic to re-ignite the Reform Movement?
Comments abound that the Cory Aquino Magic is Camelot-like in that it was only for a brief, shining, fleeting moment. After which, it was gone. To a significant extent, this is accurate. Such magic was extremely strong from the time she declared her candidacy for President in early December 1985 up to about 1987 or 1988, at which point military and political challenges to her leadership began surfacing one after the other.
Her Presidency was not perfect. There were seven bloody coup attempts against her, the last one in 1989 almost toppling her if not for the US planes that flew over the capital. There were charges of suppression of dissent by the silencing of opponents and militants, non-prosecution of Marcos cronies, public falling out with her vice president, the Mendiola Massacre of hapless protesting farmers near the presidential palace, the kid-glove treatment of the Marcos family, and various allegations of human rights abuses.
By late 1988 and early 1989, she was perceived by the press to be weak in leadership style and too exemplary in delegation. She couldn’t even speak publicly on national or administration issues with any specificity, and often delegated those chores to underlings. At that point, the honeymoon was over and magic had almost dissipated.
One thing about the Cory Aquino Magic is that it comes then it goes, but it resurfaces again when the time is ripe. This magic or influence is not necessarily about her accomplishments during her 1986-1992 term though. It’s more of the fact that she successfully led the opposition to victory against the ailing dictator, that she became the symbol of people power revolutions which arguably inspired anti-Communism and anti-dictator movements in Europe, and that she consistently portrayed simplicity and values. She also resisted any attempt to trifle with the constitutional ban on an incumbent President from running again.
But can it ignite a sleeping reform movement? That remains to be seen. Her magic was useless and in fact a liability when she tried to use it to campaign for the retention of the US bases in 1991. It was successful to an extent when she anointed General Fidel Ramos as her successor in 1992. It was effective when she helped push out the actor-President Joseph Estrada from power in 2001. But it lacked the strength when she tried to use it to oust sitting President Arroyo due to allegations of corruption and cheating.
The only thing certain about it is that it’s presently here and there’s a resurgence of interest. Maybe it can inspire people to change their old, selfish, and perverted ways. Maybe it can re-awaken nationalism and infuse an acceptable level of competence in politicians. Maybe it can serve as a measure when deciding who to vote for in 2010. These are a lot of maybes.
A new type of People Power
The challenge for the country is not to let the positive and moving influence of Cory Aquino diminish weeks after her burial. Her body was buried but not her spirit. The magic must not die. It must continue to inspire credibility, instill honesty, and engender good moral character on everyone, not just politicians.
Are we just caught in the moment or is this an impetus for change? The challenge for each individual is to prevent this from being purely a nostalgic moment. It ought to be regarded as an opportune political stimulant. We certainly cannot change the past but we can freely rework the future.
Reworking the future and seeking meaningful reform do not mean another 1986 or 2001 people power revolution. Revolutions do not always succeed and sometimes end up eating their own children. It can simply mean moving away from wrong life choices, kicking a bad habit, or upending a life of crime. It may also mean being a good parent, a responsible child, a worthy student, a noble public servant, or a caring citizen.
It can also mean a new type of people power—the more intangible form where there are no cameras, no coverage, no historic points. This translates to educating the masses, especially the children, on the right and ethical way of leading people and using resources. This pertains to voting conscientiously during elections, never receiving or giving bribes, and not supporting leaders of dubious or immoral character. This means a total cessation, not a mere moratorium, on providing support to those who seek a Marcos-like iron-grip on power.
Cory Aquino’s term was far from perfect. But her magic lives on. It serves to rekindle and re-inspire a nation tired of bloodless revolutions and desensitized to massive corruption. The review of her accomplishments as President will be mixed no doubt, but she is more than just the country’s leader right after Marcos.
She is a symbol, a rallying point, a mobilizing factor that may greatly assist in reshaping the subverted Philippine democracy. She will accomplish more in death than in life. President Cory Aquino, maraming salamat po.
