Dinner with the Mother of the People Power Revolution by Aaron Gabriel
Aaron Gabrielof Bartow's entry into Varsity Tutor's February 2016 scholarship contest
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Dinner with the Mother of the People Power Revolution by Aaron Gabriel - February 2016 Scholarship Essay
If I could have dinner with any historical figure, I would definitely choose to eat with Corazon “Cory” Aquino. Although Corazon “Cory” Aquino had no background in politics and even described herself as a “plain housewife”, her husband Benigno had worked his way up the political chain of command from mayor to governor to senator. The final step would be to become president; however, Ferdinand Marcos stood in his way. Alongside her husband, Corazon had the courage to stand up against the corrupt practices of then-President Marcos.
After ruling for two terms as president, Ferdinand Marcos sought to continue his administration which had been characterized by widespread corruption and human rights violations. Since he was not allowed to run for a third term, he declared martial law in 1972 so that he could seize full control of the Filipino government. In doing so, Marcos stripped the Filipino citizens of all of their democratic rights guaranteed to them in the constitution.
Marcos also had any political leaders who opposed him arrested and imprisoned. Among them was Benigno, his most prominent challenger for the presidency. During Benigno’s incarceration, Corazon served as his connection to the outside world by passing notes of his thoughts and beliefs on to the press. She did not believe herself to be a hero; however “as a housewife [she] stood by [her] husband … against an arrogant dictatorship”. The Aquinos were exiled to the United States in 1980; however, three years later, Benigno heard that Marcos had weakened, and he sought to revive the Filipino opposition. Upon his arrival in the Philippines, he was promptly assassinated by Marcos’s soldiers. Corazon later recounted that “the nation was awakened by that deafening shot”.
Marcos worked to cover up the details behind Benigno’s assassination, resulting in protests led by Corazon demanding the truth. Integral to Corazon’s resistance movement was Radio Veritas, a 24-hour radio station operated by the Catholic Church. Since the Marcos Regime had control over all other forms of mass media communication, radio became an important tool which served as the primary form of communication to unite the democratic opposition. Although Marcos prevented news to be broadcast concerning Benigno’s death, Corazon was still able to mobilize over 2 million citizens to attend his funeral. The L shaped hand meaning ‘laban’ or ‘to fight’ as well as the color yellow became trademark signs of the Corazon supporters.
In 1986, Marcos unexpectedly called for snap elections to be held on February 7th in order to prove that he still had control over the country. The democratic opposition nominated Corazon to run against Marcos. During her campaign, she appealed to the emotions of the Filipino voters and presented herself as “the complete opposite of Marcos”. Corazon lost the election by a narrow margin but the discrepancy was attributed to fraud, vote buying and intimidation. At a rally of one million citizens protesting the rigged vote, Corazon proposed a seven-part program for nonviolent resistance. The main tenet of her plan was to boycott all the banks and stores that the Marcos regime controlled. She also urged people to “experiment with nonviolent forms of protest”.
On February 22, 1986, Corazon called protesters to block Manila’s main road, Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, better known as EDSA. For four days, thousands of unarmed civilians blockaded the streets in order to protect the rebel forces located at Camp Crame. Although Marcos sent tanks, courageous citizens sat in front of them, unwilling to move. During this so-called bloodless protest, not a single shot was fired between either side.
Marcos’s control over the country was quickly slipping away, and when his secretary of defense and acting chief of staff defected to support Corazon, his time had run out. Moreover, the Reagan White House, which once supported Marcos, called for his resignation. As troops continued to defect at a growing rate, a sickly Marcos and his family boarded the plane to Hawaii.
On February 25, 1986, Corazon was sworn in as the 11th president of the Philippines, becoming the first female leader in the country’s history. TIME Magazine named her Woman of the Year 1986 and she became known as the “Saint of Democracy”. During her 6 years in office, she was able to fend of several coup attempts from Marcos supporters. Most importantly, Corazon successfully reestablished a democracy in which power was returned to the hands of the citizens.
By having dinner with such a powerful historical figure such as Corazon, I would be given insight into what went through her mind as she was suddenly thrown into the limelight when her husband was abruptly assassinated. By speaking with her, I would be able to gain an understanding of how a simple woman with almost no background in formal politics was able to lead a country out of repression and corruption and into a new age of political freedom and democracy. Furthermore, I would want to ask Corazon how she was able to do this as a woman during a time when the traditional gender roles dictated that women must remain in the house rather than going toe to toe with men in the political realm. Most importantly, I would want to have dinner with Corazon because of what she has done for my nation of the Philippines. In my opinion, she truly saved our nation and revived the Filipino spirit.