Perhaps, all Cory did for us was pray
1 August 2009 at 1:25 pm | In Essays and Commentaries | 12 CommentsTags: cory, death, History, News, Philippines, Politics, reaction
I was three years old when Cory Aquino became President, and throughout my grade school life I was almost always the class president and in my last year, the student council president. Being in a position of responsibility seemed to be so noble then. I sought it because I knew that there is more in me than what I was already giving, and that if I had some ideas to make things better for everyone then I shouldn’t keep it to myself.
Secretly, I dreamed about becoming President of the Philippines. (But I dreamed about being an astronaut and a dinosaur too.)
Having Cory Aquino and then Fidel Ramos as my presidents growing up exposed me not so much to a politics of cynicism, but of promise. Young as I was I had this vague sense that things could be slightly better (I grew up in the days when brown outs were ordinary occurrences) but that we should trust the people we elect to do their job.
Times have changed since then.
I teach students who were born and raised in times long passed Marcos. People Power and the ascension of Cory Aquino are mere textbook moments to them. In the earliest wakings of their political consciousness, their first president was Erap Estrada. And as rebellious, identity-hungry teenagers, they have Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Thus I am not surprised that a lot of them feel that we have been shortchanged by history. Have we ever really had a good president? Many ask. Common answer? Never. But when I push? Marcos.
They say “Marcos” largely on the basis of what textbooks say — that during his time we rivaled Japan, our economy grew, and new infrastructure was built left and right. Then they quickly present a caveat — But only in his first term. It all went downhill after Martial Law.
It all went downhill after Martial Law. All?
I try to solicit some redemption. There must be some denouement in this story, I feel.
So I ask, “What about Cory?”
Often, there is just silence.
But every year, someone would stand up and respectfully say, “All she did was pray, sir.”
I will not take this moment to lecture those students. At the least I hope that they wonder about the nationwide outpouring of grief, and realize that the moment they are living in right now is not something lifted from a textbook, but a moment that they are very much part of too.
Neither will I go on an academic frenzy to detail her legacy (that day will come). This cold, rainy weather we’re having compels me to take part in the mourning and to contemplate my own mortality.
At this moment I can’t help but think this –
Cory Aquino may have not been the best president, for that one is still to come. Yet she was good. Good in a way that we don’t talk about in Philippine politics anymore. Good that makes politics seem so small. Good, the kind we all could have more these days.
To those who feel that all she did was pray, perhaps you’re right. All she did was pray. But she prayed for you. And that made all the difference. Everything else followed from there.
May she rest in peace.
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Prayer, no matter how trivial it may seem, is one of the best things a President can do.
I remember what you said in class, Sir. Cory may not be the best President, but she was the one we needed in those times when we were still coping from the after effects of Martial Law.
Comment by tranquilthunder — 1 August 2009 #
she didn’t just pray for us… she started building this country when her sould was torn into pieces by martial law and greed. she tried her best without claiming wisdom over leading a country. a lot believed in her and followed whichever and wherever she leads them. if cory asks us to go to grandstand or ayala to protest for something – people simply come and supported not just her but what she believed in.
she was true leader – she taught us what no other leader of this country has ever done so — faith and humility.
Comment by anne — 1 August 2009 #
The country was in pandemonium and bedlam when Marcos left the presidential palace. Cory seems to be the one we need to heal the wounds left by an austere tyranny. She was the one the Philippines needed after the Martial Law.
ditto. she may not be the best president, but she was the most honest and transparent. She made a difference.
Comment by jason — 1 August 2009 #
There are no words for me to express how wonderful this post is, Martin. Kudos to you!
Comment by Mistervader — 1 August 2009 #
and. dinosaurs are cool. \:D/ I dreamt of being one too.
)
Comment by jason — 1 August 2009 #
i grieve with thee.
Comment by the jester-in-exile — 1 August 2009 #
wEll just leave a comment in president cory…
_salute po aku to you…you are great….
Comment by bina — 3 August 2009 #
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Pingback by Cory in the Eyes of Foreign Countries « Reflections of a Math Teacher — 5 August 2009 #
Wonderful insight.
I was only a month shy of 4 during the EDSA Revolution, and yet her presence and influence was pervasive in the majority of the Filipino people, she was the only Philippine President who broke barriers between social striations.
I feel I was too young to remember, much less understand what happened in those years before and after the EDSA Revolution, including Cory’s presidency. And I suppose to me, a lot of what I know is largely based on what I’ve read in books, so I can imagine how much less attachment your students feel. But this much I know, when I stood there in front of Cory to look at her up close for the first and the last time, I felt a tremendous loss.
My hope is that what she stood for lives on, so that everytime we see her face on a shirt, or we see a yellow ribbon, we remember how she and her husband Ninoy lived and fought for Democracy.
ps. your students stand up to recite? :p jk.
Comment by reyjr — 5 August 2009 #
I agree with this post. I was born in 1986 shortly after she was declared as president and although her 6 year term was all a fuzz to my toddler brain that time, I believe that my memory of her was that of a kind mother who cared for her children–the Filipinos. We will be needing someone like her soon.
Comment by orchestratedchaos — 22 October 2009 #