August 1, 2009 at 3:18am, Mrs. Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, the much-beloved former President of the Republic of the Philippines, quietly passed away after a 17 month struggle against colon cancer..
I saw the news when I flipped on the TV this morning, and although I had already been expecting it these past few days, the fact that she was actually gone moved me to tears..
I was still a little kid in kindergarden when the 1986 EDSA revolution broke out. As I gained awareness of my environment through the years, I recall often seeing this kind-looking lady clad in yellow on the newspapers or on TV. I was told that she was the "President" of the country, and people called her "Tita Cory". I also learned that she had done something really good for the country, although I had absolutely no idea what that was. Despite my ignorance, I had decided that l liked this lady since she seemed nice. :D
I guess you could say that I grew up under her motherly care, and I'm proud of this fact. Although people would argue that she didn't exactly have a good presidency, since she had a lot of crap to deal with like the endless coup attempts, the power outages, the devastating natural calamities during her term to name a few, at least I can say that I had lived under a morally upright president even just once in my lifetime. ;)
She was just a simple housewife, thrust into the limelight because of the assassination of her late husband, who was heralded as the one who would replace the ruling dictator at the time. Despite her simplicity and lack of political experience, she bravely faced the challenge and became the rallying point for a movement that changed the course of history forever..
In a way, she "reset" the Philippine government, bringing back the democratic system and it's institutions, which had been undone during the dictator's stint in power.
After her term as president, she still made her mark as a private citizen, serving as a kind of "moral standard" that Filipinos could emulate. Her soft-spoken demeanor, piety, and genuine love for the country endeared her to the populace until the very end...
Around March of last year, she was diagnosed with colon cancer. I'm assuming it was already stage 4 as she was given only 3 months to live. Chemotherapy was started, and thanks to the fervent prayers of the Filipino people, she defied the odds and survived for 17 months before losing the battle to the metastatic disease..
To many, she was not just a former president. She was an icon of morality, bravery, and simplicity. A mother who provided comfort and protection. A kind-looking lady clad in yellow..
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