I'm here for my report in Readings in Philippine History. I was so amazed with those rounds of applause💖 I also felt proud that I'm born as a Filipino with my beloved country in which my ancestors and family resides.
RIP Cory Aquino. From that moment you've made me and other Filipino's born in the US so proud during a time we felt we really don't have the power to capture the world attention, but with your strength and determination we felt we now have a Filipino that had an image we could follow and admire. Thank you Cory.
1) Ninoy stories a. 6:04 b. 6:39 c. 8:22 2) Her democracy views a. 9:37 3) Story of the People Power Revolution a. Snap Election 11:22 - 11:28 b. People's victory 12:30 - 12:36 c. People Power 13:38 - 13:57 d. Success of People power 15:03 - 15:12 e; Cheapest Revolution ever : 21:08 - 21:15 4) Philippine Debt a debt 20:27 - 20:38 b Pay 24:42 - 25:04 5) Insurgency a 23:43 - 23:49 Economic Insurgency b 18:08 - 18: 26 not allow insurgency c 17:34 - 17:46 Solution to insurgency Compliments to America a. 9:02 - 9:13 b. 12:38 - 13:02 c. 22:00 - 22:14 Last paragraph 26:15 - 26:49
Cory is the complete opposite of Marcos but both are the complete end of the spectrum. Marcos authority suffocates the people `till they brake but Cory made it worse by giving so much freedom and let the nation go savage. I admires Cory`s goal for the nation`s freedom and I don`t even expect so much from her for she is just a replacement for her husband. But she failed on showing and implementing the importance of discipline and democracy unto us. The type of democracy our country has right now is raw and corrupted. Watching this video, I noticed what kind of audience Cory has. Halatang mga oportunista at mga bantay salakay. Honestly speaking, Americans gives their complete support to her because they know what the outcome will be. We`ve been manipulated by our intense clamore for humanity`s freedom. Kaya, Taran!!!! Kaliwa`t kanan ang sisihan. Hindi ako dilawan o dds, kampi lang ako sa hustisya at katarungan. At the end, the greatest power that there is in a nation is in its people`s hand.
Oh I couldn't say enough words to express my concurrence to what you've opined. Dapat ganto ang natatanging tingin ng taumbayan sa bawat kilos ng administrasyon. Walang pagkiling at pambubuska, pawang katotohanan lamang.
She’s the so called Puppet on a string run by Corrupt and may ibang balak (People). Of all to compete againts Marcos, why Her? She doesnt have the accolades and experience to run A COUNTRY. Her husband was killed as per planned and sya ang ipapalit? Just like the currept VP, namatay ang asawa itatakbo ang Mrs at nanalo? Come on.. 🤦♂️🙅♂️ Filipinos are easily manipulated by opputunist individuals behind the scene
@@iamme5307 the resemblance of Cory and Leni rests only on their husbands' tragedy as the cause for their political action. That's it. Leni is discharging her responsibility naman, although stripped kasi wala naman siyang magagawa kung di siya mabigyan ng cabinet post ni Du30 diba?
It’s disheartening to see na this is only a class assignment. First time I heard this, I felt proud being a Filipino. Big deal pala ung history natin in the international audience at that time. I hope kahit papaano the others are really listening, iniintindi at sinasapuso. Lastly, all of us having the privilege to comment anything here was due to the democracy na ipinaglaban nila. Do not take it for granted.
This is one of the proudest moments in our history and it happened not too long ago. May I know the title, author and publisher of your history textbook? Which parts are different from what you see here?
Para sa mga nandito para sa assignment sa school: *Pakiusap panoorin niyo ‘to hindi lang para matandaan ang mga detalye na pwedeng lumabas sa exam, pero sana unawain ninyo ang context ng kanyang sinabi dito at ang kahalagahan ng speech na ‘yon.* Mamats labyu all
A very well received speach from a well educated person she is .she speak wd dignity and integrity . 10 tmes her speach was interupted by great aplouze coming from the people. Thank you our beloved pres. Corazon for regaining our freedom. Yours and Ninoy's martyrdom will forever be remembered bcoz it is part of the history of tje Phil.
She was the one who sacrificed a generation of Filipinos by disregarding the economic development of the country. 30 years and these dilawans never developed the Philippines. We stayed poor while our neighbors surpassed us economically!! It was because of the chaos and inadequacy that EDSA brought that made the Philippines 30yrsrs behind in development. We are only catching up now. No more dilawan!! EDSA should not be romanticized because it did not bring progress and development that it promised. No more inadequate leaders like Cory or Noynoy!! Vote leaders who are competent in developing the country, instead of just “rally, rally” and “be a pure and holy person.” None of that will feed the poor! More people die of hunger, poverty and depression compared to other forms of crime!
Thankful for our assignment, if not for it I will not be able to hear or watch such a beautiful and moving speech. The way Pres. Cory stood their was full of authority and confidence and at the same time she echoes an utmost respect. I salute her, I was teary-eyed while watching this tbh. I'm gonna say "ang astig niya!" I hope many Filipinos will be able to watch this.
Thank you. I am now 60 years old, not politically motivated. But I am saddened at how people making comments here are full of hatred without understanding what history was like to people my age. I do not even hate Marcos even if I was directly a witness ont eh evils of Martial Law. All we have to do is love our country more, be proud of being a Filipino and vote not by relationships or partisan politics because that prevents us from rational thinking
@MEG MONT I am more saddened that many people continue to believe in the manipulated truth by the leftists to make people see them as heroes while they hide their own corruption which did not even fulfill the promise of EDSA. "EDSA is not a revolution, it is a historical anomaly of the yellow's manipulation in brainwashing the Filipino People." -Rodante Marcoleta, 2022
Can't stop to be emotional yet elated at the same time... so sincere and powerful elevated by true and fitting sense of leadership (all eyes on her and mesmerized). As I watch this, I was feeling so proud again that once a upon a time we had a leader who has done so much for our democracy.
Actually she hasn't done anything more than democracy. Yes, people freely expressed themselves then what? No more progress in the country. She was not interested in uniting Filipinos, she wants anarchy.
2 года назад
@@vladimirkonstantinovic7590 bobo mag research ka nga wag puro kuda kuda.
She's an excellent speaker her diction is very clear very understandable she did'nt garbled and speak spontaneously with overall confident she deserve an outstanding ovation ✌️✌️✌️✌️✌️✌️✌️🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭
Disclaimer: I just copy and pasted this from another comment :) 1) Ninoy stories a. 6:04 b. 6:39 c. 8:22 2) Her democracy views a. 9:37 3) Story of the People Power Revolution a. Snap Election 11:22 - 11:28 b. People's victory 12:30 - 12:36 c. People Power 13:38 - 13:57 d. Success of People power 15:03 - 15:12 e; Cheapest Revolution ever : 21:08 - 21:15 4) Philippine Debt a debt 20:27 - 20:38 b Pay 24:42 - 25:04 5) Insurgency a 23:43 - 23:49 Economic Insurgency b 18:08 - 18: 26 not allow insurgency c 17:34 - 17:46 Solution to insurgency Compliments to America a. 9:02 - 9:13 b. 12:38 - 13:02 c. 22:00 - 22:14 Last paragraph 26:15 - 26:49
I was touched knowing how important this historical events not because it's about my assignment as a college Student but also, I am so grateful knowing that our former president Cory Aquino fight for our rights by giving our country a democracy that all Filipinos need. A lots of haters are trying to destroy her reputation but the good deeds that she did will forever be remember. You who reading this! Please listen not because of it's just your assignment but because Cory Aquino save our Country from dictatorship. 💗
@@vladimirkonstantinovic7590 wtf. Marcos is not a Dictator and Never again Aquino Evil, Never Forget Saf44, Shipment Gold, Corruption Era, at marami pa. Marami sila nagawang kasalanan sa bansa. Aquino ang nagpababoy sa bansang Pilipinas.
GREATNESS ? PAMILYANG MAGNANAKAW NGA YAN. HALOS LAHAT NG ARI ARIAN SA GOBYERNO INANGKIN NG MGA KAMAG ANAK NYA LALO NAGHIHIRAP ANG PILIPINAS DAHIL SA PAMAMALAKAD AT PANLOLOKO NYA SA MGA PILIPINO. WORST PRESIDENT OF ALL TIME CORYKONG AQUINO
Napanood ko na at landing noon pero mas lalong naantig ang aking damdamin ng marinig ko ngayon. Nasa EDSA ako noong Feb 1986.I am almost 80 years old now. Matanda na! Sa mga kabataan, sana ay ipagpatuloy ninyo na ipaglaban ang inyong karapatan bilang tao: Kalayaan, Karangalan, Katarungan!
What made this speech great and well executed was that, those were the times that there were no phones to distract audiences and listeners attentions, so the essence of speech was well digested by minds.
IF that is true, what he has become now is tragic. I need proof that he did indeed write it. Even if he knows his English and grammar, I do not think he's that intelligent. BAKA medyo believable pa kung may magsabi na si MDS ang sumulat.
🤣 What are you talking about? 🤣 Do you even know what intimidation means? Where would that sit in the speech? Pls say it in Tagalog next time because you are trying to sound like something else but the opposite shows 🤭. Dinelete ang comment 😄.
@@smugqing5164 ikaw nga ang walang naintindihan. Mahiya ka nga sa balat mo. Sige ipaliwanag mo yung speech, Nganga. Lakas mantawag ng bobo e siya nga walang naintindihan. Kapal talaga at ang sama ng ugali basta maka marcorruptcos at dds.
@@pierceelyhibionada342 If it is marcos why would he let imelda bring ninoy to America to have a coronary bypass surgery. Why wouldn’t he just let him die in peace. So people will not blame him for his natural death?! If you would think clearly you would know the answer to your questions.
Why do people keep mocking her and saying that she’s nothing more than a housewife? Her diction is beyond impressive and knows how to effectively give a speech. She not only studied college in the USA but also learned French, Japanese, and Spanish-not an easy feat. She may not be the best president in terms of improving the country’s economy, but it can’t be denied that she was smart.
She was further away from being smart and will never be. She only fought for her own selfishness and manipulated Filipinos just like what her puppeteers did to her. Fortunately, some Filipinos had seen through her mask and her evil deeds because they aren't dumb to follow a devil, and I'm one of those people. I guess you'll never truly understand because you're blinded by those history books that the communists victors fabricated to make it look like the true heroes were the villains of the story. Wake up.
@@Rimakuu I never said she was a good person though. I could say the same thing for Ferdinand Marcos; I admit Marcos was smart as well, but that doesn’t mean I applaud his actions. The fact that they managed to manipulate so many people is a sign of their intellect, isn’t it? The Marcoses and Aquinos are two sides of the same coin, and neither of them are the hero
Ang galing magsulat ng Drama ni Teddy Boy Locsin. In fairness! Brilliant! But this speech made me laugh! Scammer talaga itong mga Aquinos! Happy naman ang mga kano sa military bases😂😂😂
as a pol sci grad i know the facts.. as a lay person, kung tunay na nkinig kayo sa video. 20 min and 40 sec... thats the part revealed that marcos left billions of debts... sinalo ni cory yung pamana.. father said ang hirap nung time ni marcos.. di ka makakalabas ng bahay.. its easy to idolize marcos when you lived outside of his reign.. little knowledge is dangerous..
Wilmar tama kayo. Kaya walang nang pag-asa itong bayan ninyo dahil sa dami ng mga bobo at producto ng regime ni Marcos, mga magnanakaw, violente at mga tamad. Kung wala si Cory siguradong nagkaroon ng bloddy revolution sa Pilipinas. Cory reunited the people, political prisoners were released. It was difficult for her to cure a country that has just been spoiled by the Marcos regime. The rest is history. Her son Noynoy tried his best, put to jail corrupt politicians, improved the economy etc.
+cocoleardogs2 tama. people oughta now the facts before reacting. hindi single sided. as my idol once said. the concept of truth before the court and the bible. the oath is uttered as the truth. the "whole" truth and nothing but the truth
+cocoleardogs2 Whatever 'economic improvement' that Noynoy has been bragging in his speeches are all the fruits of labor of the economic policies from the Arroyo administration. He attacks Arroyo in his speeches, and then take credit for the 'economic improvement', which economists have even said to be an underperformance of Aquino, a very slight improvement to what expected results should have been since Arroyo handed down a rather stable economy having transformed the country's economic foundation from scratch, and made new policies that can be used for the next 30 years, or so. Also, Noynoy only jail politicians from the opposition. Only his enemies go to jail. They go after human rights violation during martial law, and yet they silence those farmers poorly massacred in Hacienda Luisita, and the Mendiola Massacre as well. Seriously. There is something wrong to that kind of mindset of his--Fingerpointing, vindictive, and a credit-grabber.
@@alanolandag1992 what do you mean puppet. America had nothing to do with Marcos being oust from power. Hell they even let him stay in Hawai a U.S state. I think you should stop rewriting history and accept the fact that Marcos lost fair and square because the Filipino people did not want to be ruled by someone who serves himself more than the people he ought to serve.
@@alanolandag1992Then tell me why nothing happened to him when he landed in hawaii. A fucking state of the U.S. Why did the C.I.A not arrested or killed him the moment he stepped foot on american soil
@@juancarlo9713 for God sake.. Americans kidnapped them. CORY kingkong destroyed the Philippines. He sold all government properties. Why American courts didnt convict them? The trial of the century came out as mrs marcos was victorious. Marcos wanted to come back home so he will personally face trials of all the accusations.. did the stupid Cory Aquino let him come back? No because she knew she cannot win the case.
Hello Kapamilya. I moved to USA at the age of 9. I'm in my mid 20's now. I'm Feeling homesick. I wanted to deepen my connection to Philippines and here I am. I wish you all good health and good luck since most of you are students studying!
sino ang nandito dahil sa assignment .............................................................................................................................pa kopya naman kayo
@dota 2 PURO KASI BINABASA SA PIECE OF PAPER YANG BINABASA NIYAN HINDI NANGGAGALING SA PUSOT ISIP NIYA ANG SINASABI NIYA CHEATER NA PRESIDENTE KUNO"👎👎👎🤣🤣🤣
Here's some common sense pill and take some time to rethink that 14 out of the 16 presidents set the Philippines 200 years behind the world's development level. NoToPhilippinesWorldValidation
The victor writes history. When Marcos was in power, he had his own version of history and the same is said and done when Cory rose to power. I am sad that the Filipino people these days just accept what is in front of them and not think for themselves. Why fall prey to politics whom only serve their own agenda and greed? Why sow disunity among our Filipino brethren? We must educate each other to avoid history repeating itself. Still to this day so many corrupt officials and politicians rule over us because of vote buying and misinformed or rather stupid voters.
@@NoName-ue6lu nonsense, you dont know what was those days happened! Ninoy was a barbaric always against the government, and created CPP NPA NDF, by the way marcos was not lost in any election, or snap elction.
Truly inspiring! Thank you Tita Cory for restoring Democracy in our country. Grateful people showed it when we joined your funeral. Rest in the PEACE of Christ.
Ano’ng magagawa ng successor ni macoy kung nalimas na ang kaban ng bayan at baon sa utang ang bansa? ‘Yan din ang mangyayari sa sinumang successor ni duterte, He/she will have to borrow trillions of pesos in order to temporarily alleviate and mitigate the plight of the nation but at the same time put the country in a bigger and deeper quagmire.
We cannot denied she is great in delivering speech malayong malayo si Leni na sumunod bilang Cory si Leni kasi literal na error kesa kay Cory si Cory kasi kahit pano matalino rin kaso nga lang walang ginawang maganda kundi madami sa ginawa nya masama puro selling and massacre ang ginawa ni Madam Cory sa Bansa natin
Ninoy Aquino was assassinated by her own family according to Sgt.Martinez in a tv interview..The mastermind was a Cojuangco who was never punished and was free to roam around with his beautiful mistress who died a year ago.It was a game of throne like Cleopatra who murdered her sister Arsenica and brother Ptolemy so that she would become queen of Egypt..The same thing they did to Ninoy Aquino..murdered him so that Cory would be installed into presidency...Yes we voted and supported her before but not anymore because you can fool others sometimes but not all the time...We were brainwashed by mainstream media before but but now no more...thanks to social media...She had experienced coup attempts 6X...she hid under the bed because of fear...We were all deceived by her..She was a good actress..hypocrite...liar...pretending to be a saint but the reverse is true.Her heart was full of vengeance and hatred to the Marcoses...She discontinued all the projects and programs of Pres.Marcos...She had no legacy...she freed the 500 imprisoned communists that our govt at that time was almost snatched by the communists...She did nothing good to our country hence 6X coup attempts..There was frequent browouts because Bataan Nuclear Power Plant was discontinued..Hydroelectric Power plants were given to Paul Aquino...father of Bam Aquino ..Dams were sold to private persons..Meralco..MWSS were privatized...Govt controlled corporations were sold...no knowledge about governance...our country collapsed...worst president..I regretted voting her...We had been LP since 1950...Pres.Marcos is still the best.....
Absolutely kaya nakaka inis ang mga fake news ang Aquino's nag buhis ng buhay silbi sa bayan mula ama ina hanggang anak i salute Aquino's family truly a Heroes of 🙏🙏🙏💛💛💛🎗🎗🎗💫💫💫
Correction: Only Cory Aquino can make the US Liberals applaud for her ability to wrongly manipulate the people into thinking they're the heroes and the Marcoses are evil, yet two Aquinos already became president AND WERE NOT ABLE to fix this country, how would many people believe in your statement?
@@waruinerai1075 between Cory and FEM, do you know which president was responsible for plunging our country to massive debt that we have to pay until 2025?
@@CC-ru4rr ha? Bakit mo pinasok bigla yung issue ng utang na babayaran sa 2025 na di man lang sinasagot yung mismong tanong ko? Pasalamat ka na kay Duterte naramdaman yung pagbabago kahit na mayroong mga hindi nagawa sa termino nya :). Sagutin mo muna tanong ko :)
Wala kasi kyong alam kyo mga Pinoy lalo na kayong mga Millenials.Di p kyo buhay yang time na yan.Totoong walang freedom of speach noong panahon ni Marcos.Ano alam nyo ngayon? Mobile Legend? Facebook?tsk tsk.Lagyan nyo ng mkabuluhang information mga utak nyo.
@Sean Paul Dela Cruz totoo naman e, maraming saatin, kapwa natin teenagers walang alam sa ganito, or atleast kulang sa kaalaman. Yung iba bandwagon lang, maka-bash lang, tinatratong parang 'san ka kakampi sa dilawan o dds?'
@@michaellimcaco2986 totoo naman, pero bat ka nagagalit ka? Kasalanan ba namin nabuhay kami sa panahon na puro mobile legends. Ang nakapag tataka marami pa ding ka-edad mo ang nagtatanggol kay Marcos, so ibig sabihin marami din sa generation mo na nabuhay na sa panahon na iyan, hindi pa rin inaanalyze at konti lang ang makabuluhan ang utak
@@silverianne8 hahaha kwawa tlga kyo mga ipinanganak ng kelan.Talaga wala kyong kaalam alam.Ni d p nga kyo fetus e.Wag kyo makikinig basta basta sa isang side lamang.mgsearch muna kyo sa iba bgo nyo husgahan ang 1st Lady President.Mgtanong muna kyo sa iba.
@@pandaypira9760 gaga ka ba? Or sadyang bobo lang? Let me educate you. Speech can be -impromtu, meaning on the spot -memorized , alam mo na cguro to no? -with script walang batas na nagsasabi bawal may kodigo. Gago!
@@gal1948 this is the reason why the Philippines is still a weak country. Because of the way the people's minds run. This person is not listening in English class I hope when he or she is on high school. Natural na may kodigo o teleprompter sa speech. gagu kaba?
Ang hirap pag walang alam. . Di natin maiintindihan ang kasaysayan ng Pilipinas kung di tayo marunong umintindi at di marunong magbasa. Ugaliin sana natin ang pagbabasa lalong lalo na kung tungkol sa kasaysayan. Wag tayong maging bias.
ito po ung presidenti na nagsira ng pilipinas, ung mga libru nyu ang nag brainwashed sa amin, hope bago na libru ngayun. potang mga aquino yan mga bugok....
@@PunxTV123 Sino ba dapat ang paniniwalaan? Ikaw? For your information, the history about martial law was well documented, and these documents are available in archives online. You only need to use your hand to manipulate your computer and use "little" neurons left in your skull to use "Google".
@@PunxTV123 Even if Mar Roxas will run again, I won't vote for him. Your assumption is baseless, just like the alternative history you want to believe.
It is so proud to be a filipino but it was hate to say that when you were in 90's kid, we were blinded by our history about FEM and what he was done to save the country and made it goes up. It was great to watch how pres cory stand and represent our country to international yet sad to hear that she was just mentioned about pres ninoy and her were done. Democracy was great but not 100% because of the current situation we have. Lets admit the fact folks!
Did you not hear the whole speech? Of course Ninoy had to be acknowledged because it was his death and sacrifices that had sparked the flame of courage by Filipinos to ultimately redeem our freedom. It is the least that we can do to thank him posthumously. She also advocated for our laborers whose toil would only go to the payment of the plundered fund owed to the US by the late dictator. Apparently those of us born before the 90s know better and more than those who were born later for the basic reason that we lived the Era of the plunderer's reign.
The reason of the downfall of the Philippines. This is why most of the government assets have been privatized and more insurgencies happened during this dilawan era. This is the real darkest time of the Philippines.
It was actually Marcos who originally laid the foundation for the sale and privatization of government owned agencies, it was his idea from the start. Marcos thought of this to compensate for the staggering debt and budget deficit of the country during his last few years in power. Marcos did not however initiated the action for the sale and disposition of the assests; for he at that time was already ousted by the revolution. And the privatization only took effect on Cory's presidency; she sold these assests to reduce the government's burden and to use the profit to pay off some of the HUGE debt that the Marcos administration accumulated.
@@jjoshwy edi bayani pala sila? Si cory lang nmn ang nagpalaya sa leader ng NPA na si joma. Si ninoy nmn ang dahilan kung bakit hindi nabawi ang sabah. Ano pa?
Mr. Speaker, Senator Thurmond, Distinguished members of Congress, 3 years ago I left America in grief, to bury my husband Ninoy Aquino. I thought I had left it also, to lay to rest his restless dream of Philippine freedom. Today, I have returned as the President of a free people. In burying Ninoy, a whole nation honored him. By that brave and selfless act of giving honor to a nation in shame recovered its own. A country that had lost faith in its future, found it in a faithless and brazen act of murder. So, in giving we receive, in losing we find, and out of defeat we snatched our victory. For the nation, Ninoy became the pleasing sacrifice that answered their prayers for freedom. For myself and our children, Ninoy was a loving husband and father. His loss, three times in our lives was always a deep and painful one.
Fourteen years ago this month, was the first time we lost him. A President turned dictator and traitor to his oath, suspended the constitution and shut down the Congress that was much like this one before which I’m honored to speak. He detained my husband along with thousands of others - Senators, publishers, and anyone who had spoken up for the democracy as its end drew near. But for Ninoy, a long and cruel ordeal was reserved. The dictator already knew that Ninoy was not a body merely to be imprisoned but a spirit he must break. For even as the dictatorship demolished one-by-one; the institutions of democracy, the press, the congress, the independence of a judiciary, the protection of the Bill of Rights, Ninoy kept their spirit alive in himself. The government sought to break him by indignities and terror. They locked him up in a tiny, nearly airless cell in a military camp in the north. They stripped him naked and held a threat of a sudden midnight execution over his head. Ninoy held up manfully under all of it. I barely did as well. For forty-three days, the authorities would not tell me what had happened to him. This was the first time my children and I felt we had lost him. When that didn’t work, they put him on trial for subversion, murder and a host of other crimes before a military commission. Ninoy challenged its authority and went on a fast. If he survived it, then he felt God intended him for another fate. We had lost him again. For nothing would hold him back from his determination to see his fast through to the end. He stopped only when it dawned on him that the government would keep his body alive after the fast had destroyed his brain. And so, with barely any life in his body, he called off the fast on the 40th day. God meant him for other things, he felt. He did not know that an early death would still be his fate, that only the timing was wrong.
At any time during his long ordeal, Ninoy could have made a separate peace with a dictatorship as so many of his countrymen had done. But the spirit of democracy that inheres in our race and animates this chamber could not be allowed to die. He held out in the loneliness of his cell and the frustration of exile, the democratic alternative to the insatiable greed and mindless cruelty of the right and the purging holocaust of the left. And then, we lost him irrevocably and more painfully than in the past. The news came to us in Boston. It had to be after the three happiest years of our lives together. But his death was my country’s resurrection and the courage and faith by which alone they could be free again. The dictator had called him a nobody. Yet, two million people threw aside their passivity and fear and escorted him to his grave. And so began the revolution that has brought me to democracy’s most famous home, the Congress of the United States. The task had fallen on my shoulders, to continue offering the democratic alternative to our people.
Archibald MacLeish had said that democracy must be defended by arms when it is attacked by arms, and with truth when it is attacked by lies. He failed to say how it shall be won. I held fast to Ninoy’s conviction that it must be by the ways of democracy. I held out for participation in the 1984 election the dictatorship called, even if I knew it would be rigged. I was warned by the lawyers of the opposition, that I ran the grave risk of legitimizing the foregone results of elections that were clearly going to be fraudulent. But I was not fighting for lawyers but for the people in whose intelligence, I had implicit faith. By the exercise of democracy even in a dictatorship, they would be prepared for democracy when it came. And then also, it was the only way I knew by which we could measure our power even in the terms dictated by the dictatorship. The people vindicated me in an election shamefully marked by government thuggery and fraud. The opposition swept the elections, garnering a clear majority of the votes even if they ended up (thanks to a corrupt Commission on Elections) with barely a third of the seats in Parliament. Now, I knew our power.
Last year, in an excess of arrogance, the dictatorship called for its doom in a snap election. The people obliged. With over a million signatures they drafted me to challenge the dictatorship. And I, obliged. The rest is the history that dramatically unfolded on your television screens and across the front pages of your newspapers. You saw a nation armed with courage and integrity, stand fast by democracy against threats and corruption. You saw women poll watchers break out in tears as armed goons crashed the polling places to steal the ballots. But just the same, they tied themselves to the ballot boxes. You saw a people so committed to the ways of democracy that they were prepared to give their lives for its pale imitation. At the end of the day before another wave of fraud could distort the results, I announced the people’s victory. Many of you here today played a part in changing the policy of your country towards ours. We, the Filipinos thank each of you for what you did. For balancing America’s strategic interest against human concerns illuminates the American vision of the world. The co-chairman of the United States observer team, in his report to the President said, “I was witness to an extraordinary manifestation of democracy on the part of the Filipino people. The ultimate result was the election of Mrs. Corazon Aquino as President and Mr. Salvador Laurel as Vice-President of the Philippines.” When a subservient parliament announced my opponent’s victory, the people then turned out in the streets and proclaimed me the President of all the people. And true to their word, when a handful of military leaders declared themselves against the dictatorship, the people rallied to their protection. Surely, the people take care of their own. It is on that faith and the obligation it entails that I assumed the Presidency.
As I came to power peacefully, so shall I keep it. That is my contract with my people and my commitment to God. He had willed that the blood drawn with a lash shall not in my country be paid by blood drawn by the sword but by the tearful joy of reconciliation. We have swept away absolute power by a limited revolution that respected the life and freedom of every Filipino. Now, we are restoring full constitutional government. Again as we restore democracy by the ways of democracy, so are we completing the constitutional structures of our new democracy under a constitution that already gives full respect to the Bill of Rights. A jealously independent constitutional commission is completing its draft which will be submitted later this year to a popular referendum. When it is approved, there will be elections for both national and local positions. So, within about a year from a peaceful but national upheaval that overturned a dictatorship, we shall have returned to full constitutional government. Given the polarization and breakdown we inherited, this is no small achievement. My predecessor set aside democracy to save it from a communist insurgency that numbered less than five hundred. Unhampered by respect for human rights he went at it with hammer and tongs. By the time he fled, that insurgency had grown to more than sixteen thousand. I think there is a lesson here to be learned about trying to stifle a thing with a means by which it grows. I don’t think anybody in or outside our country, concerned for a democratic and open Philippines doubts what must be done. Through political initiatives and local re-integration programs, we must seek to bring the insurgents down from the hills and by economic progress and justice, show them that which the best-intentioned among them fight. As president among my people, I will not betray the cause of peace by which I came to power. Yet, equally and again, no friend of Filipino democracy will challenge this. I will not stand by and allow an insurgent leadership although they clearly needed it but democracy. Not work, although they surely wanted it but democracy. Not money, for they gave what little they had to my campaign. They didn’t expect me to work a miracle that would instantly put food into their mouths, clothes on their back, education in their children and give them work that will put dignity in their lives. But I feel the pressing obligation to respond quickly as the leader of the people so deserving of all these things.
