Today, August 5, 2009, the heavy rains pour over metro manila due to "bagyong kiko's" arrival ... to some, it is the sky weeping at the funeral march of former Philippine Presiden Corazon Aquino who everyone fondly calls Tita Cory. Though I was once called a martial 
law baby because I was born in 1972, it was in 1983 when I first became aware of what was happening in the Philippines. I remember my lola (my father's mother) crying about the death of someone called Ninoy Aquino. I was bewildered by the thought of her crying for someone who was not part of the family. Slowly I begin to realize what was actually happening. I saw it on the news and I begin to realize that our lives were not really good ... that we were poor and that there were people missing and were suddenly found dead ... that regular people lived in fear ... that there were thoughts not even allowed to be thought about ... that life was not as easy as breathing it ... and that there were people who were so involved and so committed to making everyone understand that there is a better life ... from this awakening, I got to know Tita Cory... a housewife to a family riddled by awkward, frightening, and painful occurrences caused by her husband's plight to make people understand ... that there is a better life and everyone had to believe in themselves and in their right as a human beings that they deserve no less than what the world can actually give them ... a birth right that everyone deserves ... freedom ... to decide, to choose and to live a humane life that they deserve . I never really thought of how hard it is for someone to be plucked out from her regular life to a public life of scrutiny, criticism, and uncertainty until 1986 when she was touted agaist the regime that seemingly has been the cause of this "invisible" oppression (to me in the beginning) ... what I clearly remember is that time when she requested for time to pray and really think about this overwhelming clamor for her candidacy as the next Philippine President - such a tall order for someone who has set her life to be a loving and caring mother and a faithful and supportive wife to her husband... as told in history, elections were held, anomalies surfaced, walk outs, media blackouts and then... EDSA happened caused by the defection of two military
and political figures - Enrile and Ramos who locked themselves up in the two camps along EDSA - Aguinaldo and Crame in support of or in rebellion against the actions of the Marcos regime ... I was at home in bed when I started watching what was happening. Several channels were either cut off from broadcast or continued to pretend that everything was alright and on schedule ... the first station that was commandeered was Channel 2... Celebrities - singers and actors alike - (as much as I could remember, they were the APO Hiking Society 
- Jim Paredes, Danny Javier and Buboy Garovillo, Celeste Legaspi and Mitch Valdez) went on cam without their make-ups on - to show that they as Filipinos supported the "awakening" that was happening, they sang and performed for free and requested everyone to go to the streets to support everyon
e in Crame (by this time, all were in Crame to keep the protection manageable just in case they were attacked) ... I was 12 years old and I was overwhelmed by the support and the passion that these people showed - though there were people who were there am sure initially came out of curiousity, business opportunity, or just plain peer pressure... but everything changed when the tanks and the military came in - no one left and everyone united to convice the military to support peace and support change ... the videos aired on tv then were thanks to the courageous coverage of Bob Garon an obscure foreign national who just happen to have his video cam on hand when everything was happening ... the rest is in the history books ... the Marcos' abdicated ... Tita Cory became the 11th Philipp
ine President .. and everything and everyone took on their personal agenda ... I guess to Tita Cory then, all she wanted to to do was to make things right through peaceful means - sharing the loving and caring energies that she had to what proved to be a feisty and undecisive nation ... she held her arms to us ... to embrace a country kicking and scratching against a love that seemingly does not suffice the need of a bruised and deeply scarred nation from the varied oppressions that they have experienced (so deep that may probably have been embedded into our dna's from the moment the Spaniards had arrived on Philippine shores) ... in the same year, my father was declared missing in action ... the government later on declared him dead ... later on, I found out that he was salvaged ... I was confused and lost ... I thought Cory would alleviate us from these things ... my mother then worked f0r the government and I was exposed to the many gruelling things that supposedly surround a life of service for the people ... I heard people complaining, spitting hurtful words against Tita Cory and her regime ... words of anger from poor people who said that they were becoming poorer ... Poor Cory, I thought ... all she wanted was to help a country who literally begged her to leave her comfort zone and plunge herself into a battlefield filled with hurt and anguish bringing only her love, faith and strength of character ... but then ... in one old footage, I saw Ninoy Aquino say "that the Filipino is worth dying for .." then, it thought again ... that in this lifetime, I wish I could understand what it really meant... more than two decades after ... with Tita Cory's death, I begin to understand becuase of the life that she led... in one of her old interviews she said (though I can not remember verbatim) "I am thankful that I am like you, it's an honor to be a Filipino.."
Now as she peacefully lies in her casket, people have gone again to the streets to watch her leave ... most probably with the same people who have lashed at her, criticized her, complained of their poverty which according to them was because of her governance ... I know for a fact, because I heard these things in the news, from the jeepney and taxi drivers, from the tinderas in the market and then some more ... impatient people who think that governing the c0untry
is like magic .... impatient people that Tita Cory has expressed her love for ... I found out of her death Saturday at around 3 am ... I was supposed to go to see some friends but had to go home because they had to report to the network for immediate coverage ... as I was driving home, I wanted to stop in front of Tita Cory's house since I lived two houses away just to look at her quaint house which has not changed through the years - no high walls, no multiple storey construction, no elaborate artsy gate ... just a simple house - that's how she was .... she dressed simply, spoke clearly and sincerely ... a true mother for everyone ...
She represents reconcilliation and true democracy ... until her death ... on TV I saw Bongbong Marcos and Imee Marcos entering the Manila Cathedral to pay their respects - though the atmosphere was thick and uncertain, the fact still remains - that these personalities have acknowledged her work and her worth ... though this may be a brave gesture from the Marcoses, I feel sad because Tita Cory's death may as well be the visual cue of the death of reconcilliation and everything that she and Ninoy have worked hard for ... I really hope not.
There's more than a hundred thousand people on the streets right now despite the rains ... people have expressed their sympathy to the family ... people are now discoursing on how she lived her life and how her legacy will live on ...
This, however, is what I feel ... I feel that God has a deep and symbolic representations of how we as a person or even as a nation should reflect on our lives ... It is so sad that our
nation historically have always been able to see the worth of people who have devoted their lives for the betterment of ours only after their death - the melodramatic scripts that has been so overly used... and sadly practiced by most of us ... if we only had a little more patience, a little more understanding ... a little more love for each other ... then these messages should probably mean more .... People weep and celebrate her work and her life ... most of her efforts now even after her term are highlighted and affirmed ... Tita Cory in so many people hearts (so they say) has now become a national hero ... some even say that they are now more than ever are proud to be Filipinos .... but what about tomorrow?
I will probably love my mother more ... think of my decisions better ... probably pray more often ... and respect what people stand for (not because am too tired to argue but because I acknowledge that they have the guts and the understanding that he have to make that stand) ... i really hope that this prods people to move silently and sincerely to make themselves first a conscentious and understanding Filipino ... one lighted candle combined with everyone else's might very well be what we need to illuminate our minds and our hearts to do what is categorically right ... but then again .. that's just me wishful thinking ....
Goobye to a brave, God fearing and loving woman ... I admire that she has the strength and fortitude to continously love her family and the Filipinos .... that's a feat that is really worth taking note of ... Goobye Tita Cory.
law baby because I was born in 1972, it was in 1983 when I first became aware of what was happening in the Philippines. I remember my lola (my father's mother) crying about the death of someone called Ninoy Aquino. I was bewildered by the thought of her crying for someone who was not part of the family. Slowly I begin to realize what was actually happening. I saw it on the news and I begin to realize that our lives were not really good ... that we were poor and that there were people missing and were suddenly found dead ... that regular people lived in fear ... that there were thoughts not even allowed to be thought about ... that life was not as easy as breathing it ... and that there were people who were so involved and so committed to making everyone understand that there is a better life ... from this awakening, I got to know Tita Cory... a housewife to a family riddled by awkward, frightening, and painful occurrences caused by her husband's plight to make people understand ... that there is a better life and everyone had to believe in themselves and in their right as a human beings that they deserve no less than what the world can actually give them ... a birth right that everyone deserves ... freedom ... to decide, to choose and to live a humane life that they deserve . I never really thought of how hard it is for someone to be plucked out from her regular life to a public life of scrutiny, criticism, and uncertainty until 1986 when she was touted agaist the regime that seemingly has been the cause of this "invisible" oppression (to me in the beginning) ... what I clearly remember is that time when she requested for time to pray and really think about this overwhelming clamor for her candidacy as the next Philippine President - such a tall order for someone who has set her life to be a loving and caring mother and a faithful and supportive wife to her husband... as told in history, elections were held, anomalies surfaced, walk outs, media blackouts and then... EDSA happened caused by the defection of two military
and political figures - Enrile and Ramos who locked themselves up in the two camps along EDSA - Aguinaldo and Crame in support of or in rebellion against the actions of the Marcos regime ... I was at home in bed when I started watching what was happening. Several channels were either cut off from broadcast or continued to pretend that everything was alright and on schedule ... the first station that was commandeered was Channel 2... Celebrities - singers and actors alike - (as much as I could remember, they were the APO Hiking Society 
- Jim Paredes, Danny Javier and Buboy Garovillo, Celeste Legaspi and Mitch Valdez) went on cam without their make-ups on - to show that they as Filipinos supported the "awakening" that was happening, they sang and performed for free and requested everyone to go to the streets to support everyon
e in Crame (by this time, all were in Crame to keep the protection manageable just in case they were attacked) ... I was 12 years old and I was overwhelmed by the support and the passion that these people showed - though there were people who were there am sure initially came out of curiousity, business opportunity, or just plain peer pressure... but everything changed when the tanks and the military came in - no one left and everyone united to convice the military to support peace and support change ... the videos aired on tv then were thanks to the courageous coverage of Bob Garon an obscure foreign national who just happen to have his video cam on hand when everything was happening ... the rest is in the history books ... the Marcos' abdicated ... Tita Cory became the 11th Philipp
ine President .. and everything and everyone took on their personal agenda ... I guess to Tita Cory then, all she wanted to to do was to make things right through peaceful means - sharing the loving and caring energies that she had to what proved to be a feisty and undecisive nation ... she held her arms to us ... to embrace a country kicking and scratching against a love that seemingly does not suffice the need of a bruised and deeply scarred nation from the varied oppressions that they have experienced (so deep that may probably have been embedded into our dna's from the moment the Spaniards had arrived on Philippine shores) ... in the same year, my father was declared missing in action ... the government later on declared him dead ... later on, I found out that he was salvaged ... I was confused and lost ... I thought Cory would alleviate us from these things ... my mother then worked f0r the government and I was exposed to the many gruelling things that supposedly surround a life of service for the people ... I heard people complaining, spitting hurtful words against Tita Cory and her regime ... words of anger from poor people who said that they were becoming poorer ... Poor Cory, I thought ... all she wanted was to help a country who literally begged her to leave her comfort zone and plunge herself into a battlefield filled with hurt and anguish bringing only her love, faith and strength of character ... but then ... in one old footage, I saw Ninoy Aquino say "that the Filipino is worth dying for .." then, it thought again ... that in this lifetime, I wish I could understand what it really meant... more than two decades after ... with Tita Cory's death, I begin to understand becuase of the life that she led... in one of her old interviews she said (though I can not remember verbatim) "I am thankful that I am like you, it's an honor to be a Filipino.."Now as she peacefully lies in her casket, people have gone again to the streets to watch her leave ... most probably with the same people who have lashed at her, criticized her, complained of their poverty which according to them was because of her governance ... I know for a fact, because I heard these things in the news, from the jeepney and taxi drivers, from the tinderas in the market and then some more ... impatient people who think that governing the c0untry
is like magic .... impatient people that Tita Cory has expressed her love for ... I found out of her death Saturday at around 3 am ... I was supposed to go to see some friends but had to go home because they had to report to the network for immediate coverage ... as I was driving home, I wanted to stop in front of Tita Cory's house since I lived two houses away just to look at her quaint house which has not changed through the years - no high walls, no multiple storey construction, no elaborate artsy gate ... just a simple house - that's how she was .... she dressed simply, spoke clearly and sincerely ... a true mother for everyone ...She represents reconcilliation and true democracy ... until her death ... on TV I saw Bongbong Marcos and Imee Marcos entering the Manila Cathedral to pay their respects - though the atmosphere was thick and uncertain, the fact still remains - that these personalities have acknowledged her work and her worth ... though this may be a brave gesture from the Marcoses, I feel sad because Tita Cory's death may as well be the visual cue of the death of reconcilliation and everything that she and Ninoy have worked hard for ... I really hope not.
There's more than a hundred thousand people on the streets right now despite the rains ... people have expressed their sympathy to the family ... people are now discoursing on how she lived her life and how her legacy will live on ...
This, however, is what I feel ... I feel that God has a deep and symbolic representations of how we as a person or even as a nation should reflect on our lives ... It is so sad that our
nation historically have always been able to see the worth of people who have devoted their lives for the betterment of ours only after their death - the melodramatic scripts that has been so overly used... and sadly practiced by most of us ... if we only had a little more patience, a little more understanding ... a little more love for each other ... then these messages should probably mean more .... People weep and celebrate her work and her life ... most of her efforts now even after her term are highlighted and affirmed ... Tita Cory in so many people hearts (so they say) has now become a national hero ... some even say that they are now more than ever are proud to be Filipinos .... but what about tomorrow?I will probably love my mother more ... think of my decisions better ... probably pray more often ... and respect what people stand for (not because am too tired to argue but because I acknowledge that they have the guts and the understanding that he have to make that stand) ... i really hope that this prods people to move silently and sincerely to make themselves first a conscentious and understanding Filipino ... one lighted candle combined with everyone else's might very well be what we need to illuminate our minds and our hearts to do what is categorically right ... but then again .. that's just me wishful thinking ....
Goobye to a brave, God fearing and loving woman ... I admire that she has the strength and fortitude to continously love her family and the Filipinos .... that's a feat that is really worth taking note of ... Goobye Tita Cory.
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