Corazon Cojuangco Aquino (Cory) as President

Corazon Cojuangco Aquino a.k.a. Cory, was born on January 25, 1933 in Tarlac. Her parents were Jose Cojuangco and Demetria Sumulong Coiuangco, scions or very rich landed gentry. She started her education at St. Scholastica College and Assumption Convent in Manila, then in 1946, her family left for the United States where she pursued her high school and college education. ln 1953, she finished her Bachelor of Arts degree, major in French and minor in Mathematics at Mt. Saint Vincent College in New York and thereafter, she returned to Manila to study law, which she was unable to finish. On October 11, 1954, Cory married Ninoy. The life of Cory was intertwined with the life of Ninoy, such that, when the latter entered politics Cory was the number one devotee. Her role as a politician’s wife was to attend the funerals, weddings and other social gatherings of Ninoy’s constituents to represent him. ln the “ups and downs” of his husband’s life, Cory was always there. faithful and supportive. When Ninoy was incarcerated because of Martial Law, Cory had to play the role of a good counsel to a husband who was in agony.

Marcos declared Martial Law on September 21, 1972 and from then on ruled the Philippines with iron hands policy thus dubbed a dictator. Ninoy’s political cohorts and alliances devised political schemes to topple the Marcos military machinery but in vain. After the assassination of Ninoy on August 21, 1983, the quest for the restoration of democracy in the Philippines gained momentum. This forced Marcos to call for a snap election. Cory was the answer to the quest of the anti-authoritarian politicians who clamored for the dismantling of the Marcos military machinery deeply entrenched in the Philippine Society. She was a David that slew the Goliath in Philippine politics. Her courage earned her the sympathy of the people and having been defeated in an election that was projected to be dirty and rigged hence, the protest that evolved to an uprising that installed her to power. She was the widow of the alleged martyr that was catapulted to power out of sympathy for her husband. By this feat, she has secured her niche in history for being hailed as the restorer of civil and political freedom earning the Sobriquet – the mother of Philippine democracy!

The inescapable question was: “Was the heroine prepared to tackle the very complex problems of the Philippines?” None other than her friends or “amigas” would describe her as the patient housewife that waited on her husband and his friends while arguing the latest political conundrum, particularly when they were in Boston. She was preoccupied with sewing coffee, tea and merienda to her husband’s friends and guests. Cory’s only work experience pertinent to the Presidency was being a socialite, rubbing elbows with the “who’s who” in the political opposition – the likes of Jovy Salonga, Jose Diokno, Soc Rodrigo, Lorenzo Tanada, Chino Roces, Ramon Mitra, Ernesto et.al . This was probably the reason why some of these friends, treated her with low regard when she became the President. ln fact, Luis Beltran, an intrepid journalist, who was also a close acquaintance of the journalist Ninoy, found himself in a legal bind when he reported that the President hid beneath her bed when bombs hit malacanang during a coup d’etat. Hiding under the bed under such circumstances is normal, but the lady President took this as malicious insult; thus, she showed her grit. Beltran was sued for libel in court and no less than Cory, who was then the President, personally appeared in court to testify against the veteran journalist.

The truth is, in terms of administrative and managerial experience, so such record or experience can bolster her personal profile to show that she was ready to be the highest official in the bureaucracy. Lest we be misunderstood, it is not the intention of this post to tarnish the memory of the lady President, be we would like to set the record straight for the truth shall set us free. Sometimes, the truth hurts and it is difficult to deal with the truth and reality. Her role as the heroine to restore democracy is not disputed, but the issue of whether she was indeed capable of running the Philippine Government is a different matter which needs an honest to goodness evaluation.

Nobody can dispute the fact that she was a devout Catholic, a prayerful woman and a respectable person. As president, however, most political analysts rated her incumbency under the classification of below passing. This was exacerbated by the fact that during her term, the economy went down because of natural calamities, such as the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, the July 1991 earthquake, and more so because of manmade activities such as the seven coup d’etats and the long blackouts due to lack of power supply. She did not have the macro knowledge of running the government that she did not foresee the problem of a looming power shortage. This lack of supply of energy was the main problem that brought down the Philippine economy, causing the closure of many small and medium business establishments that could not sustain their operation due to lack of electrical power.lt nonetheless bolstered the sales of generators; thus the manufacturers and dealers of these power supplies have a lot to thank Cory for. Coincidentally, most of these beneficiaries were the rich families who were closely associated with her.

This was further complicated by the threats of disgruntled military men who were used to being pampered by the toppled dictator, demanding for a better deal and comparable to spoiled brats for not being able to get what they wanted, they launched several coup d’etats. The military putsches were so serious that it further dragged down the economy and drove away many foreign investors, to include tourists and other citizens who opted to settle abroad. The vindictive attitude of the newly installed bureaucrats and the President’s relatives mocked as the kamag—anak lnc., wanting to protect their political and economic clout and wanting to impress the lady president caused the filing of many, yet insignificant litigations, that eventually sapped government coffers. While the farmers demanded for the just and equitable implementation of land reform, her administration could not enfore the land distribution proram with fervor because this is inimical to the Hacienda Luisita which her family owns. When Cory announced her candidacy on December 3, 1985, for the snap election, she declared land reform as one of the pillar of her campaign. Despite her being of a landed gentry, this endeared her to the poor farmers because they saw her as the Joan of Arc, that would fight for a lasting solution to the agrarian problem which have existed for so long a time. On January 16, 1966, while campaigning for the Presidential Snap Election, Cory delivered her second major speech in Davao and manifested:

“Land-to-the-tiller must become reality instead of an empty slogan. You will probably ask me: Will l also apply it to my family’s Hacienda Luisita? My answer is yes”.

Of course, this was met by a resounding applause and approval that built up a political bandwagon, and thus gave Marcos the challenge that caused his downfall. But no land reform in Hacienda Luisita was forthcoming in the Cory administration.

As a result, the poor farmers perceived that there was a double standard of justice under the Cory administration: one for the owners of Hacienda Luisita and another one for the rest of the other landowners. The poor farmers in Hacienda Luisita wanted to own lots from the colossal land in central Luzon owned by the Cojuangco family. However, the managers of the hacienda devised a scheme to circumvent the genuine implementation of the land reform and decided to merely give away stocks in lieu of the land which was contrary to the spirit of the law that mandates the giving of land to the poor farmers. As a result, the farmers resorted to violence. The Mendiola massacre would always be remembered for the death of several farmers who went to Malacanang only to demand for the genuine implementation of the land reform program of the government. This waw black mark in the Cory administration that up to the present, has not found any justifiable solution. The Kilusang magbubukid ng Pilipinas aptly described their struggle with the words, “Lupa hindi bala”. This was also followed by a series of other violent confrontations within the doorsteps of Hacienda Luisita that resulted in the deaths of poor farmers. Ironically, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the protector of the people, were the ones involved in the killing of the indignant farmers. The stones and bolos of the farmers were no match for the tanks and armored personnel carriers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Of course, the soldiers did not go there on their own; rather, they were ordered by their superiors to preserve the status quo. Despite Cory’s unquestionable integrity, Bishop Broderick Pabillo, a committed and cause-oriented bishop of the Roman Catholic Church who went to the extent of joining the farmers in a hunger strike, claimed that the Hacienda Luisita problem was the waterloo of Pres. Cory Aquino and further warned that her son Pnoy should not commit the same mistake.

The bishop was prophetic in a sense because Pnoy has manifested that he will adopt a hands-off policy when it comes to Hacienda Luisita. He justices this move by claiming that his family merely owns a petty share in the hacienda. On the other hand, Pnoy seems to have forgotten that he is now the President of the Philippines whose official actions regarding this volatile issue will be a major factor in the resolution of this deadlock. lf he is truly sincere, as taunted and challenged by the farmers, then he must favor the poor to have a share of Hacienda Luisita, if only to uphold, social justice as defined by Justice Jose P. Laurel.