Greetings!
Hello Good day everyone, I hope you are doing well today. Well my article today is all about Filipino Heroism which I believe is something very special. As the Philippine Independence Day is fast approaching which will be on June 12 and a few days away from now. I will be featuring some prominent Filipino figures that played a vital role in our history.
Whether we agree or not they have been honored for their bravery, skills and leadership that had great contributions and impact to our country the Philippines. I am going to highlight and features the First Female President of the Philippines and the Whole Asia:
Corazon "Cory" Aquino
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It is hard to imagine the Philippines being a Democratic country without this lady. Corazon Aquino is without a doubt one of the most iconic figures the Philippines had ever known. Aside from being the first female leader, Cory as what she was famously known came to political arena with no experience and was totally naive in the politicians way of life.
For some she was symbols of hope and turbulence which was experienced by the Philippines over the last four decades under the Marcos Regime. As president , the first female holder of the post in the Philippines – Aquino can best be remembered for her noble fight to restore back the country's freedom of democracy and the systematic dismantling of the worst abuses of dictatorship under Marcos who had reign the country for more than 2 decades, Yet her vision of a functional Christian democracy never materialised to say the least.
Early Life and Rise to Politics
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The Cojuangco family is known to be an elite and popular family in Tarlac, Luzon. Cory was born and raise in Tarlac province, her family had a great land for agriculture owning vast plantations, Maria Corazon Cojuangco seemed destined to a great leader and cultured existence as such to be. Her parents sent her to a catholic school run by some nuns and started her education there. Cory was a smart young woman then who know and was very fluent in international languages in which she studied for a long time like French, English and Spanish.
Cory was lucky enough that by the age of 18 and she inherited a personal fortunes from her family knowing that her father was a great business man too. She was a consistent honor students as well. She graduated high school and College in the United States with her Major in French and minor in Mathematics. In her stays in the US she had volunteered to some political organizations and charitable institutions. She went back to the Philippines and studied law. But it was later abrupted as she met Benigno "Ninoy"Aquino , Jr and they married and raised 5 children respectively.
Her overwhelming support to her husband during political campaigns was clear evident. Cory Aquino avoided the limelight, and was more comfortable among priests and nuns than politicians as what she stated. But the turning point of her career and sudden shift from being a simple housewife to becoming a president was The brutal 1983 slaying of her husband, who was shot upon landing in plane going back to the country. Her politician husband Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino died by assassins acting for the dictator Ferdinand Marcos accordingly. This dark event became an eye-opener for this shy, religious widow who started from being a naive wife to challenging Marcos regime.
The death of her husband had lead her to be more active in politics, she bacame more vocal and active in demonstrations and protests against the current administration that time. She did not expected the strong support by the public reaction, she managed to control her emotions and anger and became the voice of the people and soon learned how to harness public outrage to spectacular effect, holding weekly demonstrations of more than a million people in the so called People Power.
Her Contribution
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Mass power was so strong at a number 3.5 million filipino people from all walks f life who came on to the streets of Manila with Bibles and rosaries had answered the call of Cardinal Sin on Vatican Radio to confront the military machine peacefully which later became a big success. It marked a new milestone for Cory. But Marcos did not give up for he called a snap election, she was the obvious choice of the previously fragmented opposition – 1.2m signatures were gathered to endorse her candidacy and led her to victory. He Marcos class fled to Hawaii as an exile.
One Evident contributions was Cory brought back the Democracy of the country. It was a long journey before the citizens able to feel that they were free again. Her legacy includes the United efforts the masses which had taken the old regime and the world at large by surprise in 1986. She then focused on the essential change up of systematic dismantling of the worst abuses of dictatorship and brought new l Ge the the people.
She also had made some tax reforms and agricultural revenues for the masses. Although she was inexperienced and guided by her advisersand her presidency terms was in big challenge as it was plagued by massive debts and unremitting intrigues by her enemies and by the previous government. after her retirement in 1992, she continued to do charity works and offer great help to foundations and churches. During her reign there were several backlashes thrown at her like lackluster projects and inconsistency. She died on 2009 at the age of 76 through a Colon Cancer.
Thank you so much for reading! Let's us all remember that Philippines Independence Day is coming and I hope we can reflect on some sacrifices made by our Fellow Pinoys. Filipino nationalism is getting intense context ! Tomorrow I feature Ramon Magsaysay.
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Guardian.com