Former President Corazon Aquino has passed away ay 3:18 am, Saturday at the Makati Medical Center.
She was 76.
Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III confimed that she died of cardio respiratory arrest.
Mrs. Corazon Aquino, known as Cory was the widow of the late Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. She was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2008.
Corazon C. Aquino
To the world, she is the widow in yellow who toppled a dictatorship in a stirring show of People Power in 1986. To her native Philippines, she is the courageous president who saw off a series of coups d’etat and single-mindedly restored the institutions of democracy. But to herself, Corazon C. Aquino is a plain housewife who, in all conscience, could not refuse her country’s call to service when her husband, former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., was assassinated in 1983. She continues to serve after her term of office ended in 1992 through her work with nongovernmental organizations. “What is important is that we believe in the Almighty and that we try to do whatever we can to help ease some of the sufferings of our people,” she says. “I always tell my children: ‘I don’t know how many good years I still have left, but whatever I can do at this time, I really want to be able to continue not only for the cause of democracy, but also to help in bringing about a better Filipino.” For the rest of my life, I will be doing whatever I can to improve things.”
* The Young Cory
* Her Life with Ninoy Aquino
* The Unpaved Road to the Presidency
* Sustaining Stewardship of People Power
This profile of Mrs. Corazon C. Aquino was written by Mr. Cesar R. Bacani, Jr. for the pamphlet about her that was published by the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation. It has been updated by Ms. Paulynn Paredes Sicam.
TRIBUTES
Self-effacing by nature, Cory Aquino has characteristically shared the credit for the many accolades that she has received for leadership, international understanding and her commitment to freedom and democracy. Named, among others, as “Woman of the Year” by Time magazine in 1986 and “Filipino of the Century” by the Philippines Free Press in 2000, and conferred over 20 honorary doctorates, she has kept her feet firmly on the ground. In her view, the limelight belongs to her martyred husband, to the courageous people who carried her on their shoulders and, above all, to God. This theme runs across much of the articles written about her, including the reflections shared during the inaugural symposium of the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Center for Leadership in November 2004.
She is going to be remembered as icon of democracy.
Comments