Eulogies for Cory Aquino

[xoom]

All 20 of them, potek, naiyak ako dun sa eulogy ng security aide, si mel mamaril. very sincere and heart felt. teddy boy locsin's came in second. the rest were just okay.

Thanks for everything tita cory and paalam.

[_Cathy_]

I hate that I missed all the eulogies coz I was at work. Sana ilabas nila ulit.

[explorer]

from: www.inquirer.net

CPP founder: Aquino was true to her word

By Delfin Mallari Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:09:00 08/03/2009

Filed Under: Human Rights, Cory Aquino, rebellion

LUCENA CITY, Philippines -- Self-exiled Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria Sison said he remembered the “mutual sense of gratitude” between him and former President Corazon Aquino.

“Cory and I cooperated with each other against the Marcos dictatorship and we had a mutual sense of gratitude to each other,” Sison told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net) in an email interview Monday morning.

He recalled the day he met Aquino in her office at the penthouse of the Cojuangco building in Makati City. He thanked her for signing the release order for political prisoners and she also thanked Sison for supporting her.

“Let us not one-sidedly think that only the powerful and wealthy are always the source of benefits,” Sison added.

Sison posted a photo of him and the late President on the social networking site Facebook showing the them in animated conversation at the penthouse of the Cojuangco building after his release from prison on March 5, 1986.

After Aquino assumed office as head of the revolutionary government after the fall of President Ferdinand Marcos in February 1986, she freed Sison and several of his comrades from several years of imprisonment in fulfillment of her promise to release all political prisoners.

The CPP founder, now based in Utrecht, The Netherlands, said the “patriotic and progressive forces of the Filipino people, including me, supported her (Aquino) against Marcos and she fulfilled her promise to release all political prisoners.”

Sison claimed then defense minister Juan Ponce Enrile and military vice chief Fidel Ramos tried, but failed to block his release.

Meanwhile, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), the political arm of the CPP, conveyed its condolences to the Aquino family.

In a statement, the NDFP said that despite being unable to reach a final peace agreement with the government and the failure of the land reform program, the Aquino term was laudable for the release of all political prisoners and the improvement of the human rights situation in the country.

“Ms Aquino was an outstanding and inspiring figure in the anti-fascist alliance against the Marcos dictatorship, especially after the assassination of her husband, Benigno Aquino Jr. She was openly critical of the long-running support of the United States for the Marcos dictatorship in exchange for the aggrandizement of US economic interests and the continuance of the US military bases,” the statement read.

The NDFP also recognized the 1987 Constitution as one of the legacies of Aquino’s term.

“The 1987 Constitution... carries provisions which uphold human rights and restrain the proclamation of martial law, retain national restrictions on foreign investments and prohibit foreign military bases, foreign troops and nuclear weapons on Philippine soil,” the NDFP said.

The NDFP also recalled how, after finishing her term, Aquino strongly opposed the “grossly anti-democratic policies and actions” of her successors, Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, adding, “In this regard, she was willing to join up with the patriotic and progressive forces of the people in mass protest actions.”

The signatories of the statement were NDFP negotiating panel chairman Luis Jalandoni; vice chairman Fidel Agcaoili; members Julieta de Lima-Sison, Coni Ledesma and Asterio Palima; Sison; consultants Vicente Ladlad, Dan Borjal, Randall Echanis, Rafael Baylosis and Elizabeth Principe, and senior legal adviser Romeo Capulong.

[explorer]

from: www.inquirer.net

Remorseful coup plotter salutes Cory

By TJ Burgonio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:14:00 08/05/2009

MANILA, Philippines—A retired commodore now feels remorse about his role in a series of coup attempts against President Corazon C. Aquino in the late 1980s.

“We’re sorry because we thought that military intervention will solve everything,” said Rex Robles, who as a young navy captain was among a group of officers who turned against Aquino after the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution toppled the dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Robles said that he and other rebel leaders had thought that mounting coups against the Aquino administration from 1987 to 1989 was “what the country needed.”

Jump into darkness

Looking back now, Robles, one of the leaders of the Rebolusyonaryong Alyansang Makabansa (RAM), said the coup attempts were a “jump into darkness,” no thanks to what he called “the power that has a way of deceiving you into making terrible decisions.”

“On hindsight, it wasn’t the best thing to do. It might have been better for Filipinos to find out if there are other democratic means to change the government instead of the easy way of people power,” he said in a phone interview.

Hard not to like Cory

Robles, now a mining consultant and security analyst, said military intervention was “premature” or a “mistake”’ because the people were not “prepared for any arrangement” that would ensue if the intervention succeeded.

“Without such preparation, the military rule will only deteriorate into a harsh dictatorship,” he said.

Robles also paid tribute to RAM’s one-time foe, praising her bravery in the face of gunfire.

Aquino’s quiet resolve and unflinching courage, coupled with her steadfast belief that everything could be resolved with dialogue, were among the reasons why threats against her government failed, he said.

“It was hard not to like Cory,” Robles added.

Honasan wavered

He recalled that in one of the coup attempts that he led with ex-Colonel and now Sen. Gregorio Honasan, he and his fellow officers wavered at the last minute.

“I asked Greg (Honasan), if we manage to penetrate Malacañang, what do we do with her? If she extends her hand and tells us she wants to talk to us, what do we do then?” Robles said.

“‘We would surely lose,’ Greg said, ‘because all of us would readily surrender to her,’” Robles said.

Aura as armor

Robles said Aquino’s aura was her armor.

“You couldn’t possibly hurt her. She was well-mannered and she was very sincere,” he said. “She was brave in a very quiet way.”

Honasan would later be captured, but given amnesty.

Robles said he first met Aquino two months before people power swept her to power.

Ordinary lady

“She just looked like an ordinary lady. She did not dress particularly well. She was plain-looking but well groomed,” Robles said.

The Inquirer lost contact with Robles, who was traveling in Sarangani province, and failed to reach him again.

Robles was a member of the Feliciano Commission that looked into the causes of the July 2003 Oakwood mutiny mounted by junior military officers disgruntled with the policies of the defense department.

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All 20 of them, potek, naiyak ako dun sa eulogy ng security aide, si mel mamaril. very sincere and heart felt. teddy boy locsin's came in second. the rest were just okay.

Thanks for everything tita cory and paalam.

I liked the eulogy of the security aide also, you could see Kris just lose it and she started crying when he spoke. The Inquirer columnist had a good eulogy also, how Cory respected his praise when he wrote a column about her because of all the criticism he had written about her in his previous columns. It showed how two adversaries can become friends with the utmost respect for each other and their opinions.

The Marcoses were also there to show their last respect and they were received by the Aquino family. That is something I am glad to see as the country needs to unite and heal it's past wounds. The Marcoses coming on Tuesday and Kris acknowledging and thanking them for their prayers on national TV goes a long way towards healing these wounds.

My only question is where was the current President in all this? I did not see her shown on TV inside the Cathedral. Ramos was in the front row and Erap has been a presence from the very start when she was diagnosed with cancer. She was still in the US and was more worried about how she would be received by the crowd at the Cathedral if she attended. Not trying to make a political statement but it's hard to respect someone who can't show respect for those who have died even if they were adversaries. Because at the end of the day without Cory and People Power Arroyo would not be the sitting President now.

[OldSchoolHack]

In person she was simple, very dignified and motherly.

In our history, she may not be one of our best politician but she is one of our greatest leaders.

If you have family members who had colon cancer and died you know the pain President Aquino underwent.

Her last enduring message is unforgettable and fitting for us and she gave it to a healing priest

"Do not pray for my recovery but pray for God's will instead"

She will be remembered.