Prayers for the soul of Tita Cory

Bros. let us all offer a few moments of silence to pray for the eternal repose of the soul of Former President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, the first woman president of the Philippines who restored democracy in the country...

colsec wrote:Bros. let us all offer a few moments of silence to pray for the eternal repose of the soul of Former President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, the first woman president of the Philippines who restored democracy in the country...

thanks for the update bro. sad day for the RP... but come to think of it, at least her suffering is over. May her soul rest in peace

Report from GMA NEWS


Former President Corazon Aquino, people power icon, passes away
08/01/2009 | 05:22 AM

Former
President Corazon Aquino flashes the ‘Laban’ sign as she speaks to
thousands of people at an anti-Charter change rally on Sept. 21, 1997
at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila. AP-Bullit Marquez

MANILA, Philippines
- Former Philippine President Corazon Aquino, icon of people power in
the Philippines and around the world, passed away at 3:18 a.m.
Saturday, her son, Senator Benigno Aquino III, said. The official cause
of death was cardiorespiratory arrest.

The 76-year-old Aquino was diagnosed with colon cancer in March of last
year and was treated with chemotherapy. Last May, she underwent surgery
to remove parts of her colon and was brought to the Makati Medical
Center in June due to loss of appetite. She never left the hospital, as
her declining condition sparked a wave of emotion in the country and
prompted the widespread appearance of yellow ribbons - on trees, car
antennas, and even the Web.

“She would have wanted us to thank each and everyone of you for all
your continued love and support. It was her wish for all of us to pray
for one another and for our country," Senator Aquino said. "Hinihiling ng aming pamilya ng kaunting panahon para makasama ang aming ina."

He added that other details will be announced later in the day.

Dressed in her signature yellow, Mrs. Aquino rallied the middle class
in a series of protests culminating in the 1986 people power revolt
that toppled the 20-year regime of strongman Ferdinand Marcos and swept
her to the presidency.

She blamed the Marcos government for the assassination of her husband,
opposition leader Benigno “Ninoy" Aquino Jr., who was gunned down at
the Manila airport upon returning from exile in 1983.

The former housewife reluctantly took over as Marcos’ main challenger,
becoming an international icon of democracy after her victory sparked a
wave of pro-democracy movements around the world. Time Magazine named
Mrs. Aquino its Woman of the Year in 1986.

Tumultuous presidency

Adopting a policy of national reconciliation, Mrs. Aquino freed more
than 500 political prisoners, including some of the top leaders of the
Communist Party of the Philippines, when she became president.

She oversaw the writing of a new constitution through a commission that
hammered out a new charter. The 1987 constitution replaced the Martial
Law-era 1973 Constitution and restored democratic institutions such as
free elections, the bicameral congress and an independent Supreme Court
that were absent during Marcos’ rule. To prevent a reprise of Marcos’
one-man rule, the new charter set term limits on elected officials,
including six years for the presidency.

The economy started to recover from the slump when she assumed office,
with the gross domestic product rising progressively and reaching 6.7
percent two years later. However, the contraction of the US economy in
1991, along with a series of coup attempts against her and 10-12 hours
of blackouts during her last few years, crippled the Philippine economy.

Critics have also claimed that she fell short of the promise of social
and economic reforms, refusing to write off the country’s massive
foreign debt which many of her supporters hoped would follow the ouster
of Marcos.

But supporters point out that Mrs. Aquino also pushed for
labor-intensive projects and started the trend of setting targets for
the reduction of poverty and unemployment in the country.

Former
presidents Corazon Aquino, center, Fidel Ramos, left, and Joseph
Estrada, right, release doves on Feb. 22, 1999 in Quezon City to
celebrate the 13th anniversary of the ‘People Power’ revolution that
ousted the 20-year-rule of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos. AP-Bullit Marquez

Solita Collas Monsod, who served as Socioeconomic Planning Secretary during
Mrs. Aquino’s term, said that although the former president was landed,
one of her landmark programs was the passage of the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

The first three years of her administration were tumultuous, with
restive soldiers and Marcos loyalists mounting a series of violent coup
attempts against her. Mrs. Aquino survived all of them, holding office
until 1992. She then campaigned for Fidel Ramos, a key figure in the
People Power Revolution, whose presidential victory is widely credited
to Aquino’s endorsement.

In an article commemorating the 20th anniversary of the people power
revolt on the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism website,
Aquino was quoted as saying, “I don't know how they will judge [my
presidency], but I just hope that they will realize that it was not an
easy thing restoring democracy after a dictatorship. Also being the
first woman president certainly had its problems and then we were
dealing with a very strong military that were spoiled during the Marcos
dictatorship."

Influential figure

After her presidency, Mrs. Aquino retired to private life. She took an
active interest in painting, with flowers and women as subjects, and
joined various art exhibits to raise funds for her advocacies: the
Senator Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. Foundation, PinoyMe, ASA Foundation, and
People Power People.

But she remained an influential figure in Philippine politics, lending
her presence to political causes that needed her iconic stature.

In January 2001, she participated in the second EDSA Revolution that
brought down the popularly elected President Joseph Estrada, who was
accused of plunder, and installing his vice president Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo into power.


Former President Corazon Aquino and Jaime Cardinal Sin join forces at
an anti-Charter change rally at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila on
Sept. 21, 1997. AP

In 2005, Mrs. Aquino supported the group of cabinet secretaries that resigned in the wake of the “Hello Garci" wire-tapping scandal, and joined opposition figures
in calling for the resignation of Arroyo over allegations of
vote-rigging in the 2004 presidential elections.

She remained active in social and political causes in recent years,
publicly supporting Marine Col. Ariel Querubin during a stand-off at
the Marine headquarters in 2006 and NBN-ZTE whistleblower Jun Lozada
last year.

Mrs. Aquino has expressed regrets for supporting EDSA II due to the
controversies hounding the Arroyo administration, and apologized
publicly to Estrada.

In an interview last year for Newsmakers on GMA7, Mrs. Aquino said
about her illness: “I used to think all of us have certain quotas for
suffering and I felt I had filled up my quota, e hindi pala ganun e
(it's not like that).

"Of course who wants to get sick? But if that’s my fate, so be it... I
don’t want to live for such a long time. Sabi ko nga, 75 na ako, tama
na iyon (I have said, I'm 75, that's enough)." - With reports from Sophia Dedace, Andreo Calonzo, Aie Balagtas See, Ruby Anne M. Rubio and Cheryl M. Arcibal GMANews.TV