THANK YOU and GOODBYE, PRESIDENT CORY!

“Roses and crosses make my life more meaningful. I cannot complain.”
– Pres. Cory


President Ma. Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, fondly called as Cory, is known for her simplicity and Godly attitude fostered in her whole life. Prior to her presidency, Cory was the widow of a brilliant senator and a rumored (then) presidentiable, Ninoy Aquino who was brutal assassinated on August 21, 1983. Through a People Power Revolution, Cory was pushed by the Filipinos to carry on the visions left by her husband to oust the tyrant Ferdinand Marcos from Malacañang. Cory accepted her fate and became first woman president of the Philippines by landslide victory and tenured from 1986 t0 1992. Pres. Cory faced various civil crises on the account of her office, but she remained steadfast until the last day of her term. Even after her presidency, Cory remained as an active advocate of democracy and transparency in the government. She challenged her successors to lead the country with honesty especially in times when issues of fraud and corruption come into play.

Pres. Cory was a committed Catholic and a devotee of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to whom she entrusted all her life. However, more challenges come her way connected to her personal life until last February 2008, when she was diagnosed with colon cancer. For more than a year, after her illness was diagnosed, Pres. Cory fought so hard against cancer while many individuals, sectoral organizations, and religious institutes unceasingly prayed for her immediate recovery.


The icon of democracy passed away…

The news that welcomed the dawn of August 1, 2009 about the death of Pres. Cory Aquino saddened most of the Filipino people. From the first day of her wake at the De La Salle University - Greenhills until her last night at the Manila Cathedral, numerous people from different walks of life came to pay their last respect to the icon of democracy. Many testimonies about the goodness of Pres. Cory resounded on those days of mourning. The long lines of many people flocking to see the remains of Pres. Cory in wee hours of the night spoke for itself. One will see just how much Pres. Cory had been loved and cared for by the numerous people, even by those whom she did not know personally.


We were there too…

The Tahanan ng Mabuting Pastol Community was also given the chance to pay its last respect to the late president. Together with the clergy of Imus, the community headed to the Manila Cathedral to attend the mid-day requiem mass presided over by Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle on August 4. In his homily, Bishop Tagle delivered a well-crafted sharing on how Pres. Cory lived her life for God, for the country, and for her family. After which, the TMP community rendered a song inspired by the People Power Revolution entitled “Diyos ay Sumasayo”.

On the date of Pres. Cory’s funeral, the Seminarians’ Network of the Philippines was invited by the Aquino family to cordon the hearse of the late president at the Manila Memorial Park. In response to the invitation, the TMP Community was given another chance to express its final respect to Pres. Cory. Almost 700 seminarians from different seminaries in NCR and nearby provinces responded to the invitation. The funeral march lasted for 10 hours (around 10:30 am to 8:30 pm) and the seminarians remained at the cemetery until the cortege arrived. The seminarians offered their valuable time to serve as choir, marshals, and errands in cemetery in the final service to Pres. Cory.

Indeed, if there is one thing that would remain forever, it is none other than the memory of how a person fully lived his or her life for the wellbeing of others. Our beloved President Cory is the model par excellence of such a life well spent for others. She is gone but her legacy remains… democracy!