The 1987 Philippine Constitution is Corazon C. Aquino’s legacy. Any dismantling and/or revision of that Constitution would be a direct nullification of her post-Marcos leadership and thereby erase for all of history what she had wrought.
Beyond that, there’s nothing else to say.
I did have a “Cory Moment,” though it had nothing to do with the former president. It was some sort of epiphany, albeit the wrong kind.
After the January 22, 1987 Mendiola Massacre – Cory’s troops fired on a rally calling for agrarian reform and killed 13 peasants and wounded more – an “indignation rally” was called.
This “indignation rally” was front-lined by a virtual who’s who in the anti-Marcos movement. In front of the presidential palace, Cory’s top aides also lined up, blocking the road; they too had been heavyweights in the movement to overthrow the Marcos dictatorship but they wielded state power at this time.
A tense moment ensued as the two groups eyeballed one another. Then they broke ranks, threw arms around one another, shook hands, etc.
I realized then that at a certain level, politics were a matter of “entre nous,” just among the likes of us, etc.
A more cynical moment I had not had. Nor have had since.
By the way, no one was held liable for the 13 peasants killed at Mendiola.
Perhaps, unbeknownst to us, this moment helped define or move the boundaries of what were acceptable in terms of compromise, alliance, paths to state power, etc.
Perhaps.
2 comments:
But she made up for all negatives of her administration by devoting the last years of her life to the preservation of democracy. Didn't she?
The 'glorification' of Cory has always been a contentious issue for me. I cannot, for the life of me, forget the botched promises on land reform and the many peasants who died when they dared asked about it.
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