Cory and the Democracy

My half-awake status was halted by a mother’s (and a child’s) cry this afternoon, which sounded very familiar to me. She was Kris Aquino. Captivated, I finally decided to get up.

My first sight that moment was also a familiar one–my mother. She handed down some bottles of Coke to a buying neighbor. For the most part of her day, she was doing the household chores while watching the queue of people with Cory.

It then reminded me of the first news I heard on the first day of August. The woman who bravely fought against tyranny and authoritarian rule, the so-called Mother of Democracy, was overpowered by her internal physiological struggle. The yellowish rays of the sun has finally set for Cory Aquino.

Because of her contribution to the restoration of democracy and the role she assumed in Philippine history, Aquino’s legacy will always stay in every Filipino heart, for she once embodied what the people long for–change. In response to this, various documentaries were shown discussing the life Cory had gone through, which might have been too redundant.

We must admit that people gain so much from what the media gives us. People see them as a neutral entity responsible for information dissemination, providing transparency which has not fully shown by the government. But sometimes, skepticism comes into me. There were times that media amplify issues too much, thus delineating the dichotomy existing between people-oriented information dissemination and over-sharing as a form of propaganda.

Which makes me ponder. As stated by various programs recently, is Cory the Mother of Democracy?

Which posed another question. Can mothers be mothers without a child?

Being a mother entails having a child. A prerequisite of motherhood is a dialectical relationship between her and the biological and/or recognized child or children. Technically, not all women can become a biological mother of another, but they could function like a mother in its very essence as long as there characterizes a mother-child type of relationship between two people at the very least.

Now, what is democracy? Its etymology tells us that it is a government by, of AND for the people. If we will be strict about this, the current government is not democratic. But for the sole purpose of simplifying the argument, let us consider the Bill of Rights that grant us democratic rights and establish our country as a democratic one.

Mother of Democracy. It’s a very big recognition, indeed. I don’t even think that Cory Aquino conceitedly branded it to herself. She might not consider herself as one. But why is she called such now?

The sparkle of yellow lit up the country, guiding us to the path of hope, freedom and change. It was not glittering; it was rather enlightening. Her rise was comforting and charismatic, with some twist of being progressive in some aspects. These innate characteristics of Aquino led the country to a peaceful, bloodless revolt of 1986.

If there were people greatly experiencing the adverse effects of the prolonged Marcos rule, they were the masses who had long been slaves of the system. Martial Law, along with its consequences, had eventually paved the way for this remarkable revolt not because of Ninoy’s death and Cory’s charisma, but because the material condition made it justifiable.

Seeing history from these two approaches, People Power is indeed People Power. It can be seen upon the people’s recognition of the significant part of Aquino (and the Aquino couple in general) in ending the chains of dictatorship while igniting nationalism all at once. Also, Cory made herself accountable to the people, duly recognizing the role of the populace as the decisive force in effecting social change.

In spite of various policies not oriented to make people’s lives better such as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (in which she exempted her own Hacienda Luisita), the coup attempts, the low economic turnout and the calamities the country experienced, her role in restoring the normal functioning of a democracy is simply immeasurable. History will be kind to her. She will always be remembered as an instrumental light for the country–like what a mother does at home.

As we hail the Mother of Democracy, let us not forget her sons and daughters–the people–who made such democracy a reality after the epoch of tyranny. Without the people, no Cory Aquino will be produced out of People Power. In turn, there will be no People Power, not without Cory but without the people.

As the future of this country, we are compelled to take part in protecting the legacy of democracy. The sun may have set for her, but not the struggle for genuine democracy trying to be eclipsed by people of self-interest.

“This is the glory of democracy, that its most solemn moment should be peaceful transfer of power.

Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat, at paalam.”

- President Corazon “Cory” Aquino (1986-1992) on her last SONA
1933-2009