Contents [hide]
1 Personal life
2 1986 Presidential campaign
2.1 Accession as President
3 Presidency
3.1 Constitutional and political reforms
3.2 Ministerial Cabinet (1986-1987)[14]
3.3 Cabinet (1987-1992)[14]
3.4 Socio-economic programs and policies
3.4.1 Economic management
3.4.2 Agrarian reform
3.5 Natural disasters and calamities
3.6 Electrical power grid inadequacy
3.7 Influence in 1992 presidential campaign
4 Post-presidency and continued political activism
4.1 Activities and drives
4.1.1 Political causes
4.1.2 International engagements
4.1.3 Charitable and social initiatives
5 Illness and death
5.1 Wake and funeral
5.2 Reaction
5.2.1 Local reaction
5.2.2 International reaction
6 Honors
7 In popular culture
8 Legacy
9 Awards and achievements
10 Honorary doctorates
11 Foreign Orders
12 Ancestry
13 References
14 Literature
15 External links
Personal life[edit]
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Born at 9:45 PM on January 25, 1933, at San Juan de Dios Hospital
in Intramuros, Manila,[2] Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco
was the fourth child of Jose Cojuangco y Chichioco, Sr. and
Demetria Sumulong y Sumulong. Her siblings were Pedro, Josephine,
Teresita, Jose, Jr. and Maria Paz. Both Aquino's parents came from
prominent clans. Her father was a prominent Tarlac businessman and
politician, and her great-grandfather, Melecio Cojuangco, was a
member of the historic Malolos Congress. Her mother, Demetria,
belonged to the Sumulong family of Rizal who were also politically
influential; Juan Sumulong, a prominent member of the clan, ran
against Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon in 1941.
As a young girl, Aquino spent her elementary days at St.
Scholastica's College in Manila, where she graduated on top of her
class and batch as valedictorian. For high school, she transferred
to Assumption Convent for her first year of high school.
Afterwards, she went to the United States, the Assumption-run
Ravenhill Academy Philadelphia. The next year Cory transferred to
and graduated from Notre Dame Convent School in New York City.[3]
There she continued her college education in the US. She went on
to the College of Mount Saint Vincent in New York City, where she
majored in Mathematics and French. During her stay in the United
States, Aquino volunteered for the campaign of U.S. Republican
presidential candidate Thomas Dewey against then Democratic U.S.
President Harry S. Truman during the 1948 U.S. Presidential
Election.
After graduating from college, she returned to the Philippines to
study law at the Far Eastern University (owned by the in-laws of
her elder sister, Josephine Reyes) for one year. She married Sen.
Benigno S. Aquino, Jr., son of the late Speaker Benigno S. Aquino,
Sr. and a grandson of General Servillano Aquino. The couple had
five children: Maria Elena (born August 18, 1955), Aurora Corazon
(born December 27, 1957), Benigno Simeon III (born February 8,
1960), Victoria Elisa (born October 27, 1961) and Kristina
Bernadette (born February 14, 1971).
Corazon Aquino had difficulty initially adjusting to provincial
life when she and her husband moved to Concepcion, Tarlac in 1955.
Aquino found herself bored in Concepcion, and welcomed the
opportunity to have dinner with her husband inside the American
military facility at nearby Clark Field.[4]
A member of the Liberal Party, Aquino's husband Ninoy rose to
become the youngest governor in the country and eventually became
the youngest senator ever elected to the Senate of the Philippines
in 1967. During her husband's political career, Aquino remained a
housewife who helped raise their children and played hostess to
her spouse's political allies who would frequent their Quezon City
home.[5] She would decline to join her husband on stage during
campaign rallies, preferring instead to stand at the back of the
audience and listen to him.[4]
Unknown to many, she voluntarily sold some of her prized
inheritance to fund the candidacy of her husband. She led a modest
existence in a bungalow in suburban Quezon City. Ninoy Aquino soon
emerged as a leading critic of the government of President
Ferdinand Marcos. He was then touted as a strong candidate for
president to succeed Marcos in the 1973 elections. However,
Marcos, being barred by the Constitution to seek a third term,
declared martial law on September 21, 1972, and later abolished
the existing 1935 Constitution, thereby allowing him to remain in
office. As a consequence, her husband was among those to be first
arrested at the onset of martial law, later being sentenced to
death. During his incarceration, Ninoy sought strength from
prayer, attending daily Mass and saying the rosary three times a
day. As a measure of sacrifice and solidarity with her husband and
all other political prisoners, she enjoined her children from
attending parties and she also stopped going to the beauty salon
or buying new clothes until a priest advised her and her children
to instead live as normal lives as possible.[4]
In 1978, despite her initial opposition, Ninoy decided to run in
the 1978 Batasang Pambansa elections. A reluctant speaker, Corazon
Aquino campaigned in behalf of her husband, and for the first time
in her life delivered a political speech. In 1980, upon the
intervention of U.S. President Jimmy Carter,[1] Marcos allowed
Senator Aquino and his family to leave for exile in the United
States, where he sought medical treatment.[6] The family settled in
Boston, and Aquino would later call the next three years as the
happiest days of her marriage and family life. On August 21, 1983,
however, Ninoy ended his stay in the United States and returned
without his family to the Philippines, only to be assassinated on
a staircase leading to the tarmac of the Manila International
Airport, which was later renamed in his honor (see Assassination
of Benigno Aquino, Jr.). Corazon Aquino returned to the
Philippines a few days later and led her husband's funeral
procession, in which more than two million people participated.[1]
1986 Presidential campaign[edit]
Main article: Philippine presidential election, 1986
Following her husband's assassination in 1983, Aquino became
active and visible in various demonstrations and protests held
against the Marcos regime. She began to assume the mantle of
leadership left by her husband Ninoy and started to become the
symbolic figurehead of the anti-Marcos political opposition. In
the last week of November 1985, Marcos surprised the nation by
announcing on American television that he would hold a snap
presidential election in February 1986, in order to dispel and
remove doubts against his regime's legitimacy and authority.[7]
Reluctant at first, Aquino was eventually prevailed upon to heed
the people's clamor, after one million signatures urging her to
run for president were presented to her. Despite this, the
erstwhile favorite opposition candidate, Laurel, did not
immediately give way to his close friend's widow. Laurel was only
convinced to run as Aquino's Vice President upon the urging of
Jaime Cardinal Sin, the politically influential Roman Catholic
Archbishop of Manila. As a compromise, Aquino agreed to run under
Laurel's machinery, the United Nationalist Democratic Organization
(UNIDO), then the country's largest opposition party. With that,
the Aquino-Laurel tandem was formally launched to challenge Marcos
and finally put an end to his two-decade rule.
In the subsequent political developments and events, Marcos
charged that Aquino was being supported by communists and agreed
to share power with them once elected into power. A political
novice, Aquino categorically denied Marcos' charge and even stated
that she would not appoint a single communist to her cabinet. [8]
Running on the offensive, the ailing Marcos also accused Aquino of
playing "political football" with the United States with respect
to the continued United States military presence in the
Philippines at Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Base.[9] Further, the
male strongman derided Aquino's womanhood, by saying that she was
"just a woman" whose place was in the bedroom.[1] In response to her
opponent's sexist remark, and in reference to the fact that the
ailing and feeble Marcos was increasingly seen as being largely a
front man for his wife Imelda, Aquino simply remarked that "may
the better woman win in this election". Marcos also attacked
Aquino's inexperience and warned the country that it would be a
disaster if a woman like her with no previous political experience
was tb be elected president, to which Aquino cleverly and
sarcastically responded, admitting that she had "no experience in
cheating, lying to the public, stealing government money, and
killing political opponents".
The snap election called by Marcos which was held on February 7,
1986, was marred by massive electoral fraud, violence,
intimidation, coercion and disenfranchisement of voters. Election
Day proved to be bloody as one of Aquino's staunchest allies,
former Antique province Governor Evelio Javier, was brutally
murdered, allegedly by some of Marcos' supporters in his province.
Further, during the counting and tallying of votes conducted by
the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), 30 poll computer
technicians walked out to dispute and contest the alleged
election-rigging being done in favor of Marcos. Despite this, the
Batasang Pamabansa, which was dominated by Marcos' ruling party
and its allies, declared President Marcos as the winner on
February 15, 1986. In protest to the declaration of the Philippine
parliament, Aquino called for a rally dubbed "Tagumpay ng Bayan"
(People's Victory Rally) the following day, during which she
claimed that she was the real winner in the snap election and
urged Filipinos to boycott the products and services by companies
controlled or owned by Marcos' cronies. The rally held at the
historic Rizal Park in Luneta, Manila drew a mammoth-sized crowd,
which sent a strong signal that Filipinos were quite tired of
Marcos' two decades of rule and the lengths to which he would go
to perpetuate it. Further, the dubious election results drew sharp
reactions from both local quarters and foreign countries. The
Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) issued a
statement strongly criticizing the conduct of the election which
was characterized by violence and fraud. The United States Senate
likewise condemned the election.[5][10] Aquino rejected a power-
sharing agreement proposed by the American diplomat Philip Habib,
who had been sent as an emissary by U.S. President Ronald Reagan
to help defuse the tension.[10]
Accession as President[edit]
Main article: People Power Revolution
Corazon Aquino takes the Oath of Office before Chief Justice
Claudio Teehankee, Sr. in Club Filipino, San Juan on February 25,
1986
On February 22, 1986, disgruntled and reformist military officers
led by then-Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and General Fidel
V. Ramos, surprised the entire nation and the international
community when they announced their defection from the Marcos
government, citing strong belief that Aquino was the real winner
in the contested presidential elections. Enrile, Ramos, and the
rebel soldiers then set up operations in Camp Aguinaldo, the
headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and Camp
Crame (headquarters of the Philippine Constabulary) across
Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA). Cardinal Sin appealed to the
public in a broadcast over Church-run Radio Veritas, and millions
of Filipinos trooped to the part of Epifanio De los Santos Avenue
between the two camps to give their support and prayers for the
rebels.
At that time, Aquino was meditating in a Carmelite convent in
Cebu, and upon learning of the defection, she urged people to
rally behind Minister Enrile and General Ramos. Aquino flew back
to Manila to prepare for the takeover of the government, and after
three days of peaceful mass protests, was sworn in as the eleventh
President of the Philippines on February 25, 1986.[citation needed]
Presidency[edit]
OFFICE
NAME
TERM
President
Corazon Cojuancgo Aquino
February 25, 1986 March 25, 1986
Vice-President
Salvador Laurel
February 25, 1986 March 25, 1986
Prime Minister
Salvador Laurel
February 25, 1986 March 25, 1986
Presidential Executive Assistant
Joker Arroyo
February 25, 1986 March 25, 1986
Minister of Agrarian Reform
Jezreel F. Pattaguan
February 25, 1986 March 25, 1986
Minister of Agriculture and Food
Ramon Mitra, Jr.
February 25, 1986 March 25, 1986
Minister of Budget and Management
Alberto Romulo
February 26, 1986 March 25, 1986
Minister of Education, Culture and Sports
Lourdes Quisimbing
February 25, 1986 March 25, 1986
Minister of Finance
Jaime Ongpin
February 25, 1986 March 25, 1986
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Salvador Laurel
February 25, 1986 March 25, 1986
Minister of Health
Alfredo Bengzon
February 25, 1986 March 25, 1986
Minister of Local Government
and Community Development
Aquilino Pimentel, Jr.
February 25, 1986 March 25, 1986
Minister of Justice
Estelito Mendoza
February 25, 1986 February 28, 1986
Neptali Gonzales
February 29, 1986 March 25, 1986
Minister of Labor and Employment
Augusto Snchez
February 25, 1986 March 25, 1986
Minister of National Defense
Juan Ponce Enrile
February 25, 1986 March 25, 1986
Minister of Natural Resources
Ernesto Maceda
February 25, 1986 March 25, 1986
Minister of Public Works and Highways
Rogaciano M. Mercado
February 25, 1986 March 25, 1986
Minister of Tourism
Jose Antonio Gonzales
February 25, 1986 March 25, 1986
Ministry of Trade and Industry
Jose Concepcion
February 25, 1986 March 25, 1986
Ministry of Transportation and Communications
Hernando Perez
February 25, 1986 March 25, 1986
Cabinet (1987-1992)[14][edit]
OFFICE
NAME
TERM
President
Corazon Cojuangco Aquino
March 25, 1986 June 30, 1992
Vice-President
Salvador Laurel
March 25, 1986 June 30, 1992
Executive Secretary
Joker Arroyo
February 25, 1986 September 15, 1987
Oscar Orbos
December 16, 1990 July 14, 1991
Franklin Drilon
July 15, 1991 June 30, 1992
Secretary of Agrarian Reform
Jezreel F. Pattaguan
March 25, 1986 March 30, 1986
Heherson lvarez
May 1, 1986 March 7, 1987
Philip Juico
July 23, 1987 July 1, 1989
Florencio Abad
January 4, 1990 April 5, 1990
Benjamin Leong
April 6, 1990 June 30, 1992
Secretary of Agriculture
Ramon Mitra, Jr.
March 25, 1986 June 30, 1987
Carlos Dominguez
June 30, 1987 January 1990
Senen Bacani
January 1990 June 30, 1992
Secretary of Budget and Management
Alberto Romulo
March 25, 1986 March 13, 1987
Guillermo Carague
March 13, 1987 February 12, 1992
Salvador Enriquez, Jr.
February 12, 1992 December 31, 1993
Secreary of Education, Culture and Sports
Lourdes Quisimbing
March 25, 1986 December 1989
Isidro Cario
January 3, 1990 June 30, 1992
Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources
Ernesto Maceda
March 25, 1986 December 1, 1986
Carlos Dominguez
December 2, 1986 March 9, 1987
Fulgencio S. Factoran
March 10, 1987 June 30, 1992
Secretary of Finance
Jaime Ongpin
March 25, 1986 September 14, 1987
Vicente Jayme
September 15, 1987 December 31, 1989
Jess Estanislao
January 1, 1990 June 30, 1992
Secretary of Foreign Affairs
Salvador Laurel
March 25, 1986 September 1987
Ral Manglapus
October 1987 June 30, 1992
Secretary of Health
Alfredo Bengzon
March 25, 1986 February 7, 1992
Antonio O. Periquet
February 10, 1992 June 30, 1992
Minister of Local Government
Aquilino Pimentel, Jr.
March 25, 1986 December 7, 1986
Jaime Ferrer
December 8, 1986 August 2, 1987
Secretary of Local Government
Lito Monico C. Lorenzana
August 3, 1987 November 8, 1987
Luis T. Santos
November 9, 1987 December 10, 1991
Secretary of the Interior
and Local Government
Cesar N. Sarino
December 11, 1991 June 30, 1992
Secretary of Justice
Neptali Gonzales
March 25, 1986 March 1987
Sedfrey A. Ordoez
March 1987 January 1990
Franklin Drilon
January 4, 1990 July 14, 1991
Eduardo Montenegro
February 1992 June 30, 1992
Secretary of Labor and Employment
Augusto Snchez
March 25, 1986 June 30, 1992
Secretary of National Defense
Juan Ponce Enrile
March 25, 1986 November 23, 1986
Rafael Ileto
November 23, 1986 January 21, 1988
Fidel V. Ramos
January 22, 1988 July 18, 1991
Renato de Villa
July 20, 1991 June 30, 1992
Secretary of Public Works and Highways
Rogaciano M. Mercado
March 25, 1986 November 1986
Vicente Jayme
November 1986 1987
Juanito Ferrer
1987 1988
Fiorello Estaur
1988 1990
Jose de Jesus
1990 June 30, 1992
Secretary of Social Welfare and Development
Mito Pardo de Tavera
1986 1992
Secretary of Tourism
Jose Antonio Gonzales
March 25, 1986 April 14, 1989
Narzalina Lim
April 14, 1989 June 7, 1989
in acting capacity
Peter Garrucho
June 8, 1989 January 8, 1991
Narzalina Lim
February 17, 1992 June 30, 1992
Secretary of Trade and Industry
Jose Concepcion
March 25, 1986 January 8, 1991
Peter Garrucho
January 9, 1991 June 30, 1992
Secretary of Transportation and Communications
Hernando Perez
March 25, 1986 March 16, 1987
Rainerio Reyes
March 16, 1987 January 3, 1990
Oscar Orbos
January 3, 1990 December 9, 1990
Arturo Corona
December 20, 1990 May 16, 1991
Adolfo Azcuna
June 16, 1989 December 31, 1989
Horacio Paredes
February 12, 1992 June 30, 1992
Director-General
of the National Economic and Development Authority
Winnie Monsod
July 22, 1987 1989
Jess Estanislao
1989 1990
Francisco Chavez
1987 February 6, 1992
Ramon Desuasido
February 6, 1992 June 30, 1992
Chairman
of the Metropolitan Manila Authority
Jejomar Binay
1990 1991
Ignacio Bunye
1991 June 30, 1992
Socio-economic programs and policies[edit]
Economy of the Philippines under
President Corazon Aquino
19861992
Population
1986
56.00 million
Gross Domestic Product
1986
Php 591,423 million
1991
Php 716,522 million
Growth rate, 1986-91
3.33%
Per capita income
1986
Php 10,622
1991
Php 11,250
Total exports
1986
Php 160,571 million
1991
Php 231,515 million
Exchange rates
1 US US$ = Php 27.61
1 Php = US US$ 0.04
Sources: Philippine Presidency Project
Malaya, Jonathan; Eduardo Malaya. So Help Us God... The Inaugurals
of the Presidents of the Philippines. Anvil Publishing, Inc.
Economic management[edit]
As soon as she assumed the presidency of the Philippines, Aquino
moved quickly to tackle the issue of the US$28 billion-foreign
debt incurred by her predecessor, which has badly tarnished the
international credit standing and economic reputation of the
country. After weighing all possible options such as choosing not
to pay, Aquino eventually chose to honor all the debts that were
previously incurred in order to clear the country's image. Her
decision proved to be unpopular but Aquino defended that it was
the most practical move. It was crucial for the country at that
time to regain the investors' confidence in the Philippine
economy. Beginning in 1986, the Aquino administration paid off $4
billion of the country's outstanding debts to regain good
international credit ratings and attract the attention of future
markets. Although it borrowed an additional $9 billion, increasing
the net national debt by $5 billion within six years after the
ouster of former President Ferdinand Marcos in 1986,[15] due to the
need to infuse capital and money into the economy, the Aquino
administration succeeded in wrangling lower interest rates and
longer payment terms in settling the country's debts. From 87.9
percent when it inherited the foreign debt from the Marcos regime,
the Cory Aquino administration was able to reduce by 30.1 percent
the Philippines' external debt-to-GDP ratio to 67.8 percent in
1991.[16]
Further, recognizing how crony capitalism weakened the economy due
to collusion between government and big business and adhering to
the Catholic social principle of subsidiarity, President Aquino
set out on a course of market liberalization agenda while at the
same time emphasizing solidarity, people empowerment and civic
engagement to help alleviate poverty in the country. The Aquino
administration also sought to bring back fiscal discipline in
order as it aimed to trim down the government's budget deficit
that ballooned during Marcos' term through privatization of bad
government assets and deregulation of many vital industries. As
president, Aquino sought out to dismantle the cartels, monopolies
and oligopolies of important industries that were set up by Marcos
cronies during the dark days of Martial Law, particularly in the
sugar and coconut industries. By discarding these monopolies and
allowing market-led prices and competition, small farmers and
producers were given a fair chance to sell their produce and
products at a more reasonable, competitive and profitable price.
This, in a way, also helped a lot in improving the lot of farmers
who are in dire need of increasing their personal income and
earnings. It was also during Aquino's time that vital economic
laws such as the Built-Operate-Transfer Law, Foreign Investments
Act and the Consumer Protection and Welfare Act were enacted.
The economy posted a positive growth of 3.4% during her first year
in office. But in the aftermath of the 1989 coup attempt by the
rightist Reform the Armed Forces Movement, international
confidence in the Philippine economy was seriously damaged. During
her presidency, Mrs. Aquino made fighting inflation one of her
priorities, after reeling from skyrocketing prices during the
Martial Law years, in which at one point inflation reached 50.3
percent in 1984. Although inflation peaked at 18.1 percent during
the 1991 Gulf War, which caused panic among Filipinos who have
many family members working in the Middle East, inflation during
Mrs. Aquino's time averaged 9.6 percent from 1986 to 1992, which
was way lower than the average 20.9 percent-inflation rate that
was recorded during the last 6 years of the Marcos dictatorship.[17]
[18]
Overall, the economy under Aquino had an average growth of 3.8%
from 1986 to 1992.[19]
Soon after taking office, Aquino declared that the presence of
U.S. military forces in the Philippines was an affront to national
sovereignty. She ordered the United States military to vacate U.S.
Naval Base Subic Bay and Clark Air Base. The United States
objected, pointing that they had leased the property and the
leases were still in effect. Also, thousands of Filipinos worked
at these military facilities and they would lose their jobs and
the Filipino economy would suffer if the U.S. military moved out.
The United States stated that the facilities at Subic Bay were
unequaled anywhere in Southeast Asia and a U.S. pullout could make
all of that region of the world vulnerable to an incursion by the
Soviet Union or by a resurgent Japan. She refused to back down and
insisted that the United States get out. The matter was still
being debated when Mount Pinatubo erupted in June 1991, covering
the entire area with volcanic ash. The destruction to the bases
was so severe that the United States decided that it would best to
pull out after all, so the bases were closed and the United States
departed.[citation needed]
Agrarian reform[edit]
See also: Land reform in the Philippines
President Aquino envisioned agrarian and land reform as the
centerpiece of her administration's social legislative agenda.
However, her family background and social class as a privileged
daughter of a wealthy and landed clan became a lightning rod of
criticisms against her land reform agenda. On February 22, 1987,
three weeks after the resounding ratification of the 1987
Constitution, agrarian workers and farmers marched to the historic
Mendiola Street near the Malacaan Palace to demand genuine land
reform from Aquino's administration. However, the march turned
violent when Marine forces fired at farmers who tried to go beyond
the designated demarcation line set by the police. As a result, 12
farmers were killed and 19 were injured in this incident now known
as the Mendiola Massacre. This incident led some prominent members
of the Aquino Cabinet to resign their government posts.
In response to calls for agrarian reform, President Aquino issued
Presidential Proclamation 131 and Executive Order 229 on July 22,
1987, which outlined her land reform program, which included sugar
lands. In 1988, with the backing of Aquino, the new Congress of
the Philippines passed Republic Act No. 6657, more popularly known
as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law". The law paved the way
for the redistribution of agricultural lands to tenant-farmers
from landowners, who were paid in exchange by the government
through just compensation but were also allowed to retain not more
than five hectares of land.[20] However, corporate landowners were
also allowed under the law to "voluntarily divest a proportion of
their capital stock, equity or participation in favor of their
workers or other qualified beneficiaries", in lieu of turning over
their land to the government for redistribution.[21] Despite the
flaws in the law, the Supreme Court upheld its constitutionality
in 1989, declaring that the implementation of the comprehensive
agrarian reform program (CARP) provided by the said law, was "a
revolutionary kind of expropriation".[22]
Despite the implementation of CARP, Aquino was not spared from the
controversies that eventually centered on Hacienda Luisita, a
6,453-hectare estate located in the Province of Tarlac, which she,
together with her siblings inherited from her father Jose
Cojuangco (Don Pepe).[23]
Critics argued that Aquino bowed to pressure from relatives by
allowing stock redistribution under Executive Order 229. Instead
of land distribution, Hacienda Luisita reorganized itself into a
corporation and distributed stock. As such, ownership of
agricultural portions of the hacienda were transferred to the
corporation, which in turn, gave its shares of stocks to farmers.
[23]
Mrs. Aquino speaking before the 2003 Ninoy Aquino Award ceremony
at the U.S. Embassy in Manila.
Activities and drives[edit]
Political causes[edit]
On June 30, 1992, President Aquino formally and peacefully handed
over power to her anointed candidate and democratically elected
General Fidel Ramos, after six years of hard-fought democratic
transition and restoration. After the inauguration of the new
President, Aquino chose to leave by riding in a simple white
Toyota Crown she had purchased, rather than the lavish government-
issued Mercedes Benz which she and Ramos had ridden in on the way
to the ceremonies, to make the point that she was once again an
ordinary citizen.[25]
After Aquino retired to private life following the end of her term
she remained active in the Philippine political scene, constantly
voicing opposition and dissent to government actions and policies,
which she deemed as threats to the liberal traditions and
democratic foundations of the country. In 1997, Aquino, together
with Cardinal Jaime Sin, led a huge rally which succeeded in
thwarting then President Fidel Ramos' attempt to extend his term
by amending the 1987 Constitution's restriction on presidential
term limits. In 1998, Aquino endorsed the candidacy of former
police general and Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim for president. Lim,
however, lost to then Vice-President Joseph Estrada, who won by a
landslide.[26] The following year, Aquino again with Cardinal Sin
successfully opposed President Estrada's plan to amend the
Constitution, which he said was intended to lift provisions that
'restrict' economic activities and investments; he denied that it
was another ploy for him to extend his stay in office.
In 2000, Aquino joined the mounting calls for Estrada to resign
from office, amid strong allegations of bribery charges and
gambling kickbacks and a series of corruption scandals, which
eventually led to his unsuccessful impeachment in December of that
year. In her Preface to Frank-Jrgen Richter and Pamela Mar's book
Asia's New Crisis[27] (see Amazon), she decries that the unique
Asian way of doing business has given rise to much crony
capitalism and opacity in Asia, including the Philippines. In
January 2001, during the EDSA Revolution of 2001 which ousted
Estrada, Aquino enthusiastically supported the ascendancy of
another woman, then Vice-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, to
power.[28]
In 2005, after a series of revelations and exposes alleged and
implicated President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in rigging the 2004
presidential elections, Aquino called on Macapagal-Arroyo to
resign in order to prevent bloodshed, violence and further
political deterioration.[29] Aquino was once again in the streets
leading massive demonstrations demanding the resignation of
President Arroyo.[30]
In the 2007 senatorial elections, Aquino actively campaigned for
the senatorial bid of her only son, Noynoy Aquino, who ran
successfully. In December 2008, Corazon Aquino publicly expressed
regret for her participation in the EDSA Revolution of 2001, which
installed Arroyo into power. She apologized to former President
Joseph Estrada for the role she played in his ouster in 2001. [31]
For this action, many politicians criticized Aquino.[32] In June
2009, two months before her death, Aquino issued a public
statement which strongly denounced and condemned the Arroyo
administration's plan of amending the 1987 Constitution, calling
such attempt as a "shameless abuse of power."
International engagements[edit]
Shortly after leaving the presidency, Aquino traveled abroad,
giving speeches and lectures on issues of democracy, development,
human rights and women empowerment. In 1997, Aquino attended the
wake and funeral of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, whom she
met during the latter's visit in Manila in 1989. In the 2000s
(decade), Aquino joined various global leaders and democratic
icons in urging the Government of Burma to unconditionally release
Burmese democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi from detention, whom
she delivered a speech on behalf in the 1994 meeting of the UNESCO
World Commission on Culture and Development in Manila. In 2005,
Aquino joined the international community in mourning the death of
Pope John Paul II.[citation needed]
Charitable and social initiatives[edit]
Aside from being visible in various political gatherings and
demonstrations, Aquino was heavily involved in several charitable
activities and socio-economic initiatives. From 1992 until her
death, Aquino was chairperson of the Benigno S. Aquino, Jr.
Foundation which she set up in her husband's honor right after his
brutal assassination in 1983. Further, she supported other causes
such as the Gawad Kalinga social housing project for the poor and
homeless. In 2007, Aquino helped establish the PinoyME Foundation,
a non-profit organization which aims to provide microfinancing
programs and projects for the poor. She was also a lifelong member
of the Council of Women World Leaders, an international
organization of former and current female heads of state and
government.
Illness and death[edit]
Main article: Death and funeral of Corazon Aquino
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