No single Filipino couple positively influenced the course of Philippine history better than the Aquinos – Ninoy and Cory. With Cory's dramatic interment last week, an era had ended.
Cory Aquino, 76, was one of Asia's first woman leaders and the 11th and first woman president of the republic. She led People Power in 1986 that blew away an entrenched dictator and restored democracy. Cory owned the franchise over "People Power," copied world-wide for bloodless liberation movements.
In 1983, Ninoy came home from exile in Boston – at a time when his life was in most danger – to provide a democratic alternative to the ailing Marcos. He was murdered at the tarmac that enraged the nation.
Ninoy promised to bring back democracy to the nation; Cory delivered it. Ninoy was the bow, Cory the arrow.
It is told that a seer once warned the Marcoses that once Ninoy's body (then in exile) touched Philippine soil, that would signal the beginning of the end of the despotic regime. Loyalists wanted to defy the prophecy by having the Tarlac senator assassinated.
However, Ninoy's body did touch Philippine soil – dead as it was – and history saw the prophecy fulfilled in 1986.
Then, doubtless, it was only a matter of time before Ninoy would have become president of the Philippines.
Bravery, honesty and awesome faith were Cory's trademarks as civil society supported her moves to resuscitate a fragile democracy and fend off many bloody coups.
In 1986, Cory became president as a person who wanted it the least and relinquished power to a Protestant successor – a power she did not covet one minute longer after restoring to the
broken ramparts of democracy.Cory Aquino, Time Magazine's 1986 "Woman of the Year" and Nobel Peace Prize nominee – was then back to pro-poor NGO work and when democracy was threatened by Charter change, corruption and backsliding to the ways of the dictator, Cory snaked out of retirement to once again lighten the darkening shadows of the land.
Cory Aquino, clutching a rosary given by Sister Lucia of Fatima, died on August 1, a first Saturday (normally) devoted to Our Lady and a month dedicated to Her as well. She died on the first day of the month of August, the same month Ninoy was murdered on August 21, 1983 – which later gave birth to the ATOM (August Twenty One Movement)
On the other hand, Numerologists are quick to point out that Cory's date and exact time of death (August 1, 2009) is really 08-01-2009-3:18 (a.m.) Removing all the 0's and putting the numbers together would be: 8129318.
Rearranging those numbers would be 8-21-1983 or August 21, 1983, Ninoy's assassination date.
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