Thursday, August 6, 2009

An icon of democracy rests in peace

FORMER Philippine president Corazon ‘Cory’ Aquino, who died of colon cancer last Saturday, 1st August, was laid to rest on Wednesday, 5th August, beside her late husband at Manila Memorial Park. Mrs. Aquino is hailed as an icon of democracy for having toppled the dictatorial rule of the late Ferdinand Marcos in a popular bloodless uprising called ‘People Power’ revolution in 1986.

Her death brought people from all walks of life together like her husband's, former senator Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino, who in 1983 was assassinated as soon as he got down to the tarmac of the airport which now bear his name. While the funeral for Ninoy welded people together by anger and hatred against the dictatorship that of Cory’s united the Filipinos because of grief and love.

We could add forgiveness as explicitly expressed by the late president before her death through her youngest daughter Kristina ‘Kris’ Bernadette Aquino, a popular showbiz personality, who stated on national television that their family’s arch enemy for decades, the Marcoses, are forgiven. The next day after that pronouncement, the two Marcos siblings, Imee and Ferdinand Jr, paid their respects to the departed former national leader which were warmly appreciated by the bereaved members of the Aquino family.

Cory Aquino, it would be remembered, officially opened the 1992 Manila Chess Olympiad held at the Philippine International Convention Center. This biennial Olympiad, already the 30th then, was regarded arguably as the best chess Olympiad ever.

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