Former President Cory Aquino Dies

Former Philippine President Corazon “Cory” Cojuangco Aquino died at 3:18 AM on August 1, 2009 after a month-long struggle with an advanced colon cancer. Asia’s first female president was 76 years old.  His son, politician Noynoy Aquino III sobbed as he confirmed the news before a frenzied media in Manila.

Several supporters and former political foes including President Joseph Estrada had been praying for her in the past few weeks and the news of her death broke them into mourning.  “Today our country has lost a mother,” said former President Joseph Estrada, calling Aquino “a woman of both strength and graciousness.”

Exiled Chief National Democratic Front Consultant and Community Party of the Philippines Founder Prof. Jose Maria Sison also extended condolences and sympathy to the late president’s family.

A self-proclaimed “plain housewife”, Aquino was married to Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. (1932–1983), a leading figure in the political opposition against the autocratic rule of President Ferdinand Marcos. After her husband was assassinated upon his return from exile in the United States on August 21, 1983, Aquino, who had no prior political experience, became a focal point and unifying force of the opposition against Marcos. She was drafted to run against Marcos in the 1986 snap presidential elections. After Marcos was proclaimed the winner despite widespread reports of electoral fraud, Aquino was installed as President by the peaceful 1986 People Power Revolution.

On February 22, 1986, the People Power Revolution was triggered after two key Marcos allies, Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Armed Forces Vice-Chief of Staff Fidel Ramos called on Marcos to resign and holed up in two military camps in Quezon City.^[13] Aquino, who was in Cebu City when the revolt broke out, returned to Manila and insisted on joining the swelling crowd that had gathered outside the camps as a human barricade to protect the defectors. On the morning of 25 February 1986, at the Club Filipino in San Juan, Aquino took the presidential oath of office administered by Supreme Court Associate Justice Claudio Teehankee. Marcos himself was sworn into office at Malacañang Palace on that same day, but fled into exile later that night.

After her term , Aquino continued to speak out on political issues. In the 1998 presidential elections, she supported the candidacy of Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, who placed fifth. In January 2001, Aquino played an active role in the second EDSA Revolution which ousted President Joseph Estrada and installed Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the presidency. In 2005, Aquino condemned President Macapagal-Arroyo for allegedly rigging the 2004 presidential elections.^[45] She was a visible participant in mass demonstrations against the Arroyo government and called for the President’s resignation.

In December 2008, Aquino publicly expressed some regrets for her participation in the 2001 EDSA Revolution and apologized to former President Joseph Estrada, who had been ousted following that revolt, in his presence.An Aquino spokesperson however later clarified that Aquino’s remarks were taken out of context, they having been made in jest at a light-hearted affair.

In the 2007 senatorial elections, Aquino actively campaigned for her only son, Benigno III, in his successful bid for a Senate seat.

On March 24, 2008, the Aquino family announced that the former President had been diagnosed with colon cancer. While she had initially been informed by her doctors that she had only three months to live, Aquino pursued chemotherapy. In public remarks made on May 13, 2008, she announced that blood tests indicated that she was responding positively to the medical treatment.

By July 2009, Aquino was reported to be in a very serious condition and confined to Makati Medical Center due to loss of appetite.It was announced that Aquino and her family had decided to cease chemotherapy and other medical interventions.

Aquino died of cardiopulmonary arrest at the Makati Medical Center.  A devout Catholic, she was a regular at weekend mass until shortly before being admitted to hospital in late June. “Our mother peacefully passed away at 3:18 a.m. (1918 GMT Friday) of cardio-respiratory arrest,” her son, Senator Benigno Aquino III, told reporters in Manila.

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