Corazon Aquino’s Speech before the Joint Session of the United States Congress Reflection PDF

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Corazon Aquino’s Speech before the Joint Session of the United States CongressCorazon Aquino, in full Maria Corazon Aquino, née Maria Corazon Cojuangco, born January 25, 1933, Tarlac province, Philippines—died August 1, 2009, Makati, was a Philippine political leader who served as the first female p...

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Corazon Aquino’s Speech before the Joint Session of the United States Congress Corazon Aquino, in full Maria Corazon Aquino, née Maria Corazon Cojuangco, born January 25, 1933, Tarlac province, Philippines—died August 1, 2009, Makati, was a Philippine political leader who served as the first female president (1986–92) of the Philippines, restoring democratic rule in that country after the long dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. Corazon Cojuangco was born into a wealthy, politically prominent family based in Tarlac province, north of Manila. She graduated from Mount St. Vincent College in New York City in 1954 but abandoned further studies in 1955 to marry Benigno Simeon Aquino, Jr., who was then a promising young politician. Corazon remained in the background during her husband’s subsequent career, rearing their five children at home. Her husband, who had become a prominent opposition politician, was jailed by Marcos for eight years (1972–80), and Corazon accompanied him into exile in the United States in 1980. Benigno was assassinated upon his return to the Philippines in August 1983. This event galvanized opposition to the Marcos government. When Ferdinand E. Marcos unexpectedly called for presidential elections in February 1986, Corazon Aquino became the unified opposition’s presidential candidate. Though she was officially reported to have lost the election to Marcos, Aquino and her supporters challenged the results, charging widespread voting fraud. High officials in the Philippine military soon publicly renounced Marcos’s continued rule and proclaimed Aquino the Philippines’ rightful president. Then in September 18, 1986, Corazon Aquino spoke before the Joint Session of the United States Congress that resulted in an emergency $200-million aid appropriation to help deal with the Philippines’ economic distress. The speech, an intensely personal and emotional one and was prepared by Teddy Locsin, marked her first appearance before Congress since she helped overthrow former Philippine strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos. In her speech recalled the sufferings of her husband, Benigno Simeon Aquino, Jr., under the Marcos dictatorship until the day of his death which led to the revolution that ousted the dictator. She also narrated how she became the president and the revolution that happened which she called “the cheapest and most peaceful revolution”. Corazon also showed her bravery and commitment to protect the Philippines from anyone who will threaten to destroy the new peace that her people won. She then laid out the economic situation of the Philippines after the Marcos regime—the 26 billion dollars foreign debt of the country which they never benefited from and the interests that the Filipino people are obliged to pay. She then appealed to the support and assistance of the American government for resolving the said issue. Lastly, she thanked America for the haven from oppression it provided for her family for three years and asked for another haven from oppression for her people. Corazon Aquino’s speech became a great tool for the Philippines to recover, economically, after the dictatorship of Marcos. The speech is indeed very helpful in understanding the grand narrative of Philippine history, especially today that fake news and onesided stories are just available online. Reading the manuscript allows me, and others as well, to know how cruel the authorities during the dictatorship. Through this, we are able to discover how we were freed from the hands of the dictator and how the brave and collective acts of everyone changed the Philippines for the better. This touched me emotionally and made me realize how brave Filipinos are for fighting for our freedom even if their lives are at stake just by doing so. This act of bravery is still known and will continue to be instilled to the future generation, all thanks to sources like this that preserve such heroic acts....