Diehard Corysta

I came from a Marcos loyalist family. Both my late paternal grandfather and the former dictator were related through the Edralin side and, were both born in the serene town of Sarrat, Ilocos Norte. It wasn’t surprising how I dismissed as ‘silly’ the TV ad of a bespectacled widow clad in yellow citing how exorbitant the price of galunggong is and calling the people to put an end to the Marcos regime (which is causing the poor not to afford even a mere type of fish). However as the snap election and the People Power in 1986 unravelled, I found myself hating my admired strongman and being enchanted with what is called then and even now the Cory Magic.

With the downfall and expulsion of the Marcoses to Hawaii, Cory restored democracy in the country. Having gained that, freedom of expression and of the press followed suit, not to mention the re-establishment of structures like the legislature, etc.

Having that free press made me more aware of where the nation is – its coffers bled to death by the conjugal thieves, its people (including the babies) having to shoulder the payment of debts made by Marcos which actually only he and his minions benefited from, the number of human rights violations committed by the dictatorship, etc. Stories that were not revealed under Marcos’ watch.

Cory came across as a transparent, straightforward president who will say what has to be said without any fanfare. She was an icon of strength when the infant democracy was being besieged by a number of coup d’etats and the country facing a handful of calamities. She was a simple president who didn’t even dare to live in Malacañan, but in a Guest House in Arlegui. For indeed presidents are only guests in the Palace owned by the Filipino people.

When Marcos died, some quarters labelled Cory as vindictive for not allowing her predecessor’s remains to be flown to the Philippines. For me, she only acted with prudence as loyalists might use the dead to destabilize the government and the country. It’s also a time to teach the nation not to forget what the dictator has done. Indeed, “Sobra na. Tama na.” (Enough is enough).

I must admit that not everything that Cory did made me at ease. There’s the continued payment of bad debts incurred by Marcos (which until now takes a lion’s share of the national budget), her support for the extension of the US Bases in Olongapo, and her endorsement of a presidential candidate, let alone her husband’s ex-jailer Fidel Ramos. However, these do not in anyway affect my high regard for her.

Having graciously left public office in 1992, I thought that her magic would disappear. Yet in 1997, during a prayer rally against Charter Change in Luneta called for by the late Jaime Cardinal Sin, Cory gave a speech reminding then President Ramos and those aspiring for the presidency: “Power intoxicates.” The applause that Sunday afternoon was thunderous. Fr Bhong Guerrero told me later that Cory was a better president that her successor. That gathering was enough to drive the nail on Charter Change’s coffin at that time.

I saw her again in 2000, this time in Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City, where she led in the Act of Consecration to Our Lady of La Naval. As Fr Larry Faraon called her to the lectern, people clapped their hands as though she was being inaugurated as the country’s president. Nidz and I were just a few meters from where she stood.

“People still have a high regard for Cory,” I told my would-be-wife then as we left the church.

Upon hearing news of Cory’s sickness I feel that the country is losing again another great citizen and leader. At a time when Gloria is hell -bent to change the Constitution and the Marcoses being regarded as gods, I keep on asking “Where is Cory?”

In the midst of uncertainty, I hope and pray that the Lord would make her well. I wish too that we who have been touched by Cory would do our share in ensuring that democracy and its gains would continue to flourish in our country.