Corazon Aquino's Historic Speech Analysis

Hi guys, this is your junior philosophy and social science teacher. Maraming nag-request akin to make an analysis and interpretation about the speech of Corazon Aquino before the US Congress. And so, for today's video, we are going to revisit and examine this document and try to analyze the content, the context, and the perspective of Corazon Aquino in making this speech before the US Congress. Tara, samahan nyo ako! The speech was delivered by Corazon Aquino on September 18, 1986. That was seven months after Corazon Aquino became the president. That was after the exact people power revolution. So when Marcos was ousted and here comes Corazon Aquino assuming the presidency, she went to the United States and the U.S. Congress and delivered this particular speech before the U.S. people. Before we go to the document itself, let us first visit the background of Corazon Aquino and try to understand the context of this speech in relation to her background. Second, the event that happened in 1986, that was the People Power Revolution or the EDSA People Power Revolution. These are important matters for us to deeply understand the meaning of this speech given by Corazon Aquino before the U.S. Congress. It is not a coincidence that Corazon or Cory Aquino was the widowed wife of the late former senator, Binigno Ninoy Aquino Jr. Ninoy Aquino or Binigno Ninoy Aquino was one of the strongest opposition of the late President Ferdinand Marcos. And so when Ninoy Aquino was assassinated, Corazon Aquino was portrayed in history as the mourning wife, the widowed wife. who was mourning for the death of her husband and he was she was portrayed in history as the wife who had always been a shadow of her husband and relatives and particularly Corazon Aquino had no experience with politics he had no experience with politics unlike former senator Benigno Ninoy Aquino so it was really Ninoy Aquino who was well experienced about politics but Corazon Aquino was not really experienced with politics. One important thing that we have to note about Corazon Aquino was that Corazon Aquino came from a wealthy family coming from the Cuanco family who owns the Hacienda Luisita. They owned a vast portion of land in Tarlac and sugar plantation and their relatives occupy local and national government positions during their time. So if we compare between Corazon Aquino and Marcos or President Ferdinand Marcos was that really Marcos was well experienced and well rounded about politics while Corazon Aquino was not. It was Binigno or Ninoy Aquino who was well rounded also about politics. However, Ninoy Aquino was assassinated. And so, here comes... The cry of the people. The cry of the people that should fight for Marcos'dictatorship. That is one of the advocacies of Corazon Aquino. That's why during the snap election, Corazon Aquino ran for president against Marcos. And so there was a snap election that happened in February 1986. And it resulted with a landslide wound of President Marcos. So Corazon Aquino lost in that election although they were claiming that something bad happened but we do not really know what happened. After that snap election there were a lot of protests that happened coming from different people such as the CPP-NPA, the rebels, and some of the activists were actually working out and having this plot to make a revolution until such time that the Archbishop of Manila which was the Jaime Cardinal Sin, urged the people to come to the EDSA to have that People Power Revolution. That's why, in the EDSA People Power Revolution in 1986, the contribution of the Catholic Church in realizing that particular EDSA People Power Revolution because it was Cardinal Sin who actually taught and urged the people, especially the Catholics, the nuns, the madres, the pares, the seminaristas, to come to EGSA and MARS in order to have that people power revolution, aiming to oust Ferdinand Marcos from the presidency. So, that's what happened. Marcos left the Malacanang Palace and fled to Hawaii. And here comes Corazon Aquino assuming the presidency. And so, on September 18, 1986, that was seven months after Cory became the president, she went to the U.S. to deliver this particular speech. Let us now visit this speech. In the speech, Corazon Aquino actually emphasized the character and the conviction of her late husband, that was Ninoy Aquino. And she was talking about... the strong opposition of Ninoy Aquino about the authoritarianism of that Marcos. And she talked about the three times that almost they have lost Ninoy Aquino and all of those sufferings that Ninoy Aquino had experienced in the hands of the authoritarianism of Marcos. She said in a speech, The government sought to break him by indignities and terror. They locked him up in a tiny, nearly airless cell in a military camp in the north. They stripped him naked and held a threat of a sudden midnight execution over his head. Ninoy held up manfully under all of it. I barely did as well. For 43 days, the authorities would not tell me what had happened to him. This was the first time my children and I felt we had lost him. Another content of the speech was that Corrie was talking about the death of her husband. She said, And then we lost him irrevocably and more painfully than in the past. The news came to us in Boston. It had to be after the three happiest years of our lives together. But his death was my country's resurrection and the courage and faith by which alone they could be free again. The dictator had called him a nobody, yet two million people threw aside their passivity and fear and escorted him to his grave. Based on the speech itself, we can see that Corrie attributed the peaceful EDSA revolution to the death of her husband. So, it seems like she's saying that if not because of the death of Ninoy Aquino, then possibly there would be no EDSA revolution because after the death of Ninoy, There were many people who sided with them. They were claiming for freedom, for the rights against the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. In the speech also, we could see that Corrie introduced the democratic philosophy that she claimed as coming also from her husband. Said, I held fast to Ninoy's conviction that it must be the ways of democracy. I held out for participation in the 1984 election the dictatorship code, even if I know it would be rich. I was warned by the lawyers of the opposition that I ran the grave risks of legitimizing the foregone results of elections that were clearly going to be fraudulent. But I was not fighting for lawyers, but for the people in whose intelligence I had implicit. Faith. By the exercise of democracy even in dictatorship, they would be prepared for democracy when it came. And then also it was the only way I knew by which we could measure our power even in the terms dictated by the dictatorship. The people vindicated me in an election shamefully marked by government thuggery and fraud. The opposition swept the elections, garnering a clear majority of the votes even if they ended up Thanks to a corrupt commission on elections with barely a third of the seats in parliament, now I know our power. Based on what I'm reading, former president Corazon Aquino is saying that the result of the snap election between her and Marcos was a fraud. A big fraud that happened. And that her presidency was through the people's struggle. Parabang, she was making the people struggle as the legitimate means for her to become the president. And not because of that particular election. What really made her as a president was she was not elected. She assumed presidency because of that. It's a people power revolution. There's another question on the side of Marcos. Why didn't he assume the presidency? Why didn't Fidel Ramos assume the presidency? Why Corazon Aquino? That was the question. And the truth about this proclamation of former President Cory Aquino, is it true that what happened during that snap election was a fraud? We don't know. This is not right. Because we don't have evidence, it's hard to make accusations that we don't have evidence. One of the major content of Corazon Aquino's speech was really about the restoration of democracy. She was talking about the respect of freedom, rights of the people, and the restoration of democracy from the authoritarianism of Ferdinand Marcos. One of the controversial agenda of this speech, of Cory Aquino's speech before the U.S. Congress was about peace. The peace agenda because she was talking about the existing communist insurgency in the country. We can actually remember that during the time of Marcos, one of the reasons why Marcos declared martial law was due to the uprisings, the growing numbers of the CPP-NPA during his time. So when Marcos implemented the martial law, a lot of CPP-NPA were taken. In fact, some of them were tortured based on some historians. However, Based on the speech in itself of Corazon Aquino, she wanted to have peace. She wanted to have peace with these people. That's why, this is one of the reasons why a lot of NPAs, a lot of CPP NPAs were lost by President Corazon Aquino during her time. Because she wanted that these people will live a normal life, not living a life in the jungle. She said that these people should leave the war, the armed struggle rather, and go back to the city life and live with us peacefully. She wanted to have peace. She said that during the time of President Corazon Aquino, there were also many rebels that were captured by Marcos or were actually released from prison. However, this is now the passion. After the war, the people of the city of Corazon were forced to leave the country. the time of Corazon Aquino. Did the CPP-NPA stop the rebellion? Why rebellion? The MLF, the MILF, is still there. In fact, the CPP-NPA actually increased in numbers. The time was the reason. That's why... I will make a video also about CBP and PA. I will discuss about communism and the ideology of these titles in the other videos. Towards the end of the speech, Corazon Aquino was actually thanking the America. She thanked the America for... accommodating them for three years when they were in exile. She was assuring the America that she wanted to restore democracy. She was assuring the America that there should be alliance with the Philippines and the America during her reign as the president of the Philippines. We are going to analyze even towards the end of the speech Corazon Aquino was still Continuously building alliance with the America. Continuously building connections with the American people. The same as Irina Taibo Marcos. The same pa rin ang nyari. What is important here is that in that speech we can already take some clues. Not just on the individual conviction and ideas and aspirations of Corazon Aquino and Ninoy Aquino. But also... Some guiding principles and framework of what kind of government she wanted to build. What kind of government she wanted to represent when she became the president of the Philippines right after the time of President Marcos. This is Sir John and thank you for watching this video.

Tara, samahan nyo ako! The speech was delivered by Corazon Aquino on September 18, 1986. That was seven months after Corazon Aquino became the president. That was after the exact people power revolution. So when Marcos was ousted and here comes Corazon Aquino assuming the presidency, she went to the United States and the U.S.

Congress and delivered this particular speech before the U.S. people. Before we go to the document itself, let us first visit the background of Corazon Aquino and try to understand the context of this speech in relation to her background. Second, the event that happened in 1986, that was the People Power Revolution or the EDSA People Power Revolution.

These are important matters for us to deeply understand the meaning of this speech given by Corazon Aquino before the U.S. Congress. It is not a coincidence that Corazon or Cory Aquino was the widowed wife of the late former senator, Binigno Ninoy Aquino Jr.

Ninoy Aquino or Binigno Ninoy Aquino was one of the strongest opposition of the late President Ferdinand Marcos. And so when Ninoy Aquino was assassinated, Corazon Aquino was portrayed in history as the mourning wife, the widowed wife. who was mourning for the death of her husband and he was she was portrayed in history as the wife who had always been a shadow of her husband and relatives and particularly Corazon Aquino had no experience with politics he had no experience with politics unlike former senator Benigno Ninoy Aquino so it was really Ninoy Aquino who was well experienced about politics but Corazon Aquino was not really experienced with politics.

One important thing that we have to note about Corazon Aquino was that Corazon Aquino came from a wealthy family coming from the Cuanco family who owns the Hacienda Luisita. They owned a vast portion of land in Tarlac and sugar plantation and their relatives occupy local and national government positions during their time. So if we compare between Corazon Aquino and Marcos or President Ferdinand Marcos was that really Marcos was well experienced and well rounded about politics while Corazon Aquino was not.

It was Binigno or Ninoy Aquino who was well rounded also about politics. However, Ninoy Aquino was assassinated. And so, here comes...

The cry of the people. The cry of the people that should fight for Marcos'dictatorship. That is one of the advocacies of Corazon Aquino.

That's why during the snap election, Corazon Aquino ran for president against Marcos. And so there was a snap election that happened in February 1986. And it resulted with a landslide wound of President Marcos. So Corazon Aquino lost in that election although they were claiming that something bad happened but we do not really know what happened. After that snap election there were a lot of protests that happened coming from different people such as the CPP-NPA, the rebels, and some of the activists were actually working out and having this plot to make a revolution until such time that the Archbishop of Manila which was the Jaime Cardinal Sin, urged the people to come to the EDSA to have that People Power Revolution. That's why, in the EDSA People Power Revolution in 1986, the contribution of the Catholic Church in realizing that particular EDSA People Power Revolution because it was Cardinal Sin who actually taught and urged the people, especially the Catholics, the nuns, the madres, the pares, the seminaristas, to come to EGSA and MARS in order to have that people power revolution, aiming to oust Ferdinand Marcos from the presidency.

So, that's what happened. Marcos left the Malacanang Palace and fled to Hawaii. And here comes Corazon Aquino assuming the presidency.

And so, on September 18, 1986, that was seven months after Cory became the president, she went to the U.S. to deliver this particular speech. Let us now visit this speech. In the speech, Corazon Aquino actually emphasized the character and the conviction of her late husband, that was Ninoy Aquino.

And she was talking about... the strong opposition of Ninoy Aquino about the authoritarianism of that Marcos. And she talked about the three times that almost they have lost Ninoy Aquino and all of those sufferings that Ninoy Aquino had experienced in the hands of the authoritarianism of Marcos.

She said in a speech, The government sought to break him by indignities and terror. They locked him up in a tiny, nearly airless cell in a military camp in the north. They stripped him naked and held a threat of a sudden midnight execution over his head. Ninoy held up manfully under all of it. I barely did as well.

For 43 days, the authorities would not tell me what had happened to him. This was the first time my children and I felt we had lost him. Another content of the speech was that Corrie was talking about the death of her husband.

She said, And then we lost him irrevocably and more painfully than in the past. The news came to us in Boston. It had to be after the three happiest years of our lives together.

But his death was my country's resurrection and the courage and faith by which alone they could be free again. The dictator had called him a nobody, yet two million people threw aside their passivity and fear and escorted him to his grave. Based on the speech itself, we can see that Corrie attributed the peaceful EDSA revolution to the death of her husband. So, it seems like she's saying that if not because of the death of Ninoy Aquino, then possibly there would be no EDSA revolution because after the death of Ninoy, There were many people who sided with them. They were claiming for freedom, for the rights against the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.

In the speech also, we could see that Corrie introduced the democratic philosophy that she claimed as coming also from her husband. Said, I held fast to Ninoy's conviction that it must be the ways of democracy. I held out for participation in the 1984 election the dictatorship code, even if I know it would be rich. I was warned by the lawyers of the opposition that I ran the grave risks of legitimizing the foregone results of elections that were clearly going to be fraudulent. But I was not fighting for lawyers, but for the people in whose intelligence I had implicit.

Faith. By the exercise of democracy even in dictatorship, they would be prepared for democracy when it came. And then also it was the only way I knew by which we could measure our power even in the terms dictated by the dictatorship.

The people vindicated me in an election shamefully marked by government thuggery and fraud. The opposition swept the elections, garnering a clear majority of the votes even if they ended up Thanks to a corrupt commission on elections with barely a third of the seats in parliament, now I know our power. Based on what I'm reading, former president Corazon Aquino is saying that the result of the snap election between her and Marcos was a fraud.

A big fraud that happened. And that her presidency was through the people's struggle. Parabang, she was making the people struggle as the legitimate means for her to become the president.

And not because of that particular election. What really made her as a president was she was not elected. She assumed presidency because of that.

It's a people power revolution. There's another question on the side of Marcos. Why didn't he assume the presidency?

Why didn't Fidel Ramos assume the presidency? Why Corazon Aquino? That was the question. And the truth about this proclamation of former President Cory Aquino, is it true that what happened during that snap election was a fraud? We don't know.

This is not right. Because we don't have evidence, it's hard to make accusations that we don't have evidence. One of the major content of Corazon Aquino's speech was really about the restoration of democracy. She was talking about the respect of freedom, rights of the people, and the restoration of democracy from the authoritarianism of Ferdinand Marcos. One of the controversial agenda of this speech, of Cory Aquino's speech before the U.S.

Congress was about peace. The peace agenda because she was talking about the existing communist insurgency in the country. We can actually remember that during the time of Marcos, one of the reasons why Marcos declared martial law was due to the uprisings, the growing numbers of the CPP-NPA during his time.

So when Marcos implemented the martial law, a lot of CPP-NPA were taken. In fact, some of them were tortured based on some historians. However, Based on the speech in itself of Corazon Aquino, she wanted to have peace. She wanted to have peace with these people.

That's why, this is one of the reasons why a lot of NPAs, a lot of CPP NPAs were lost by President Corazon Aquino during her time. Because she wanted that these people will live a normal life, not living a life in the jungle. She said that these people should leave the war, the armed struggle rather, and go back to the city life and live with us peacefully.

She wanted to have peace. She said that during the time of President Corazon Aquino, there were also many rebels that were captured by Marcos or were actually released from prison. However, this is now the passion. After the war, the people of the city of Corazon were forced to leave the country.

the time of Corazon Aquino. Did the CPP-NPA stop the rebellion? Why rebellion?

The MLF, the MILF, is still there. In fact, the CPP-NPA actually increased in numbers. The time was the reason.

That's why... I will make a video also about CBP and PA. I will discuss about communism and the ideology of these titles in the other videos. Towards the end of the speech, Corazon Aquino was actually thanking the America.

She thanked the America for... accommodating them for three years when they were in exile. She was assuring the America that she wanted to restore democracy.

She was assuring the America that there should be alliance with the Philippines and the America during her reign as the president of the Philippines. We are going to analyze even towards the end of the speech Corazon Aquino was still Continuously building alliance with the America. Continuously building connections with the American people. The same as Irina Taibo Marcos. The same pa rin ang nyari.

What is important here is that in that speech we can already take some clues. Not just on the individual conviction and ideas and aspirations of Corazon Aquino and Ninoy Aquino. But also... Some guiding principles and framework of what kind of government she wanted to build. What kind of government she wanted to represent when she became the president of the Philippines right after the time of President Marcos.

This is Sir John and thank you for watching this video.

Transcript for:Corazon Aquino's Historic Speech Analysis

Transcript for:
Corazon Aquino's Historic Speech Analysis