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MANILA, August 1 (AFP): The Philippines on Sunday remembered the late Corazon Aquino, who led the nation in crushing a brutal dictatorship and whose death exactly a year ago propelled her son to the presidency. President Benigno Aquino led family and friends in a special mass that celebrated the heroism of his mother, who in her trademark yellow dress led the "people power" uprising to end the 20-year regime of Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.
"It is still quite difficult to grasp how one person's death could have such a huge impact on our nation in such a short time," Aquino told the crowd that gathered at a Catholic school in Manila where her wake was held last year. "However, Cory Aquino was one extraordinary woman who in so many milestones in her life had already made the impossible possible." He acknowledged that were it not for her death, he would not have run for president.
"For those who came before us and taught us by words and deeds how to love, live and believe, it is our duty to bear that torch forward," he said. "The clamour for our people for change is so deep and so widely expressed that none of us can afford to be bystanders." The mass brought back poignant memories of when tens of thousands of people gathered to pay their respects after the democracy icon succumbed to colon cancer aged 76 last year.
Aquino recalled the long queues of mourners, many of them coming in from the provinces and sleeping on flattened boxes on the cold concrete, and those who trudged along Manila streets for the nine-hour funeral procession. "That true expression of love for our mother soon evolved into a renewed hope for our long-suffering nation," he said as he asked the nation to join in his fight against pervasive corruption. He also called on all Filipinos to emulate the example set by his mother, who during her time as president earned a reputation for being honest, modest and religiously pious.
Ordinary Filipinos on Sunday also trooped to a cemetery in the capital where Aquino was buried beside her husband, Benigno 'Ninoy' Aquino, the anti-Marcos namesake of the current president. "We felt she was also our mother," said Carmen Amado-Cruz, who lay flowers at her grave. Fondly called Aunt Cory, Aquino was a housewife until her husband was gunned down by assassins at Manila airport as he arrived from the United States in 1983 to resume the political fight to oust Marcos.
Marcos had declared martial law in 1972 and cracked down on all opposition figures including Ninoy Aquino. Ninoy was later allowed to leave for medical reasons, but used his exile to attack Marcos, whose rule was marked by massive rights abuses and corruption that left the national coffers virtually empty. In the wake of the killing, the opposition united behind Cory, who reluctantly agreed to lead them as a candidate against Marcos in 1986. Rampant election cheating by Marcos forces triggered the "people power" revolt that toppled him from power and installed her as president.
During her six years in office, Aquino restored a somewhat shaky democracy and survived at least seven coup attempts. "She remained detached and unaffected by the trappings of power and prestige.