Cory, Bishop Soc take potshots at Arroyo
By Kristine L. Alave, Tarra Quismundo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 05:21:00 08/22/2008
Filed Under: Assassination, Anniversaries, Politics, People power, Edsa 1
MANILA, Philippines—Twenty-five years ago, after opposition leader Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. was assassinated, the Philippines was a country defiant of tyranny.
But these days that mood of defiance has been replaced with “malaise” and “skepticism,” his widow former President Corazon “Cory” Aquino and Bataan Bishop Socrates Villegas said Thursday.
In a message after Mass to commemorate Ninoy’s 25th death anniversary, his widow Cory said there was a “lack of moral clarity” in Philippine society, leaving younger Filipinos indifferent.
“Credibility is low. Corruption is high. Poverty is widespread. Skepticism is deep,” Villegas said in his hard-hitting homily which he delivered without bombast.
“To us then, the mood was one of defiance in the face of the brazen tyranny that claimed Ninoy’s life, among thousands of others, and held our freedom ransom,” Cory said.
She said the atmosphere today “hews closer to one of malaise” as younger Filipinos “search for meaning and direction amid a widespread lack of moral clarity in their society.”
The Mass at the Don Bosco Parish Church was also in honor of the late Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin who would have turned 80 on Aug. 31. He died three years ago. It was Sin who called on the people to go to EDSA (Epifanio delos Santos Avenue) to protect the group of Fidel Ramos and Juan Ponce Enrile that broke away from Ferdinand Marcos. Sin’s call led to people power that ousted the Marcos regime in February 1986.
Three heroes
In his homily titled “Three Heroes Among Us,” Villegas, Sin’s former assistant and confidant, said the country had regressed since Ninoy’s death ignited the people’s collective will and determination to defy Marcos.
The values that Ninoy upheld and embodied in his epithet the “Filipino is worth dying for” are being “attacked” today, Villegas said.
The situation in the early 1980s for which Ninoy gladly offered his life was not essentially different from what the country finds itself now, the bishop said.
Shady deals
Villegas also took a shot at the Arroyo administration’s penchant for secrecy. He said “shady deals” and corruption had to stop because these were damaging the country.
“If our nation is to be healed and if we truly want to live in true democracy, we must learn to live in the truth, without the cloak of executive privilege,” Villegas said.
The Arroyo administration cited executive privilege when it declared that top-ranking officials of the executive department could not appear before congressional hearings without the President’s approval.
During the Senate investigation of the scrapped $329-million National Broadband Network deal, officials were barred from participating in the probe or were prevented from divulging details that involved the President.
“If we truly wish to honor President Cory, we must demand from our government transparency and honesty. We want for the Philippines a true program of governance and not a game plan for the sake of those in power mindless of the plight of the poor,” Villegas said.
Monument in Intramuros
In Manila, Mayor Alfredo Lim hailed Ninoy as one of the country’s heroes, alongside Dr. Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini and others who shed their lives for the country.
Lim, who led the wreath-laying ceremony at Ninoy’s monument in Intramuros, said the opposition leader’s hardships under martial law and his unrelenting advocacy for a clean and honest government showed that the Filipino was worth dying for.
“People die every day and we just let it go like that, but there are certain deaths which place a mark on the minds and hearts of our people as the death of Sen. Ninoy Aquino,” the mayor said.
Questions on NAIA tarmac
On the tarmac of the airport named after him, a modest gathering remembered Ninoy on the same spot where he fell on Aug. 21, 1983.
Questions marked the memorial at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) as his siblings and admirers looked back to the day he was slain upon emerging from a plane that brought him home from exile.
Remembering speeches in past Aug. 21 memorials, Reli German, former airport general manager, said: “In our [speeches], all we said were focused on Ninoy’s aspirations: unity of the country toward justice and prosperity. But unity? We know and realize that we are far from being united.”
Impossible dream
In a stern tone, German, August Twenty-One Movement president, continued: “[Unity] only happened during the EDSA revolution [of 1986] and is only repeated whenever Manny Pacquiao has a fight ... Unity seems to be an impossible dream. And this often leads me to question, is the Filipino indeed worth dying for?”
A Mass was offered for Ninoy on the NAIA tarmac, a tradition that the Ninoy Aquino Movement began in 1986, said his sister, former Sen. Tessie Oreta-Aquino.
Militant groups also marked Ninoy’s death anniversary with a plea to Filipinos to resist those who wish to perpetuate themselves in power.
“It’s an occasion for us to stand firm against those who wish to perpetuate themselves in power at any cost. It’s a landmark date in the fight against corruption, abuse of power and gross human rights violations,” Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. told reporters.
Like Thomasites
US Ambassador Kristie Kenney also paid tribute to Ninoy, recalling his sacrifices.
Kenney said that like the Thomasites, the American volunteer teachers who first came to the Philippines 107 years ago, Aquino was a strong advocate of quality education to make democracy prosper.
“Democracy works best when citizens are educated. The legacies of the Thomasites and of Ninoy Aquino have contributed greatly to the vibrant democracy that Philippine citizens enjoy today,” she said.
Faithfulness under trial
In his homily, Villegas noted that the triumvirate of Sin, Ninoy and Cory showed the country what “katapatan” meant.
“The first meaning of katapatan is faithfulness. Fidelity. Faithfulness under trial. Fidelity at gunpoint. Katapatan in imprisonment. Faithfulness in sickness. Fidelity in exile,” Villegas said in his homily.
He said Ninoy challenged “us to make katapatan a prime value of our lives as Filipinos. Faithfulness is the opposite of complacency. Faithfulness is the enemy of mediocrity.”
Villegas said people needed to renew their faith in the Filipino. “The Filipino is truly worth dying for,” he said.
Icon of truthfulness
Cory, who is battling colon cancer, is an icon of truthfulness, Villegas said. Aquino’s life as president was the opposite of what is prevailing today, he said.
“Her life is an open book of crystal-clear living. When she told us that she would not run again for President, we believed her,” Villegas said in a dig at President Macapagal-Arroyo, who broke her vow not to run in the 2004 elections.
Ms Arroyo’s victory was marred by allegations that election results in Mindanao were manipulated in her favor.
Bringing out the best
Cardinal Sin embodied the third meaning of katapatan, which is friendship, according to the bishop.
“Today, I invite you to remember our katapatan during the dark years of martial law ... When the families of the prisoners of martial law had lost friends, Cardinal Sin stayed on and listened and spoke for us,” Villegas said.
“The friend serves. The friend brings out the best in us ... Friends do not use friends. Friends do not bribe each other and pay off. There are no friends for an evil cause,” he added.
The bishop said peace in the country would be unattainable without fidelity, honesty, and compassion.
“Peace in Mindanao? There will be no peace without honesty! There will be no peace without faithfulness to your commitment. There will be no peace if people use friends for selfish game plans,” Villegas said. With reports from Allison W. Lopez, Jerome Aning and Cynthia Balana
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