Corazon C. AquinoI. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE DOCUMENTWhen former President Corazon
Aquino spoke before a joint session of theUnited States Congress in September of 1986, the dust
was only beginning to settle. Itwas her first visit to America since the dictator Ferdinand Marcos had been
deposed inFebruary of the same year, and the Philippines was reckoning with everything
hisadministration had inflicted. That included $26 billion in total foreign debt, and acommunist
insurgency that grew, throughout the Marcos era, from 500 armedguerillas to 16,000. We were
just at the start of a long road to recovery.So Aquino lodged an appeal for help. Addressing the House,
she delivered ahistoric speech that managed to sway in our favor the vote for an emergency $200-million
aid appropriation. In the moving speech penned by her speechwriter (and ourcurrent ambassador to
the United Nations) Teddy Locsin, Jr., Aquino defendedher reconciliatory stand on the communist
insurgency—a sensitive issue in the U.S.,given that this was 1986—and asked for financial aid
towards rebuilding thePhilippine economy."We fought for honor, and, if only for honor, we shall pay,"
she said, agreeing topay the debt that was stolen by Marcos. "And yet, should we have to wring the
f thePhilippine Constabulary-Metropolitan Command (PC-METROCOM) led by Col.Romeo Gatan. This
arrest happened a day after President Ferdinand E. Marcossigned Proclamation Number 1081 declaring
second time they’ve lost him. On August 27, 1973, Ninoy wasbrought back to Fort Bonifacio where he
faced a Military Tribunal on charges ofmurder, illegal possession of firearms, and subversion. They locked
him up in atiny, nearly airless cell in a military camp in the north. They stripped him nakedand held a
threat of a sudden midnight execution over his head. Ninoy held upmanfully under all of it. For forty-three
began a meandering, week-long flight that took himfrom Boston to Los Angeles and through Singapore,
Hong Kong, and Taiwan.Because Marcos had cut off diplomatic relations with Taiwan, the
governmentthere was under no obligation to cooperate with his regime's goal of keepingAquino away
from Manila. As China Airlines Flight 811 descended into ManilaInternational Airport on August 21, 1983,
Aquino warned the foreign journaliststraveling with him to have their cameras ready. "In a matter of three
or fourminutes it could all be over," he noted with chilling prescience. Minutes after theplane touched
down, Aquino was dead—killed by an assassin's bullet. So CoryAquino left America to bury her
they started was not wasted and it was not a nonsense one. Thatthey, the Filipinos put up a good fight
against the administration
“The task had fallen on my shoulder to continue offering the democraticalternative to our
people.” She took the responsibilities in taking care and fightingfor the sake of freedom of the whole
183 available seats even though there were large allegations ofelection fraud. Corazon had publicly
endorsed all of the candidate
or early, presidential elections amid sharpdomestic and U.S. criticism over his handling of a
growing communistinsurgency and a severe economic
experience, said she would considerrunning against Marcos if 1 million signatures had been collecting
urging her toenter the race. Former newspaper publisher Joaquin Roces, 72, said his group hadcollected
was the election of Mrs. Corazon Aquino as President and Mr.Salvador Laurel as Vice-President of the
these serious challenges, not once did Aquino considerdeclaring
martial law. Her stubborn adherence to the democratic process(“Archibald MacLeish had said
that democracy must be defended by arms whenit is attacked by arms and by truth when it is attacked by
lies.) is all the morenotable when one recalls that even as she was fighting off military rebels, she wasalso
dealing with a fractious Cabinet, long-standing domestic rebellions andpernicious problems like
a bankrupt economy, corruption and poverty—
March 1986 Aquino proclaimed a provisional constitution and soon thereafterappointed a commission
to write a new constitution. She failed to undertakefundamental economic or social reforms, and her
popularity steadily declined asshe faced continual outcries over economic injustice and political
corruption.These problems were exacerbated by persistent warfare between the communistinsurgency
and a military whose loyalties to Aquino were uncertain. In general,her economic policies were criticized
for being mixed or faltering in the face ofmass poverty. Aquino was succeeded in office by her former
defense secretary,Fidel Ramos. The ratification of the new Constitution was followed by
Aquino and President Reagan discussed her strenuous efforts to bolsterthe democratic institutions of her
country and to insure its security and strengthenits economy. And he assured her that all America wants
money went to buy the 1986 snap election. On top of that, we havebeen left with a staggering foreign
debt of $26 billion and nothing to show for i
NEHISTORYThe speech of the former President Corazon Aquino gives us the insights on how Filipinos
struggled to attain freedom and between the insisted resistances from the past have inspired Filipino
revolutionaries in our current era. It also gives clarification about what really happened during the time
of Ninoy Aquino. The document describe the struggles faced by the Aquinos to help the Philippines
achieve freedom. The document also mentioned about the debt incurred by the former government
before Cory Aquino. This speech also shows how the dictatorship transforms into democratic
government. From its president down to its laws, order, and rules. The document also mentioned the
killing of Ninoy Aquino and the terror from torture and conviction during the Martial Law. It shows the
problem faced by Cory Aquino as soon as she became the President. For instance the poverty and
unemployment. The document mentioned two elections occurred after the death of Ninoy Aquino. His
wife participated during the election and lose in the first election. During the second which is snap
election, she became the president and declares democracy in the country