PRESIDENT BENIGNO S. AQUINO III’s SPEECH
DURING THE “HISTORY AND HER STORY”: A SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE
PHOTO EXHIBIT ON THE 5th DEATH ANNIVERSARY OF CORY AQUINO
Glorietta 2 Activity Center, Palm Drive, Makati City
August 04, 2014
(applause) Vice President Jejomar Binay; Excellencies of the Diplomatic Corps;
His Excellency Ivo Sieber of Switzerland; His Excellency Bill Tweddle of
Australia; His Excellency Philip Goldberg of the United States of America;
Secretary Rene Almendras; Secretary Voltaire Gazmin; Secretary Greg
Domingo; Secretary Mar Roxas and Secretary Sonny Coloma; of course, Mr
Fernando Zobel de Ayala; Mr. Bernard Vincent Dy; Mr. Jose Manuel
Romualdez; Mr. Miguel Belmonte; Attorney Jose Luis Vera; Ms. Joanne Rae
Ramirez; Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay, Jr.; friends from the business
community; fellow workers in government; honoured guests; ladies and
gentlemen: Good afternoon.
This is always an emotional time of the year—not only for myself and my
family, but for millions of Filipinos whose lives were touched by my parents. It
is a time when we cannot help but remember everything they stood for—
whether it was the strength and hope they displayed in the face of
overwhelming odds, especially during the height of Martial Law, or their
compassion and integrity in serving the Filipino people.
Indeed, occasions like this are a source of new strength for us. They help
recharge our hearts and souls, allowing us to go back in time to revisit the
challenges and triumphs that my parents encountered. Through it, we are
endowed once more with the confidence that as long as we follow their
example—as long as we always offer our best for the benefit of our country and
of our fellowmen—then we will find a way to overcome any trial.
On a more personal note, the examples they have set always come as a great
source of comfort. In the loneliest hours of decision-making, when all I have for
company are my thoughts—when I ponder multiple courses of action to
respond to issues—it is the memory of my parents that always guides me back
to the fundamental question: “How will I best serve the Filipino people?”
When my dad came home for the last time, he wrote in his last statement that
authentic service required two things: “Faith in our people and faith in God.”
My dad built this relationship with God in the loneliness of his prison cell.
Mom derived her strength during dad’s imprisonment—and during the fight to
restore democracy—from her absolute faith in a loving Creator. It is that divine
spark that gives each one of us the potential to light a candle rather than curse
the darkness.
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Today, we are living in an era of daylight. As Jesse Robredo, who so admired
my parents, liked to say, sunlight is the best disinfectant. As we work together
to make change irreversible in our land, it is the contrast between the shadowy
practices of the past, and the openness and honesty we are encouraging in
each other, that will make our country’s tomorrow that much brighter because
it is bringing opportunities to all.
For my elders, let me thank you for standing with us even when so many were
too frightened or indifferent to care about the prisoners of the dictatorship.
Thank you for keeping faith with us when we were faced with difficulties—
whether it was during my father’s struggle against the dictatorship, the coups
during my mother’s administration, or the years after her presidency, when she
took a stand for democracy and accountability.
To all who have joined me in our fight for reforms, thank you for lending me
your strength.
At the same time, we realize that this event is also geared towards a new
generation of Filipinos—those who never had the good fortune of meeting my
parents. This reminds me of a quote from George Santayana: “Those who
cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” As inheritors of the
democracy won through the sacrifices of countless Filipinos—my parents
included—we have the responsibility of helping young Filipinos understand the
lessons of the past. One way of doing this is through sharing these
photographs, which depict my parents not merely as faces on our five-hundred
peso bills, but as living, breathing human beings—who were not free from
faults and moments of self-doubt, but still persisted because they knew that
the Filipino is worth living for and dying for.
I am certain that the pictures in this exhibit will remind us of many stories we
have not heard in a while. Please share them with a new generation of
Filipinos. Through this exhibit and your stories, those who never encountered
my parents will gain valuable insight about how they lived their lives, and why
they mean so much to the Filipino nation. Through you, a new generation will
take on the challenge not to let Ninoy and Cory down, and our people down;
and to live up to the best ideals of our people—to ensure that there will always
be those prepared to demonstrate that the Filipino is worth fighting for.
I wish your exhibit all the success, and before I end may I just share some
personal notes.
I think you will see in some of the pictures that I had thicker hair a few years
ago. And to be honest with you, I guess it’s a sign of age. I was telling
Fernando: “Fernando, there has been so many changes here.” To those of my
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generation who remember Glorietta as Quad, welcome back to Quad.
(applause)
But perhaps the best memories are these: I do remember, it was an Ayala
Foundation publication that first published pictures of my father, after his
assassination. I think we all remember that the mainstream press tried so
much to ignore both my father’s assassination and more importantly, his
funeral. There was Ayala, ready to bear the wrath of the dictatorship, standing
with the people to whom they have been really demonstrate themselves.
(applause)
Whenever I grace a PeopleAsia event or a Star event, I cannot help but
remember Betty Go-Belmonte. To be honest with you, the first time I saw Tita
Betty, I wasn’t even sure she was Filipina, because she was the publisher of
the Fookien Times yearbook. But to be honest with you, it truly was a blessing
to have met a lady such as her, and I think it is really a blessing on our people,
that at the most critical times the Filipino will truly rise up and do what is right
in the service of his fellowmen.
Good afternoon, and thank you one and all. (applause)
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