| Tita Cory, the Antithesis |
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ANNA VARONA-RIVILLA asked me to write something on Cory Cojuangco Aquino for my column this week. I readily agreed. It is a great honor to write something about Tita Cory who passed away at 3:17 this morning on the first day of August. The request did not surprise me. After all, Ms. Anna is among millions of women who emulate the late valiant fighter for democracy, not to mention the fact that she is married to Mayor Miguel Cojuangco Rivilla.The major TV stations were already paying tribute to the former lady president of the Philippines when I woke up at 5:30 this morning. Old photos and videos of the Aquino family were being shown. People both close and unknown to Tita Cory were being interviewed. I’m sure the lady in yellow will be the main media story in the coming days. I shall not discuss the life and the wonderful tale of Tita Cory. Media will do it more competently. Let me just glean a word used by one lady interviewee when she was asked to describe the kind of person Tita Cory had been as she knew her for many years. The word she used was “serene”. If we take the word to mean “marked by utter calm and unruffled repose”, then we are talking about Tita Cory when she was visiting Ninoy in jail; when she was enjoying freedom in Boston with her family; when she was being egged on to end the Marcos reign; when she put herself in the caring hands of nuns in Cebu; when she finally hit the campaign trail; when she was smiling at the standing ovation given to her by the American Congress; when we saw her a mother to the troubled Kris; when she asked another lady president to step down; and when she put up one last fight at the Makati Med. In all these scenarios, we have always seen a serene Tita Cory. (That is why I could never believe she hid under her bed at the height of one coup d’état!} But where does Tita Cory draw her strength and serenity? Could she be more hurt and debilitated after the death of Ninoy? I believe the serenity we have witnessed in Tita Cory could not come from another human experience alone. It had to come from something much greater. It was founded on a genuine fear in God and a genuine faith that only God provides big time. I don’t remember her making any humongous political decisions when she was the president. She had never prepared herself for the political life to begin with. She had never even dreamed to be in politics. But she did restore democracy, the ruling power that emanates from the people themselves. That to me is humongous. That to me is big time. Because Tita Cory had genuine fear and faith in God, not to mention her being a true Marian, she became the antithesis of today’s most political leaders. Tita Cory always wore a smile on her face and had serenity in her heart while most of our political leaders today show off photoshopped faces and keep troubled hearts. If only we could reflect on Tita Cory’s legacy of spirituality, we could be better leaders and better followers. Then we could have a better country worth dying for. For comments / reactions, please email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  |
