President Corazon Aquino's Speech before the US Congress of 1986

I. Background of the author or person involved

MARIA CORAZON “CORY” COJUANGCO AQUINO
 Born on January 25, 1933, in Tarlac Province, North of Manila
 Parents: Jose Cojuangco, Demetria Sumulong
 Graduated Mount St. Vincent College in New York City with a bachelor’s
degree in French and Mathematics.
 In 1955, she abandoned further studies to marry Benigno Simeon Aquino,
Jr., who was then a promising young politician. They had five children,
four daughters and one son
 Her husband, became a prominent oppositionist of Ferdinand Marcos,
hence he was jailed for 8 years during the Marcos administration (1972-
1980)
 Was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th President of the
Philippines, becoming the first woman to hold that office
 Most prominent figure of the 1986 People Power Revolution, which ended
the 20-year rule of President Ferdinand E. Marcos
 accredited as the “Mother of Asian Democracy”
 She was named Time magazine's Woman of the Year in 1986
 Her presidential term lasted for six years, starting from February 25, 1986,
until June 30, 1992
 On August 1, 2009, at the age of 76, she died as she was diagnosed with
colon cancer in the year 2008

Oher people involved:

a. BENIGNO SIMEON “NINOY” AQUINO JR.
 Was the husband of former Philippine President Corazon Aquino and
father of former Philippine President Benigno Aquino III
 Together with Gerardo Roxas and Jovito Salonga, formed the leadership
of the opposition towards then President Ferdinand Marcos

b. FERDINAND EMMANUEL EDRALIN MARCOS SR
 a Filipino politician and lawyer who was 10th president of the Philippines
from 1965 to 1986
 signed Proclamation No. 1081 on September 21, 1972, placing the
Philippines under Martial Law

c. FIDEL RAMOS
 Popularly known as FVR and Eddie
 Is a retired filipino general and politician who served as the 12th President
of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998

d. JUAN PONCE ENRILE

 Is a Filipino politician and lawyer
 He was a protégé of President Ferdinand Marcos and served as justice
secretary and the defense minister under the Marcos regime.
  He later became one of the leaders of the 1986 People Power Revolution
that Marcos from power and into exile.
e. CARDINAL JAIME L. SIN
 The powerful Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila who used his
influence to champion the rights of the poor and rally the widespread
popular resistance that brought down the presidencies of Ferdinand E.
Marcos and Joseph Estrada
 died early today in Manila, a spokesman for the cardinal

II. Historical Background of the Document.

Corazon’s husband, Ninoy Aquino, had become an outspoken critic of
Ferdinand Marcos's regime and was expected to win the 1973 presidential
elections since Marcos was term-limited and could not run according to the
Constitution. However, Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972, and
abolished the Constitution, refusing to relinquish power. Hence, Ninoy was jailed
by Marcos for eight years, and Corazon accompanied him into exile in the United
States in 1980. When Marcos called for a presidential election on February
1986, Corazon run for the opposition’s presidential candidate with Salvador
Laurel as her running mate for vice president. Corazon was officially reported to
have lost the election to Marcos, Corazon and her supporters challenged the
results, charging widespread voting fraud. This led to the People Power
Revolution that ousted Marcos and secured Corazon’s seat as the president on
February 25, 1986.
Seven months after assuming presidency, Corazon Aquino visited America as
she gave a speech before the joint session of the United States Congress in
September 1986. In her speech, she sought help in addressing the 26 billion
dollars of foreign debt and a communist insurgency that grew from 500 armed
guerillas to 16,000 during Marcos’ regime. Moreover, she called on America to
help the Philippines in preserving the freedom which the Filipinos have won for
themselves.
Her speech, which was penned by her speechwriter Teddy Locsin Jr., and
which she delivered in Washington, D.C. on September 18, 1986, managed to
influence the votes to favor the 200 million dollars financial aid towards rebuilding
the Philippine economy.

III. Contextual Analysis

The speech of Corazon Aquino was influenced by the situation of the
country after the Marcos’ administration. The country was left in an oppressed
situation for over more than one decade. This caused the Filipino citizens to be
left and be burdened with the debt committed by Marcos during his regime, which
they did not receive any benefit from. The dust after the Martial Law was only
starting to settle, but the Philippines was reckoning with everything Marcos’
administration had inflicted. That included $26 billion in total foreign debt, and a
communist insurgency that grew, throughout the Marcos era, from 500 armed
guerillas to 16,000. The Philippines had not enough meant to compensate for the
debt; hence, Corazon filed an appeal for financial aid from the United States
Congress.
Moreover, since the Filipino people had really fought hard against the
administration to free the country and as well as themselves, Corazon wanted to
 preserve the freedom that Filipinos won for themselves. Therefore, in her
speech, she also expressed her plea of help to aid the Philippines financially in
its road to constitutional and economic recovery. She delivered a historic speech
that managed to sway in our favor the vote for an emergency $200-million aid
appropriation.

IV. What is the relevance/ contribution of the document in our country?

The document is relevant in the Philippine history especially in the
diplomatic and political history since this has arguably cemented the legitimacy of
the EDSA government in the international arena. Moreover, the ideology of the
new democratic government can also be seen in the same speech.
Furthermore, this document contributed to the Philippine history as it also
traced back the first step of the country to restore the democracy that the Marcos
government outlawed. This document allows the Filipino to people to know and
to not forget the harsh reality during the dictatorship of Marcos.
Lastly, since Corazon Aquino was the first female president of the country,
her speech had a strong impact not just in the country but also on the world's
perception of women in power.

V. What is the author's argument?

The author’s main arguments focused on the constitutional and economic
recovery of the country after the dictatorship of Marcos. Corazon Aquino wanted
to seek financial assistance from the Americans to help the country recover.
Moreover, Corazon’s speech was also to officially declare and mark the freedom
of the Filipino people and to express how the Filipino citizens united to take back
the democracy that was taken away from them during the Marcos’ era.

VI. Determine the document's source. (Primary or Secondary)

PRIMARY SOURCE