yabs

(this was something I wrote for the Local Paper that got published Thursday August 8, 2009. ONLINE COPY: http://www3.sunstar.com.ph/baguio/cory-aquino-author-my-childhood)

I remember the Aquino days from when I was significantly younger. With the news of her demise I was taken back to those memories, where politics was not even part of my vocabulary yet. It was eye-opening to realize that for a child such as myself, politics had such a profound effect in the way I grew up though I may not have been conscious of that fact back then.

Being a Baguio-Boy who, since childhood, hated traveling, I gained my knowledge from the television, the passionate patriots of this city and from ardent discussions I heard from the gin-lovers at almost every sari-sari store. Who was I to care about these things? I was a child. My world revolved around toys and escaping from my afternoon nap. At the age of 5, what would I have been able to absorb even if I had the honor of meeting her or if I was actually there in person to support her?

Clueless as I was about the inner machinations of the government, of the concept of democracy and politics, I was inescapably drawn in by the joy of others at the dream of freedom. I ran in the streets yelling "Cory! Cory!" almost daily, holding up my hand with the thumb and index pointing out, often times singing my own ear-splitting rendition of "Magkaisa" at the top of my lungs. “For what?” I was asked by passers-by who seemed irritated, assuming that my actions were unsupported by actual knowledge. As a child I answered as-a-matter-of-factly, "For freedom, for justice and because it made people happy!" Yes, the overwhelming joy of the liberated was so obvious and infectious that I took notice.

That was it. Words and credence from my childhood that were seared into my vocabulary, and ultimately, into my core beliefs. Did I understand it then? Probably not completely. I may have simplified the idea based on my ability to comprehend. But beyond the naiveté of my intellectual infancy from years ago, I am thankful for the freedom I was born into by the actions of the late president and the caterwauling masses clamoring for justice in Edsa. The brave and the bold of the Philippines.

I dare not go into further detail about her (Pres. Aquino’s) accomplishments for the fear of losing a certain degree of eloquence and to ensure that celebrating her life in this world will not be another retelling of the past in bits and pieces. Tributes that sprout here and there as expected, about Edsa, the charismatic Ninoy, the constitution, various reforms and the like. Television, Google results, Wikipedia and newspaper articles already recounted these things for me. Rather I write about my memories of “Tita Cory” as one of the millions who were liberated “in-proxy” by someone I never met. While I was making gumamela-based bubbles and enjoying my childhood, she was fighting the good fight (for me and for the country).

For a lowly individual like me, her demise trumped all other deaths of recent times not because of her notoriety or her unique charm, but because of what she stood for (and fought for); Love, Liberty and Faith. Her profound effect on me even as a carefree child never faded just as she would never be forgotten. She proved that "people power" can be sparked by individual will. Thanks to her I realized early, that a single person such as myself should never feel insignificant. And as angels guide her to her rest we mourn this loss and yet rejoice in her legacy; A legacy that continues in her children and in the hearts and minds of every Filipino. Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco Aquino, The contributor to my ideals and the author of my first lesson in freedom.