MORALES, Noemi Alodia D.

1BSA-ABM3
Module 7 Assignment
Identify five (5) points highlighted by President Corazon Aquino in her speech before the U.S.
Congress on September 18, 1986. Explain their significance.

Answer:

President Corazon Aquino is the first female president of the Philippines who had contributed a
lot especially on her role as President of the Philippines. Even though her term was short, it
didn’t stop her from doing things that will be beneficiary for the Filipino people. During her
administration, she had faced a lot of challenges which portrays that it wasn’t easy to rule but
because of her determination and willingness, it resulted to a lot of achievements and success.
One of the achievements was when President Corazon Aquino was invited by the US
Government to give her speech before the joint session of the United States Congress on
September 18, 1986. In her speech, she highlighted some points:

1. Stories about her husband, Ninoy Aquino.

- I can say that she really loved her husband and she was brave enough to tell to people
how Ninoy was imprisoned and assassinated. Despite of all the challenges he faced
because of how the government treated him, he did not give up and strongly faced
them even though it would result to his death. Up until now, his story is still
important because his death was considered to be the Philippine’s resurrection of the
courage and faith that we would all be free again. As a young citizen, we should
know how to commemorate Ninoy’s contribution.

2. Her own democracy views.

- Besides on her views about democracy, this resulted to a good movement in which
she restored democracy in the Philippines. This is considered to be one of her greatest
achievement. This is still important up until now because it had given us a lot of
information on how democracy works. As a young citizen, we would think that she
didn’t do it by herself but at least we could consider her as one of the people who led
the fight against dictatorship. This serves as an important lesson that we Filipino
citizens must unite and work together so that good things will prevail in our favor.

3. The History of People Power Revolution.

- She mentioned in her speech about the snap election and how the people asked for her
help in challenging the dictatorship. Including also the people’s victory which led to
a successful one despite of the challenges especially threats. As a student and a
 citizen of our country, the story of People Power Revolution should still be known
nowadays because of how important this is for Filipino people because it symbolizes
the efforts of people who really want change. This serves as a lesson for us to know
that change starts within us just like how people under Marcos Administration fighted
for what is right. Being united as one will create a more powerful difference that’s
why unity is very important nowadays as we faced different challenges like pandemic
and typhoon that recently hit us. We should be able to help one another and fight for
others if we think that the government is not doing enough actions.

4. Philippine Debt

- She mentioned in her speech about the most controversial issue during her
administration that resulted to a lot of problems and challenges. At this point,
economic recovery would be impossible as it affects the world economic conditions.
During these times, this is still significant because as we all know a lot of government
officials have stolen money and allocated it wrongly to other projects just like what
we are facing now after the typhoon that greatly affected all of us. There are no funds
that is enough to help the people who are in need so as a citizen who is part of the
society, we should help one another and raise our voices about the wrong doings of
the government. Other example is the pandemic that we faced for the past months that
greatly affected our economy. This simply shows that we should all be prepared in
times like these situations.

5. Insurgency

- This is also considered to be one of the most major challenges during her
administration. As we all know, insurgency has been the said “curse on the nation”
even in Marcos administration. This justifies the actions including the extrajudicial
killings of “enemies of the people” which until now is being declared on the
administration of President Duterte. As we all know a lot of NPA regulars and
government security forces have died because of this conflicts that happened every
year. It is actually great that her administration pursued political settlement within
these issues. Until now, this is still significant because President Duterte followed
Cory’s policy of appeasement.

Source/References:

Module 7: Speech of President Corazon C. Aquino Before the Joint Session of the United States
Congress, September 18, 1896. Readings in Philippine History. Retrieved from:
https://college.neu.edu.ph/mod/book/view.php?id=62433&chapterid=54285
Corazon Aquino. (2020). Britannica. Retrieved from:
https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Corazon-Aquino/272924