Today is the funeral of the former President of the Philippines Corazon Aquino. I am not so into political stuff. Reading the newspaper and watching the news is not my thing. The death of Cory Aquino is different.

Saturday, August 1, 2009, the former President died after more than a year of battle of colon cancer.  From then on, everyone is just glued in front of the television wanting to know what was going on during the wake. Thousands of Filipinos lined up despite the strong rain for the past few days just to see Cory for the very last time. Take note, most of them do not know her personally. Most of them never even had a personal encounter with her. Well, of course, some were there to see celebrities, politicians, or just plain “uzi”. We can’t take away the fact though that Cory had touched so many lives, so many hearts. It is pretty obvious considering the number of people who visited her and now, the people along the streets from Manila Cathedral to Manila Memorial. Count me in as I was also touched by the “Cory magic”, as well.

Who didn’t? I’m such a hypocrite if I said I did not cry. Hello?! I cry about almost anything. A dramatic movie or television show makes me cry. When I try to console a friend, I end up crying with her too. When I’m stressed out, I cry. When I see someone crying, I’m like an idiot crying too. (Ummm… This revelation should serve as a warning to my family and friends when Arthur leaves for the States. Hahaha! To my loving teammates, I’ll be asking for apologies as early as now if you guys hear someone sniffing.  You guys gotta be used to it! Hehehe!). Obviously, when I saw the family of Cory Aquino grieving, plus the touching stories of her friends and family (especially the interview/ speech of Kris Aquino), my tears just didn’t stop falling! Oh dear! I didn’t ever expect that I’ll cry over a death of a president. Never!

I must say, the death of Cory Aquino amazingly paved the way for the Filipinos to be proud of our own race. The outpouring love for her, again as seen in the number of people during her funeral and the unending “thank you” all over the internet, just gave me, and probably most of us, goose bumps. I have never experienced such, but my mom said, this event is somehow similar when Ninoy Aquino died. The difference is during the time of Ninoy, everyone felt anger and pain, while when his wife died, everyone wanted to be with her until the very end because of love. I find that part amazing. As time passes, people really do change. Hmmm… Can we say the same thing with the Marcoses who even visited Cory’s wake? I dunno, but it is a good sign don’t you think? I honestly find that move very sincere. The fact that they were brave enough to go to the wake is something. I know there would be a lot of opinions around that, but this is just what I think.

As far as I can remember, I have never written anything political, or anything about being a Filipino. If this is my first, probably it is because of the “Cory magic”. Hehehe! 🙂 But really, as I watch her funeral, I’m very, very touched on what’s going on. People say, Cory has magic as she was able to gather the Filipinos in EDSA for Ferdinand Marcos to give up his throne. She was the key in bringing back democracy, which is why she is now called the Mother of Democracy. Now, until the very end, Cory has done it again. Her magic brought back the Filipinos to the streets. She is the reason of this gathering, but this time, out of love and respect for her. 🙂

As I end this post, I’d like to thank her for everything she has done to the Filipinos. I may not have witnessed the EDSA revolution. I may not understand what they were feeling then, but now, as she brought back the Filipinos together, I somehow understood what they felt. I may be speaking on behalf of my generation as well (those who did not experience the people power). Yes, this may not be another people power/ revolution, but this instance made me feel very proud to be a Filipino. 🙂 Thank you Cory! Thank you for making each and everyone of us feel proud! 🙂 The Filipino people are truly thankful that we have a Cory! 🙂