Joni Ang

Like most “90′s babies” (those born in the 80′s but don’t remember much of what happened during the said decade), I have pictures of me doing the “Laban” sign. I think I have 3, but this is the only one my mom could find. See I’ve always been pro-Cory! Lol.

June 1986: That’s me sitting on Papa’s lap, and those goofy ones up there are my brothers and cousins.

Obviously, at the age of 2, I didn’t know what that symbol stood for and what the grownups back then were fighting for. Not until I was old enough. I’ve always been interested to hear, watch, and read about our would-have-been-president Ninoy Aquino‘s life and political career. My impression of Ninoy is that he was a great man. Because of his untimely death, the Filipino people will never know what they’re missing. And now that his wife, President Cory Aquino, has passed away, I’ve learned to appreciate the Aquino couple’s love and sacrifice for our nation even more. They are undeniably the most admirable husband and wife in the history of the Philippines.

Today I was able to witness the funeral cortege of President Cory Aquino. Yes, I am one of the millions of people saddened by her death. I honestly don’t get why there are haters out there who only have negative things to say about how BIG the funeral of our “Ina ng Demokrasya” is. These people must have been living under a rock, totally oblivious and stone-hearted. President Cory may not be the best president this country has ever had achievement-wise, but she’s undoubtedly the most honest, selfless and sympathetic. She has the biggest heart of them all. And we can’t stress it enough, she gave us back our freedom.

This has been a sad last few days for Filipinos everywhere. Our symbol of hope may have gone ahead of us, but her legacy lives on. Like they say, “Sana hindi ka namin mabigo..”