FILIPINO
WORLD VIEW
By
ROBERTO R. ROMULO
When
the World Respected Us
AS
the nation prays for the recovery of President Corazon C. Aquino, we
should also pause a moment to remember and reflect on the saga of
this courageous lady who led our people out of the clutches of
dictatorship, caught the imagination and admiration of the world, and
made us all proud to be Filipinos. The People Power Revolution of
1986 was hailed as a seminal event in the struggle for democracy all
over the world, as other peoples and other countries followed with
their own versions of people power and peaceful revolution.
In
that time of glory and celebration, the world perhaps never respected
and admired us Filipinos and our country more. Mrs. Aquino
personified the nation that we had become, and people everywhere
showered their affection and respect on her. And when she visited the
world’s great capitals, the red carpets were unrolled to welcome
her.
I
still vividly remember her visit to the United States in 1986 when I
was among the lucky few invited to join the business delegation to
the US. We were allowed to join in almost all the events in
Washington, D.C. These included the traditional ceremonial occasions
such as the dinner hosted by Secretary of State George Schultz and
her address to the US Congress. It bears noting that no other
Philippine President since then has been accorded this honor of
addressing the American legislature. Those were proud moments for us.
The standing ovations given her were enough to make our eyes well
with tears.
But
these grand state events notwithstanding, for me the most memorable
moments of that visit were the informal encounters and meetings, when
people would literally accost us in the streets and ask us if we were
Filipinos accompanying Cory Aquino. When we said yes, they would tell
us how fortunate we were to have such a leader, such an icon of
democracy. I remember an amusing incident in the soda fountain of a
Washington Hotel when I was having a snack. Then finance secretary
Vicente Jayme and other officials were also there. An American asked
us if we were part of the security detail of President Aquino. Ting
Jayme was speechless but he gamely confirmed that we were indeed part
of her entourage. It seemed that the whole of Washington, D.C. knew
that Cory was in town.
In
San Francisco, Jesus Tambunting and I were on a cable car coming down
from Nob Hill and again we were asked by our fellow passengers if we
were Filipinos. When we said yes, they said, “Welcome to San
Francisco; you should be very proud of your Cory Aquino.”
Three
years after her US visit, President Aquino appointed me as the
Philippine ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European
Commission. A few weeks after my presentation to King Baudoin of
Belgium, I was informed that President Aquino would be a special
guest of honor of French President Jacques Mitterand at the Bastille
Day celebrations in Paris. She was invited because she symbolized to
the French the Asian version of Joan of Arc, the symbol of fighting
oppression. The French people and their press adored her as only
the French can in their Gallic manner. Once again, it should be noted
that President Aquino is the only Filipino President ever invited to
be a special guest of honor in the Bastille Day celebrations aside
from being accorded a state visit prior to the July 14 festivities.
Immediately
after the celebrations in Paris, she agreed to make a private visit
to King Baudoin of Belgium. Her schedule did not allow her to make a
more formal state visit, but she agreed to have tea with the King and
Queen Fabiola at the Royal Palace of Laeken. Serge Barrera, the
chief of protocol, and I were allowed to stay in another sitting room
during the tea. King Baudoin was known to be a very democratic and
approachable monarch but we were totally surprised when we saw the
King asking President Aquino to pose for him. He was the photographer
before he allowed the Belgian press corps to take their picture!
Such
gestures of respect and admiration were repeated many times over
during the first year of her Presidency and under the glow of
historic EDSA. President Aquino was the subject of adulation
globally. Time magazine made her Woman of the Year for 1986. No
President before and after made us more proud to be Filipinos.
It’s
been a rocky road for us since then. Our democracy has had to live
through many trials and tribulations. The ship of state and the
economy have lurched and wavered from time to time. But through them
all, we have managed to keep on course. And by the grace of
Providence and luck, we are where we are today – not quite the
proud and achieving nation we envisioned at EDSA in 1986, but still
stable, resilient and unreservedly democratic despite all odds and
the global recession.
Many
will wonder what happened to the glow and the pride we all felt in
1986. I remember one young mother telling me that she felt so good in
the early days after EDSA that she made it a point not to commit any
traffic violation despite the absence of a policeman, because she
wanted to offer something to the nation we had become. Diyahe,
if she acted otherwise.
It’s
not all gone. Whatever we have been, say the classicists, in some
sort we are still. The flame that President Aquino awakened and
inspired in us needs only to be lighted again.
In
this week of prayers for Cory and her recovery, may her valiant
struggle inspire us yet again to strive to be the best that we can
be!
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