Philippine Icon Corazon Aquino Passes Away

MANILA, Philippines - Military honor guards carried former President Corazon Aquino's flag-draped casket to a school gym Saturday for public viewing, as Filipinos mourned the beloved democracy icon who swept away a dictator and fought off seven coup attempts.

The accidental opposition leader — whose rise began only after her husband's assassination — died before dawn in a hospital after a yearlong battle with colon cancer, which had spread to other organs and left her bedridden since late June, her only son, Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, said. She was 76.

Monsoon rains drenched Manila's streets as a convoy took Aquino's casket from the mortuary to the gym at De La Salle, the Catholic school where her remains will lie in state until Monday morning.

Read More at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32248630/

I REMEMBER TITA CORY

I was stationed in the Philippines for 18 months (1982-1984) and was actually at the airport when her husband, Benigno Aquino Jr., was assassinated upon his return to the PI from the US.
My jeepney was one of the last to leave the area before the authorities locked down the airport following his assassination. I remember seeing his plane come in and land. I had to get back to the base, so I didn't stick around to see him deplane, or I would've seen the actual assassination. I didn't know that was what was happening at the time though.

When I arrived back in Olongapo, the base was also locked down. No one could get in and no one could get out, so I stayed as a guest of Little Mike Santos (very popular bar/hotel owner and entertainment director). I had worked for Mike on many occasions, including having done several concerts, radio spots, and a television show for him (I was a singer and sounded a lot like Tammy Wynette and Jeannie C. Riley, so I was often invited to do tributes to country music legends... Mike would've been considered my manager). I was unable to attend the funeral, but the whole country was in mourning, so it didn't matter where you were during services... in Olongapo, we all grieved together and prayed together for Ninoy, Corazon, their children, and the loss of this great opposition leader. Little did we know that this little woman would one day be responsible for taking Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos down!

I had already left the PI when Tita Cory finally put Marcos out of business in 1986, but I did get to see and hear her speak on several occasions following her husband's death. She was a gutsy woman, a Lady with a capital L, and she will be missed, not just by her country but by anyone who ever met or heard her speak. She was truly an Icon to her people as well as an example to follow by women AND men around the world.