ALK: Cory's Speech on Cha-Cha
Elmer G. Cato
< K a p a m p a n g a n >
Tuesday, Sep. 23, 1997
Speech on anti Cha-cha
By CORAZON C. AQUINO
Speech delivered at the Quirino Grandstand yesterday, on the
25th anniversary of the declaration of martial law.
TWENTY-FIVE years ago, the President of the Philippines
blew out the light of democracy and covered the nation in
darkness. Congress was padlocked and the Supreme Court
put under the gun. Journalists were picked up, newspapers
were shut down. The public was blindfolded and gagged, and
the country was robbed. Robbed for 14 years, without letup or
hindrance, without limit or shame. Some of the best and
brightest of our youth disappeared.
Why? Because the President of the Philippines then wanted to
change the Constitution so he could stay in power beyond the
legal term.
Fourteen years later, millions of Filipinos gathered in a
massive act of civil disobedience to send a single short
message from this place: tama na, sobra na . . . never mind
the rest. One week later, His Eminence Jaime Cardinal Sin
called on those millions again to form a human shield around
Fidel Ramos and Juan Ponce Enrile, because they had joined
our fight for democracy.
The flame of freedom burned again.
Today, there is a dark wind blowing across our country
again-the wind of ambition, a gathering storm of tyranny. We
are here to shield that flame so that the light of democracy will
not go out in our country again.
Tulad po noong kapanahunan na mungkahi tungkol sa
Charter change upang magkaroon ng term extension, sa
Kongreso, sa Lower House, nakita natin kung papaano
minamanipula ang pag-uusap tungkol sa Charter
change-pinasusulong at pinatitigil na para bang robot o
puppet ang karamihan ng congressmen.
Buo po ang aking paniniwala na kung siguro meron nang
people power noong 1972, hindi na sana nagkaroon ng
martial law. Hindi na sana kinailangan pang magbuwis ng
libu-libong buhay, magsara ng dyaryo at radyo at TV,
mandakip at magkulong nang walang warrant of arrest,
manakit at magpahirap ng 'di mabilang na kabataan at
propesyonal, manakot ng milyun-milyong Pilipino upang
manatili lamang ang isang Pangulo sa Malakanyang.
That is why we are here today, to do what we should have
done 25 years ago, and spared our country all the suffering
that followed.
That is why we are here-to tell the people who want to stay in
power by martial law or Charter change: no way and never
again. Do your worst, we will do our best to stop you. And we,
the people, will prevail.
Hindi po sa tumututol tayo basta sa pagpapalit ng ating
Saligang Batas. Kung sa kapasiyahan ng karamihan ay
kailangang may dapat palitan sa ating Konstitusyon, palitan
po natin. But not now-hindi ngayon. And not to profit the people
in power today. Not by fake initiatives and not by congressional
resolutions favoring the last-term congressmen who made
those self-serving resolutions.
Dapat siguro nating ipaalaala sa ating mga congressmen at
iba pang pulitiko na ang kapangyarihang hawak nilang
pansamantala ay dapat gamitin lamang sa kabutihan ng
bayan, hindi sa pansariling kapakanan.
But we are here not only to fight Charter change for term
extensions, we are here also to fight the amnesia that will let
the old enemies of democracy ambush it again. This is the
amnesia that Cardinal Sin, the godfather of Filipino freedom,
warns us against.
Pero parang kulang naman kung puro protesta at madilim na
paggunita lamang ang ating gagawin dito. Noon pong
nagpupulong ang organizing committee tungkol sa rally nating
ito, mayroon pong nagtanong: Ano raw po ba ang nararapat
na "mood" ng raling ito? Should the mood be sad for the day
democracy died 25 years ago? Or should the mood be happy
because we are free to commemorate that tragic event, in
freedom again? Akin naman pong naisip: Saan ba kayo
nakakita ng mga Pilipinong nagtipun-tipon-ke rebolusyon,
piyesta o burol man-na hindi tayo nagsasaya? Marapat
lamang naman na tayo ay magsaya at magdiwang. Dahil
meron pa tayong kalayaan, marami tayo na nagkakaisa ang
diwa. At dahil sa dami naman nating ito, wala na sigurong
susubok na sirain na naman ang ating Saligang Batas para
sa pansariling kabutihan ng iilang pulitiko lamang. Let us
therefore celebrate the unity that makes people power.
We are many, we are free, we are committed and we are
strong. We are people power once more. We triumphed over
tyranny before; tyranny cannot triumph over us again-not while
we are many, vigilant and united.
And that is how we must remain. The price of liberty is eternal
vigilance, because the hunger of tyranny is never satisfied. We
cannot give an inch, because tyranny will take a mile. We
cannot yield one right or compromise one freedom, because
dictatorship, tasting one, will want it all.
Nobody likes a fight, nobody wants trouble. Filipinos are a
peaceful, loving people. Tomorrow we want to return to work
and make up what we lost by devaluation. But if we were not
here today, we would need to be here every day thereafter
because there will be no peace, no life, no work and no hope.
Cardinal Sin and I and all who are here must hope that this
rally is all it will take-to stop Charter change and let the people
pick the successor of President Fidel Ramos in 1998.
But if it is not enough, we are prepared.
Hangga't ako ay nabubuhay, la-labanan ko ang bawa't
makikita kong tangkang pagwasak sa ating demokrasya.
Natikman ko na ang maging biyuda dahil sa pulitika. Wala na
sanang kahit na isang maybahay pa na kailangang tangisan
ang pagkawala ng kanyang asawa upang maibalik lamang
ang demokrasya. Bago pa humantong diyan sa ganyang
pakikibaka, magsalita na tayo, magdasal na tayo, mag-ingay
na tayo, magmartsa na tayo. Sabihin natin, hindi na tayo
papayag na mawala pang muli ang ating kalayaan na
pinagbuwisan ng maraming buhay.
The Filipino people paid for democracy with blood, sweat and
tears. They will not accept the false article of self-serving
popular initiatives as a real example of democracy.
We are here again as we were at Edsa in 1986.
It is good for this chance to remind the leaders of today and
tomorrow that we will come here as often as it takes to remind
them that they are the servants, not the masters, of the people.
Since there are many "presidentiables" here present, let us
take this occasion to warn the "presidentiables" of the greatest
danger they will face when they succeed in their quest. Power
intoxicates; too much power is addictive. And there will always
be power drug dealers who will feed your habit as President.
They will say you are right, when you are wrong. They will say
you are successful, when you fail, and will insist you are
indispensable, although you are just one of 70 million
Filipinos who gave you the rare privilege to be their servant,
but only for your elected term. They will say that nobody can
take your place, when what they mean is that they do not want
to give up their places.
Let me tell you now, the presidency is so great an honor, no
one deserves to have it again. It imposes a duty so
important-to guide a whole country and protect a whole
nation-that you must do it well. And if you did it well, you won't
deserve to do it again. Doing your job well was your duty and
not a special favor to the country.
There is a secret I would like to share. The honor of the
presidency is so great, no one needs to have it more than
once. The honor sticks to you. A president is never forgotten,
whether he is good or bad. Better to be remembered as a
good one.
Kung sa inyong puso ay mayroong pagnanasang tumagal pa
sa kapangyarihan, magiging baluktot ang tingin ninyo sa
katotohanan. Gagamitin kahit anong dahilan, gagawin kahit
anong paraan, manatili lamang sa inyong puwesto. Kaya po
sa pagpapasya, ang conflict of interest ay talagang dapat
iwasan.
Let this be the litmus test of all who seek to be President: an
oath-here and now-that nothing they do shall benefit
themselves, whether running the country, upholding the laws
or changing the Constitution when necessary.
We the citizens must therefore make sure that we demand
these from our leaders.
Bukod pa rito mahalaga rin ang mapangalagaan natin ang
proseso ng halalan. Ang dapat lamang pangambahan ay ang
dayaan at dagdag-bawas. We should respect the people's
choice.
Finally, to the man I supported in 1992, my friend Fidel Valdez
Ramos, I say: No work is ever finished, and good work is hard
to let go. But you made your name in history even before you
became President, when you joined the people's fight for
democracy, and stood by me in its defense.
You will be remembered for the stability you established, for
the economic progress you achieved; above all, for the
confidence you restored in our country throughout the world.
The downturn of the economy will pass, the gratitude of the
nation will abide for the man who raised it up and held it here.
Marami ka nang nagawa, kaibigan kong Presidente. Marami
ka nang maaaring ipagmalaki.
I think we both know that the real saviors of this country are the
people and not any one of us.
Trust the good people of our country to continue your good
work. I trusted in you when my term was over. Trust in the
Filipino.
http://www11.asiaonline.net/philippines/today/
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Ariel Malig
< K a p a m p a n g a n >
..........elmer,
great speech! thanks! i was wondering if you have a copy of her speech
to the
US Congress, after her inauguration. that was another "maka-kilabut"
speech. she got 20 standing ovations on this speech. one of the lines drew
tremendous applause and standing ovation ---- the line was something about
-- how the USA spends millions of dollars helping other countries who only
partially or pay lip service to democracy, while the Philippines and the
Filipinos are dying for democracy.
....or to anyone who has a copy of Cory's US Congress speech. please, if
you would could you
put in on the K-List
pauna kuna ing pasalamat
ariel
At 08:19 PM 9/23/97 +0000, you wrote:
> < K a p a m p a n g a n >
>
> Tuesday, Sep. 23, 1997
> Speech on anti Cha-cha
> By CORAZON C. AQUINO
>
> Speech delivered at the Quirino Grandstand yesterday, on the
> 25th anniversary of the declaration of martial law.
>
>
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