Speech of President Corazon C.

Aquino During the Joint

Session of the United States Congress
Delivered at Washington, D.C., on September 18, 1986
 Background of Martial Law
1960s: Time of Change
Student Protests
Disillusionment with Traditional Politics
Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas splits into two (PKP-
1930 and CPP-NPA)
 PKP was aligned with the CPSU, while CPP with
the CPC
 Timberman: By 1972, there were 1000 NPA
guerillas operating
Rise of the Mindanao Independence Movement
due to settler-colonialism in Mindanao
 Later led to the creation of the secular Moro
National Liberation Front in 1972
Background of Martial Law
1971 Midterm Elections: Liberals gaining
ground after Plaza Miranda
 CPP is accused of causing the explosion, but
it is uncertain if they did
Constitutional Convention to replace the
colonial 1935 Constitution
 Controversy: Should Marcos' tenure as
president be extended?
Proclamation 1081 put the Philippines under
Martial Law
 Announced on September 23, 1972
Marcos
Sr. Declares
Martial Law
• When Martial Law was
declared, classes were
suspended
• This was to arrest student
activists
• Universities did crack down
on student orgs
• Media all went quiet
• Congress was effectively
dissolved
1973 Constitutional
Convention
When Marcos Sr. Declared Martial Law, the
Constitutional Convention of 1971 continued
its work
However, the ConCon delegates (ex. Aquilino
Pimentel Jr., Lilia De Lima, etc.) who opposed
the extension of Marcos' tenure were
imprisoned or watched
1973 Constitutional
Convention
According to Delegate Augusto Espiritu,
Marcos even interfered in the writing of the
new constitution
Marcos Sr. sent the new Constitution to the Citizen's
Assemblies, which supposedly "ratified" it (as
announced in Proclamation 1102
With a vote of 6-4, the Supreme Court affirmed the
1973 Constitution was in effect (
Javellana v. Exec Sec.)
 Provisions of the
1973 Constitution
• The 1973 Constitution provided for a parliamentary
system (at least on paper)
o Due to the transitory provisions, Marcos Sr. remained in
charge

• The bicameral Congress was replaced with a National

Assembly (which never convened, and was instead
replaced by the Batasang Pambansa in 1978)
o Amendment no. 6 allowed Marcos Sr. To legislate even
with the Batasang Pambansa

• Voting age reduced to 18, and literacy requirements

were removed
• Only Filipinos were allowed to manage educational
institutions
"Whenever in the judgment of the President (Prime
Minister), there exists a grave emergency or a threat
or imminence thereof, or whenever the interim
Batasang Pambansa or the regular National Assembly
fails or is unable to act adequately on any matter for
any reason that in his judgment requires immediate
action, he may, in order to meet the exigency, issue
the necessary decrees, orders, or letters of
instructions, which shall form part of the law of the
land."

AMENDMENT NO. 6, 1976 AMENDMENTS TO THE 1973

CONSTITUTION
HTTPS://[Link]/[Link]
Effects of Martial Law
•LOI 1: Marcos Sr. takes over media and utilities
•Marcos ally Gilberto Duavit takes over Global
Media Arts(GMA)
•Meralco taken by Imelda's brother Kokoy
Romualdez
•Led to media censorship (ex. Voltes V was
banned due to "violence")
Effects of Martial Law
•Positive Side (Foreign Affairs): Marcos Sr. opened
diplomatic relations with communist states (ex.
China, USSR, Eastern Europe) and the Global South
•1974: American rights to exploit Philippine resources
on the same level as Filipinos lapsed.
Effects of Martial Law

•PD 2 and PD27: Land Reform which did not work

•Too many loopholes (which allowed Marcos cronies to
gain more land)
• Ex. Only covered rice and corn (so hacenderos could tell farmers to plant
other crops)
•No judicial independence (Marcos forced judges to
submit resignation letters)
Effects of Martial Law
•In 1975, the Philippine Constabulary would absorb the Integrated National
Police (local police forces)
• This militarized the police force
• Lt. Gen. Fidel V. Ramos, as PC Chief, was also chief of the INP.
•Arrest of political opponents
• Timberman: the silencing of the traditional opposition drove dissidents to the NPA, so
just like what Jojo Abinales would write, Marcos was the biggest NPA recruiter

•Abuse of ordinary people (especially urban poor)

• Ex: Manila Film Center Disaster
• Atrocities against Indigenous Peoples (ex. Chico Dam and Tagbanwa of Calauit)
Effects of Martial Law
•Cronyism
•Rodolfo Cuenca: Infrastructure
•Danding Cojuangco and Juan Ponce Enrile: Coco Levy
•A tax meant to help coconut farmers develop, but was stolen by
Enrile and Danding
•Roberto Benedicto: Sugar
•By 1977, the rot began to set in
•Economic collapse
1978 Elections
Marcos merges LP and NP to form KBL
(Kilusang Bagong Lipunan)
◦ KBL Candidates led by Imelda Marcos

Ninoy Aquino establishes Lakas ng Bayan

(LABAN) to contest the election
Lopsided victory for the KBL
◦ The election turned out to be fraudulent.

Hilario Davide Jr.'s Pusyon Bisaya wins seats

for the opposition
Prelude to Snap
Election and EDSA
Revolution
•Marcos Sr. officially lifts Martial Law and sets
a new presidential election in 1981
• Opposition boycotts, and Marcos wins 88.02% of
the vote
• Ret. General Alejo Santos (Nacionalista Party-
Jose Roy wing) was the main opponent of
Marcos
•Death of Ninoy Aquino sparked protests
•Marcos' ill-health caused instability due to the
uncertainty of the succession
• Marcos was diagnosed with lupus, but he tried
to hide it from the people
Prelude to Snap
Election and EDSA
Revolution
•The Regular Batasang Pambansa
Elections took place in 1984
• 1/3 of the seats go to the opposition
(UNIDO and PDP-LABAN)
•Impeachment complaint filed against
Marcos Sr. but fails due to the KBL
supermajority.
•1984: 1973 Constitution
amended...again, to recreate the
position of Vice President
1986 Snap Election
• In 1986, President Marcos Sr. Called for a snap election
• The CPP-NPA-NDF boycotted the election
• Corazon Aquino was his opponent, because she was
the only one who could unite the opposition
• Under the United Nationalist Democratic Organization
(UNIDO) and PDP-LABAN
• Marcos Sr. was proclaimed winner by the COMELEC
after a fraudulent election
• It was no surprise that Marcos Sr. was proclaimed the
winner since he controlled the Batasang Pambansa,
COMELEC, and the Courts.
1986 PDP-
Laban-
UNIDO
Campaign
Jingle
 EDSA
Revolution
• Cory called for boycotts of crony
businesses
• Enrile and Ramos turned on Marcos
Sr. after Marcos sidelined them in
favor of General Fabian Ver
• Feb 25: Marcos family fled to Hawaii
• REMEMBER: IT WAS MARCOS SR. vs.
THE PEOPLE!
• Not Aquino vs. Marcos Sr.
• The people had enough of
corrupt leadership
President Corazon Aquino’s speech before the U.S Congress

The Speech is…

 Composed of 32 paragraphs
 120 sentences
 2,312 words
 Authored by Teodoro Locsin Jr.
 Tackles about Ninoy and his heroism ,
the triumph of People Power, Marcos
 as a dictator, & the significant role of
US
Maria Corazon “Cory” Sumulong
Cojuangco Aquino

 Universally known as “Cory”

 Profession: Housewife
 11th and First Female
President of the Philippines
 Parents are Jose Cojuangco
Sr. and Demetria Sumulong
 Born on January 25, 1933 in
Paniqui, Tarlac Province,
Philippines to a wealthy,
politically prominent family
 Educational Background
 Elementary: St. Scholastica’s College,
Manila (Valedictorian)
 Secondary: Notre Dame Convent
School (Presently Notre Dame School)
in New York
 Tertiary: Bachelor of Arts Major in
French and Mathematics, College of
Mount Saint Vincent in New York in
1954 and abandoned further studies
to marry Benigno Aquino, Jr.
Children: Ballsy, Pinky, Viel, Noynoy (+)
and Kris
INTENT OF THE SPEECH PERSPECTIVE:
• To declare the freedom of the • As a victim of Marcos
Filipinos from the Marcos Sr.’s cruel regime
regime. • As the faithful wife of
• To mark a new beginning for Senator Benigno
the Filipinos and to its Aquino
government. • As the People’s
• To appeal for financial Champion
assistance by informing the • As the Mother of Asian
The three times Cory Aquino lost Ninoy Aquino

1. Ninoy’s detainment
2. Ninoy’s trial and fasting
3. Assassination of Ninoy
"I held fast to Ninoy's conviction that it must be by the ways of democracy. I
held out for participation in the 1986 election the dictatorship called, even
if I knew it would be rigged."
On Feb. 7, 1986, Cory Aquino, once a simple housewife, went against the powerful dictator in a snap
election that Marcos Sr. ordered so he may prove that he still has the support if the Filipino public.

There were lots of reported violence and cheating during the snap elections. The Commission of
Elections (controlled by the KBL) announced Marcos Sr. as the winner but the National Movement for
Free Elections (NAMFREL) proclaimed Aquino as the winner.

Ninoy Aquino had a very strong conviction that the Philippines must be a democracy no matter what.
He fought vehemently to eradicate Marcos Sr.'s dictatorship and to regain the Filipino people's freedom,
however, it was an assassination that ended his fight for democracy. Cory Aquino, his wife, felt that the
task of continuing her husband's mission has fallen on her shoulders so she decides to stand up and
lead to country on the way to freedom, peace, and democracy.

27
 “The task had fallen on my shoulders to continue
offering the democratic alternative to our people”

“The opposition swept the elections with earning barely a

third of the seats in parliament” (Refers to the 1984
Regular Batasang Pambansa Elections)
“When a subservient parliament announced my
opponent's victory, the people turned out in the streets
and proclaimed me President."
“As I came to power peacefully, so shall I keep it. That
is my contract with my people and my commitment to
God.”
 “You saw a nation, armed with courage and integrity,
stand fast by democracy against threats and
corruption.”

After the death of Ninoy, what could have been expected was the loss of hope
and fight within the Filipinos; but, this was not the case. Instead, what
appeared was an even stronger Nation.
“By that brave and selfless act of giving honour, a nation in shame recovered
on its own. A country that had lost faith in its future found it in a faithless and
brazen act of murder.”
The Philippines during the time of Marcos Sr.'s dictatorship regarded no respect
for human rights and much of our people were in struggle and pain. But as Cory
Aquino took her liberty and the Filipino peoples will, aspirations became more
than just mere ambition and dream that were kept in the heart.
“I don’t think anybody, in or outside our country, concerned for
a democratic and open Philippines, doubts what must be done.”

The Filipino people came to Cory with one cry and that
is democracy above all. They had been such a huge and
great factor for her challenge to the dictatorship. If it
hadn’t been for their commitment to the ways of
democracy that went as far as being prepared to give
their lives for its pale imitation, I believe that her push
for candidacy wouldn't have been as strong nor as
historical as it is known for today.

30
 Summary & Reflection
In her speech, Cory promised the Philippines two main things: one, that she will
make sure that the country remains a democracy no matter what, and two, that there
will always be peace during her reign as president of the Philippines.

• Ninoy Aquino and Cory Aquino both displayed awe-inspiring acts of bravery and
nationalism.
• Democracy is a gift that we, as citizens of this country, should treasure and protect at all
costs.
• The unity and courage that the Filipino people showed during the EDSA Revolution truly
marked the world as one of the most life-changing events in history. It showed the world
how to start a revolution without spilling any blood.
• Our freedom is something we should always fight for.