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Thursday, January 28, 2010
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
SEPTEMBER 2009: Typhoon Pepeng (Parma)
Background
Typhoon Parma (International designation: 0917; JTWC Designation: 19W; PAGASA designation: Pepeng) was the second typhoon to affect the Philippines within the span of a week during September 2009.
Meteorological History
Early on September 26, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center reported that an area of convection was developing along a broad low level circulation center in an area of vertical wind shear about 450 km (280 mi) to the southeast of Guam. The convection had a good poleward outflow into a tropical upper tropospheric trough, however as it did not have a symmetrical low level circulation center and convection had not consolidated the JTWC did not expect the disturbance to develop into a significant tropical cyclone within the next 24 hours. It was then designated as a Tropical Depression during the next day by the Japan Meteorological Agency as the depression's convection, started to consolidate around the low level circulation center, later that day as the low level circulation center had rapidly consolidated and become well defined the JTWC designated the depression as 19W. The depression was moving towards the west at this time under the influence of the subtropical ridge of pressure During September 28 gradually developed further being upgraded to a Tropical Storm by the JTWC as it moved further away from Tropical Depression 18W. However the JMA did not upgrade the depression to a tropical storm until early the next day when they assigned the storm the name Parma.
Preparations in the Philippines
The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) advised all local government officials in all of Luzon to evacuate all the people if needed to secure their safety from the wrath of Super Typhoon Parma (Pepeng). In addition to the NDCC, they gave out relief goods and other necessities in preparation for Parma. Different non-government agencies such as GMA Kapuso Foundation and ABS-CBN Foundation also gave out relief goods. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo also requested PAGASA to monitor the super typhoon every two hours and update its website. Also, the PAGASA advised all areas with public storm signal warnings to be alerted against storm surges, landslides and flash floods. The coast guard of the Philippines placed the whole country in red alert, meaning that the agency would monitor the whole country, especially Northern and Central Luzon. All ferry stations with routes from Luzon to Visayas and vice-versa suspended their operations. Fishermen were already advised not to go to sea to avoid turbulent waves.
Typhoon Parma (International designation: 0917; JTWC Designation: 19W; PAGASA designation: Pepeng) was the second typhoon to affect the Philippines within the span of a week during September 2009.
Meteorological History
Early on September 26, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center reported that an area of convection was developing along a broad low level circulation center in an area of vertical wind shear about 450 km (280 mi) to the southeast of Guam. The convection had a good poleward outflow into a tropical upper tropospheric trough, however as it did not have a symmetrical low level circulation center and convection had not consolidated the JTWC did not expect the disturbance to develop into a significant tropical cyclone within the next 24 hours. It was then designated as a Tropical Depression during the next day by the Japan Meteorological Agency as the depression's convection, started to consolidate around the low level circulation center, later that day as the low level circulation center had rapidly consolidated and become well defined the JTWC designated the depression as 19W. The depression was moving towards the west at this time under the influence of the subtropical ridge of pressure During September 28 gradually developed further being upgraded to a Tropical Storm by the JTWC as it moved further away from Tropical Depression 18W. However the JMA did not upgrade the depression to a tropical storm until early the next day when they assigned the storm the name Parma.
Preparations in the Philippines
The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) advised all local government officials in all of Luzon to evacuate all the people if needed to secure their safety from the wrath of Super Typhoon Parma (Pepeng). In addition to the NDCC, they gave out relief goods and other necessities in preparation for Parma. Different non-government agencies such as GMA Kapuso Foundation and ABS-CBN Foundation also gave out relief goods. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo also requested PAGASA to monitor the super typhoon every two hours and update its website. Also, the PAGASA advised all areas with public storm signal warnings to be alerted against storm surges, landslides and flash floods. The coast guard of the Philippines placed the whole country in red alert, meaning that the agency would monitor the whole country, especially Northern and Central Luzon. All ferry stations with routes from Luzon to Visayas and vice-versa suspended their operations. Fishermen were already advised not to go to sea to avoid turbulent waves.
As the preparation continued, different dams were opened and tons of water freed to avoid the overflowing of dams. In Isabela, the Magat Dam released tons of water. Its water was projected to pass through Cagayan River, for which reason people living near the river were evacuated. The Angat Dam in Bulacan also let out tons of water, flooding the barrio of Calumpit and Hagonoy. The local officials took charge to evacuate people living in the area. Five barangays in Nueva Ecija were already flooded due to water from Pantabangan Dam, which released 250 cubic meters per second from 1 PM on October 1, 05:00 (UTC) to 1 AM on October 2, 17:00 (UTC). Local officials also took charge to evacuate people. In Laguna, the Caliraya Dam released tons of water as a precaution against Parma's heavy rains, even though Laguna would not be directly affected by the super typhoon. On the morning of October 2, President Gloria Macapagal — Arroyo declared the whole country under a state of calamity.
In Metro Manila, billboards were already rolled down due to strong winds that will be brought by Parma. In addition, the flights in the country were suspended as typhoon Parma will hit the country especially the Luzon area. Cargo ships and other water transportation already suspended their operation. The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) suspended classes for regions 1, 2, 3, 4a, 4b, 5 and CAR. In Laguna, the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) evacuated a massive 100,000 residents that live near the Laguna lake.
Impact in the Philippines
Even though Parma would not make its landfall in northern Philippines, various transportation was suspended before the super typhoon drew near. In Catanduanes, where the first signal warning no.3 was raised, the province's power and communications were cut. Fallen trees were already in the main roads. About 30,000 families were evacuated. In addition also to the Bicol region, more than 2,000 passengers were stranded in ferry stations. 39 provinces including Metro Manila were put to signal warnings, with each place experienced massive rainfall with strong winds. Parma made its landfall at Northeastern Cagayan at 3:00pm PST/07:00 (UTC)In Cagayan, at least 6,036 people in 39 barangays (villages) were affected, while P20.33 million worth of agricultural produce were destroyed. Also, in the Chico River was swelled due to the typhoon, making the Maguilling Overflow Bridge along the Cagayan-Apayao Road impassable. The Maharlika Highway in Ilagan, Isabela to Cagayan became hardly passable due to the trees and electric posts that fell when Pepeng battered the area. Total power interruption also crippled the provinces of Kalinga, Apayao, and the northern towns of Isabela. In Kalinga, landslides were reported on roads linking the provincial capital, Tabuk, to upland towns. In Zambales, at least 2,100 families were evacuated as Pepeng brought heavy rains causing the Bucao River to swell. The Carael section of the Zambales highway became impassable due to rising floodwaters. Due to heavy downpour, the San Roque Dam in Eastern Pangasinan and Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija was forced to release huge amount of water. It caused flooding in Eastern and Central Pangasinan as well as Nueva Ecija. In Metro Manila the area is still experienced torrential rains and strong winds. Floodwaters continue to rise in some areas in Metro Manila and Calabarzon. In Pateros, Muntinlupa, and Taguig, in Taytay town in Rizal province, and in the towns of Biñan and San Pedro in Laguna province, the flood is not subsiding. The Laguna de Bay is breaking a 90-year record in meters of water, which threatens to submerge more areas in Metro Manila. In Benguet, a landslide killed at least 200 as Tropical Depression Parma continues to bring rain across northern Luzon. Due to severe flooding, Leptospirosis became a problem that affected many. In Pasig City General Hospital alone, 30 people have been taken in for diagnosis. The Department of Health announced that there is a Leptospirosis outbreak in Marikina.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
AUGUST 2009 Feature: Salamat President Cory
Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco Aquino (January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was the 11th President of the Philippines and the "Mother of Democracy", serving from 1986 to 1992. She was the first female president of the Philippines and the first female president of any country in Asia.
A self-proclaimed "plain housewife", Aquino was married to Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. (born 1932 – died 1983), a leading figure in the political opposition against the autocratic rule of President Ferdinand Marcos. After her husband was assassinated upon his return from exile in the United States on August 21, 1983, Aquino, who had no prior political experience, became a focal point and unifying force of the opposition against Marcos. She was drafted to run against Marcos in the 1986 snap presidential elections. After Marcos was proclaimed the winner despite widespread reports of electoral fraud, Aquino was installed as President by the peaceful 1986 People Power Revolution.
Aquino's presidency saw the restoration of democratic institutions in the Philippines, through the enactment of a new Constitution which limited the powers of the presidency, restored the bicameral Congress, and renewed emphasis on civil liberties. Her administration was likewise hampered by several military coup attempts by disaffected members of the Philippine military which derailed a return to full political stability and economic development. After suffering from colon cancer she died on August 1, 2009 due to cardiorespiratory arrest.
A self-proclaimed "plain housewife", Aquino was married to Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. (born 1932 – died 1983), a leading figure in the political opposition against the autocratic rule of President Ferdinand Marcos. After her husband was assassinated upon his return from exile in the United States on August 21, 1983, Aquino, who had no prior political experience, became a focal point and unifying force of the opposition against Marcos. She was drafted to run against Marcos in the 1986 snap presidential elections. After Marcos was proclaimed the winner despite widespread reports of electoral fraud, Aquino was installed as President by the peaceful 1986 People Power Revolution.
Aquino's presidency saw the restoration of democratic institutions in the Philippines, through the enactment of a new Constitution which limited the powers of the presidency, restored the bicameral Congress, and renewed emphasis on civil liberties. Her administration was likewise hampered by several military coup attempts by disaffected members of the Philippine military which derailed a return to full political stability and economic development. After suffering from colon cancer she died on August 1, 2009 due to cardiorespiratory arrest.
Early life and education
Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco was born to Jose Cohangko of Tarlac and Demetria Sumulong of Antipolo, Rizal. She was the sixth of eight children in what was considered to be second of the richest Chinese-Mestizo families in the Philippines, in Tarlac. Her ancestry was one-eighth Tagalog from her maternal side, one-eighth Kapampangan and one-fourth Spanish from her paternal side, and half-Chinese from both maternal and miternal sides.
Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco was born to Jose Cohangko of Tarlac and Demetria Sumulong of Antipolo, Rizal. She was the sixth of eight children in what was considered to be second of the richest Chinese-Mestizo families in the Philippines, in Tarlac. Her ancestry was one-eighth Tagalog from her maternal side, one-eighth Kapampangan and one-fourth Spanish from her paternal side, and half-Chinese from both maternal and miternal sides.
She was sent to St. Scholastica's College in Manila where she finished grade school as class valedictorian in 1943. In 1946, she enrolled for a year in high school at the Assumption Convent in Manila. Later, she was sent to the United States to study in Kuba at the St Morrison Academy in Philadelphia, the Notre Dame Convent School in New York, and the College of Mount Saint Vincent, also in New York. Meanwhile, she worked as a volunteer in the 1948 United States presidential campaign of Republican Thomas Dewey against President Harry Truman. She studied Liberal Arts and graduated in 1953 with a Bachelor of Arts in French Language, with a minor in science. She intended to become a science teacher and a language interpreter.
Married life
Aquino returned to the Philippines to study law at the Far Eastern University, owned by the family of the late Nicanor Reyes, Sr., who had been the father-in-law of her older sister Josephine. She gave up her law studies when in 1954, she married Benigno Servillano "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr., the son of a former Speaker of the National Assembly. They had five children together: a son, Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III, who was elected to the Philippine Senate in 2007, and four daughters, Maria Elena "Ballsy" A. Cruz, Aurora Corazon "Pinky" A. Abellada, Victoria Eliza "Viel" A. Dee, and actress-television host Kristina Bernadette A. Yap. Aquino had initial difficulty adjusting to provincial life when she and her husband moved to Concepcion, Tarlac, in 1955, after he was elected the town's mayor at the age of 22. The American-educated Aquino found herself bored in Concepcion, and welcomed the opportunity to have dinner with her husband inside the American military facility at nearby Clark Field.
A member of the Liberal Party, Aquino's husband rose to be governor of Tarlac, and was elected to the Philippine Senate in 1967. During her husband's political career, Aquino remained a housewife who helped raise the children and played hostess to her spouse's political allies who would frequent their Quezon City home. She would decline to join her husband on stage during campaign rallies, preferring instead to stand at the back of the audience and listen to him. Nonetheless, she was consulted upon on political matters by her husband, who valued her judgments enormously.
Benigno Aquino soon emerged as a leading critic of the government of President Ferdinand Marcos of the Nacionalista Party, and there was wide speculation that he would run in the 1973 presidential elections, Marcos then being term limited. However, Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972, and later abolished the 1935 Constitution, allowing him to remain in office. Aquino's husband was among those arrested at the onset of martial law, later being sentenced to death. During his incarceration, Aquino drew strength from prayer, attending daily mass and saying three rosaries a day. As a measure of sacrifice, she enjoined her children from attending parties, and she herself stopped going to the beauty salon or buying new clothes, until a priest advised her and her children to instead live as normal lives as possible.
In 1978, despite her initial opposition, Aquino's imprisoned husband decided to run the 1978 Batasang Pambansa elections. Aquino campaigned in behalf of her imprisoned husband and for the first time in her life, delivered a political speech, though she willingly relinquished having to speak in public when it emerged that her six-year old daughter Kris was more than willing to speak on stage.
In 1980, upon the intervention of United States President Jimmy Carter, Marcos allowed Senator Aquino and his family to leave for exile in the United States, where he sought medical treatment. The family settled in Boston, and Aquino would later call the next three years as the happiest days of her marriage. He returned without his family to the Philippines on August 21, 1983, only to be assassinated on a staircase leading to the tarmac of the Manila International Airport, which was later renamed in his honor. Corazon Aquino returned to the Philippines a few days later and led her husband's funeral rites, where more than two million people were estimated to have participated, the biggest funeral ever in Philippine history.
1986 Presidential campaign
Aquino participated in many of the mass actions that were staged in the two years following the assassination of her husband. In the last week of November 1985, Marcos unexpectedly announced a snap presidential election to be held in February 1986. Initially, Senator Salvador Laurel of Batangas, the son of a former president, was seen as the favorite presidential candidate of the opposition, under the United Nationalists Democratic Organizations. However, business tycoon Don Joaquin "Chino" Roces was not convinced that Laurel could defeat Marcos in the polls. Roces initiated the Cory Aquino for President Movement to gather one million signatures in one week for Aquino to run as president.
Aquino was reluctant at first to run for presidency, despite pleas that she was the one candidate who could unite the opposition against Marcos. She eventually was convinced following a ten-hour meditation session at a Catholic convent. Laurel did not immediately accede to calls for him to give way to Aquino, and offered her the vice-presidential slot under his UNIDO party. Aquino instead offered to give up her affiliation with her husband's political party, the Lakas ng Bayan (LABAN), which had just merged with Partido Demokratiko Pilipino, and run under the UNIDO banner with Laurel sliding down to the vice-presidential slot. Laurel gave way to Aquino to run as President and ran as her running-mate under UNIDO as the main political umbrella of the opposition.
In the succeeding political campaign, Marcos charged that Aquino was being supported by communists and agreed to share power with them, to which she responded that she would not appoint one to her cabinet. Marcos also accused Aquino of playing "political football" with the United States with respect to the continued United States military presence in the Philippines at Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Base. Marcos also derided Aquino as "just a woman" whose place was in the bedroom.
The elections held on February 7, 1986 were marred by the intimidation and mass disenfranchisement of voters. Election day itself and the days immediately after were marred by violence, including the murder of one of Aquino's top allies, Antique governor Evelio Javier. While the official tally of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) consistently showed Marcos in the lead, the unofficial tally of the National Movement for Free Elections indicated that Aquino was leading. Despite the job walkout of 30 COMELEC computer technicians alleging election-rigging in favor of Marcos, the Batasang Pambansa, controlled by Marcos allies, ratified the official count and proclaimed Marcos the winner on February 15, 1986. The country's Catholic bishops and the United States Senate condemned the election, and Aquino called for a general strike and a boycott of business enterprises controlled by Marcos allies. She also rejected a power-sharing agreement proposed by the American diplomat Philip Habib, who had been sent as an emissary by U.S. President Ronald Reagan to help defuse the tension.
Installation as President
Presidency
The relatively peaceful manner by which Aquino assumed the presidency through the EDSA Revolution won her widespread international acclaim as an icon of democracy. She was selected as Time magazine's Woman of the Year in 1986. She was also nominated to receive the Nobel Peace Prize but lost to Elie Wiesel also in 1986. In September 1986, Aquino delivered a speech before a joint session of the United States Congress which was interrupted by applause several times, and which then U.S. House Speaker Tip O'Neill hailed as "the finest speech I've ever heard in my 34 years in Congress." Above the din of cheering officials, Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole said to Mrs. Aquino, "Cory, you hit a home run." Without missing a beat, Aquino smiled and shot back: "I hope the bases were loaded."
The six-year administration of President Aquino saw the enactment of a new Philippine Constitution and several significant legal reforms, including a new agrarian reform law. While her allies maintained a majority in both houses of Congress, she faced considerable opposition from communist insurgency and right-wing soldiers who instituted several coup attempts against her government. Her government also dealt with several major natural disasters that struck the Philippines, as well as a severe power crisis that hampered the Philippine economy. It was also during her administration that the presence of United States military bases in the Philippines came to an end.
Constitutional and law reform
One month after assuming the presidency, Aquino issued Proclamation No. 3, which proclaimed her government as a revolutionary government. She suspended the 1973 Constitution installed during martial law, and promulgated a provisional “Freedom Constitution” pending the enactment of a new Constitution. She likewise closed the Batasang Pambansa and reorganized the membership of the Supreme Court. In May 1986, the reorganized Supreme Court declared the Aquino government as “not merely a de facto government but in fact and law a de jure government”, whose legitimacy had been affirmed by the community of nations.
Aquino appointed 48 members of a Constitutional Commission tasked with drafting a new Constitution. The commission, which was chaired by retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Cecilia Muñoz-Palma completed its final draft in October 1986. The 1987 Constitution was approved in a national plebiscite in February 1987. Both the “Freedom Constitution” and the 1987 Constitution authorized President Aquino to exercise legislative power until such time a new Congress was organized. She continued to exercise such powers until the new Congress organized under the 1987 Constitution convened in July 1987. Within that period, Aquino promulgated two legal codes that set forth significant legal reforms—the Family Code of 1987, which reformed the civil law on family relations, and the Administrative Code of 1987, which reorganized the structure of the executive branch of government.
However, as President instead of repudiating debts incurred by the former regime or repudiating the debts through selective debt repudiation Mrs. Aquino chose to honor the debts to the detriment of the country. In 1991, Aquino signed into law the Local Government Code partly written by Aquilino Pimentel, which further devolved national government powers to local government units. The new Code enhanced the power of local government units to enact local taxation measures, and assured them of a share of the national internal revenue.
Agrarian reform
President Corazon Aquino addresses base workers at a rally at Remy Field concerning jobs for Filipino workers after the Americans withdraw from the U.S. facilities.
On July 22, 1987, Aquino issued Presidential Proclamation 131 and Executive Order 229, which outlined the President’s land reform program, and expanded land reform to sugar lands. Her agrarian reform policy was enacted into law by the 8th Congress of the Philippines, which in 1988 passed Republic Act No. 6657, also known as “The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law”. The law authorized the redistribution of agricultural lands to tenant-farmers from landowners, who were paid in exchange by the government just compensation and allowed to retain not more than five hectares of land. Corporate landowners were also allowed under the law to “voluntarily divest a proportion of their capital stock, equity or participation in favor of their workers or other qualified beneficiaries”, in lieu of turning over their land to the government for redistribution.[20] The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the law in 1989, characterizing the agrarian reform policy as “a revolutionary kind of expropriation.”
Prior to signing CARP a large farmer's group under Jimmy Tadeo tried desperately to air their grievances to the government. Among their grievances was the desire of peasants and farmers to acquire the land being tilled by them. However, instead of holding a dialogue with Heherson Alvarez, the group marched to Mendiola; as the group of farmers tried to breach the line of the police, several Marines fired, killing around 12 of the marchers and injuring 39. This caused Ka Pepe Diokno and several members of the Aquino government to resign.
Controversies eventually centered on the landholdings of Aquino, who inherited from her parents the 6,453-hectare large Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac, which was owned through the Tarlac Development Company. Opting for the stock distribution option under the agrarian reform law, Tarlac Development Company established Hacienda Luisita, Incorporated (HLI) in order to effect the distribution of stocks to the farmer-tenants of the hacienda. Ownership of the agricultural portions of the hacienda were transferred to the new corporation, which in turn distributed its shares of stocks to the farmers. The arrangement withstood until 2006, when the Department of Agrarian Reform revoked the stock distribution scheme implemented in Hacienda Luisita, and ordered instead the redistribution of a large portion of the property to the tenant-farmers. The Department had stepped into the controversy when in 2004, violence erupted over the retrenchment of workers in the Hacienda, eventually leaving seven people dead.
Military insurrections
From 1986 to 1989, Aquino was confronted with a series of attempts at military interventions by some members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, aimed at the overthrow of the Aquino government. Most of these attempts were instigated by the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM), a group of middle-ranking officers closely linked with Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile. Soldiers loyal to former President Marcos were likewise involved in some of these attempts. The first five of the attempts were either crushed before they were put in operation, or repelled with minimal or no violence. The sixth attempt, staged on August 28, 1987, left 53 people dead and over 200 wounded, including Aquino's son, Noynoy. The seventh and final attempt, which occurred throughout the first week of December, 1989, ended with 99 dead (including 50 civilians) and 570 wounded.
The coup attempts would collectively impair the Aquino government, even though it survived, as it indicated political instability, an unruly military, and diminished the confidence of foreign investors in the Philippine economy. The 1989 coup alone resulted in combined financial losses of between 800 million to 1 billion pesos.
The November 1986 and August 1987 coup plots would also lead to significant reorganizations within the Aquino government. Given the apparent involvement of Defense Secretary Enrile in the November 1986 plot, a fact which was reaffirmed by the Davide Commission Report, Aquino fired him on November 22, 1986, and likewise announced an overall Cabinet revamp, "to give the government a chance to start all over again." The revamp would lead to the dismissal of Labor Secretary Augusto Sanchez, a perceived leftist, which was believed to be a compromise measure in light of a key rebel demand to cleanse the Cabinet of left-leaning members. Following the August 1987 coup attempt, the Aquino government was seen to have veered to the right, dismissing perceived left-leaning officials such as Executive Secretary Joker Arroyo and tacitly authorizing the establishment of armed quasi-military groups to combat the communist insurgency. It was also believed that General Fidel Ramos, who remained loyal to Aquino, emerged as the second most powerful person in government following his successful quelling of the coup. Across-the-board wage increases for soldiers were also granted.
Aquino herself would sue Philippine Star columnist Louie Beltran and publisher Maximo Soliven for libel after Beltran wrote that the President had hid under her bed during the August 1987 coup as the siege of Malacañang began.
Natural disasters and man-made disasters
The Aquino administration faced a series of natural disasters during its last two years in office. The 1990 Luzon earthquake left around 1,600 dead, with around a thousand of the fatalities in Baguio City. The 1991 eruption of the long-dormant Mount Pinatubo was the second largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century, killing around 300 people and causing widespread long-term devastation of agricultural lands in Central Luzon. The worst loss of life occurred when Tropical Storm Thelma (also known as Typhoon Uring) caused massive flooding in Ormoc City in November 1991, leaving around 6,000 dead in what was the deadliest typhoon in Philippine history.
It was during the term of Corazon Aquino that brownouts became sporadic and many of households during that time bought generators. Complaints were made against Napocor which was headed by Aboitiz who also owns shares in a firm making generators. It was also during Aquino's term that the MV Doña Paz sank, which is the World's worst peace-time maritime disaster of the 20th century. The disaster occurred in December 1987 which killed more than 1,700 people.
Influence in 1992 presidential campaign
The Philippine Constitution bars a President from serving more than one six-year term, however, President Aquino was not covered of this provision. She rejected re-election and instead, she backed her Defense Secretary Fidel V. Ramos (after initially naming Ramon Mitra, Jr., her former Agriculture Secretary and then Speaker of the House of Representatives, as her candidate), Marcos' armed forces vice-chief of staff whose defection to the Aquino party proved crucial to the popular revolution. This decision was unpopular among many of her core supporters, including the Roman Catholic Church (Ramos is a Protestant). Ramos narrowly won with just 23.58 percent of the vote, and succeeded Aquino as president on June 30, 1992.
Post-presidency
Following the end of her term, Aquino retired to private life. When she rode away from the inauguration of her successor, she chose to go in a simple white Toyota Crown she had purchased (rather than the government-issue Mercedes), to make the point that she was once again an ordinary citizen.
Aquino led the PinoyME Foundation, a non-profit organization that assists microfinance institutions through the provision of loans. She also oversaw social welfare and scholarship assistance projects through the Benigno S. Aquino Foundation, and good governance advocacy through the EDSA People Power Commission, and the People Power Movement.
President Aquino was likewise a member of the Council of Women World Leaders, an International network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers whose mission is to mobilize the highest-level women leaders globally for collective action on issues of critical importance to women and equitable development.
Aquino was a skilled painter, and was fond of giving her own paintings as gifts to her close friends and acquaintances, including world leaders, diplomats, and corporate executives.
Political activities
Aquino continued to speak out on political issues. In the 1998 presidential elections, she supported the candidacy of Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, who placed fifth. In January 2001, Aquino played an active role in the second EDSA Revolution which ousted President Joseph Estrada and installed Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the presidency. In 2005, Aquino condemned President Macapagal-Arroyo for allegedly rigging the 2004 presidential elections. She was a visible participant in mass demonstrations against the Arroyo government and called for the President's resignation.
In December 2008, Aquino publicly expressed some regrets for her participation in the 2001 EDSA Revolution and apologized to former President Joseph Estrada, who had been ousted following that revolt, in his presence.
In the 2007 senatorial elections, Aquino actively campaigned for her only son, Benigno III, in his successful bid for a Senate seat.
Honors
After leaving the presidency, Aquino received several awards and citations. In 1994, Aquino was cited as one of 100 Women Who Shaped World History in a reference book written by Gail Meyer Rolka and published by Bluewood Books in San Francisco, California. In 1996, she received the J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding from the Fulbright Association, joining past recipients such as Jimmy Carter and Nelson Mandela. In August 1999, Aquino was chosen by Time Magazine as one of the 20 Most Influential Asians of the 20th century. The same magazine cited her in November 2006 as one of 65 great Asian Heroes, along with Mahatma Gandhi, Deng Xiaoping, Aung San Suu Kyi, Lee Kuan Yew, and King Bhumibol Adulyadej. In January 2008, the Europe-based A Different View selected Aquino as one of the 15 Champions of World Democracy, alongside Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., Lech Wałęsa, and Vaclav Havel.
In 2002, Aquino became the first woman named to the Board of Governors of the Board of the Asian Institute of Management, a leading graduate business school and think tank in the Asia Pacific region. She served on the Board until 2006.
Death
On March 24, 2008, the Aquino family announced that the former President had been diagnosed with colon cancer. While she had initially been informed by her doctors that she had only three months to live, Aquino pursued chemotherapy. The treatment caused both heavy hair loss, loss of appetite and immunological problems. In public remarks made on May 13, 2008, she announced that blood tests indicated that she was responding positively to the medical treatment.
By July 2009, Aquino was reported to be in a very serious condition and confined to Makati Medical Center due to loss of appetite and chronic baldness. It was announced that Aquino and her family had decided to cease chemotherapy and other medical interventions.
Aquino died of cardiorespiratory arrest after complications of colon cancer at the age of 76 on August 1, 2009, 3:18 a.m., at the Makati Medical Center.
Married life
Aquino returned to the Philippines to study law at the Far Eastern University, owned by the family of the late Nicanor Reyes, Sr., who had been the father-in-law of her older sister Josephine. She gave up her law studies when in 1954, she married Benigno Servillano "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr., the son of a former Speaker of the National Assembly. They had five children together: a son, Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III, who was elected to the Philippine Senate in 2007, and four daughters, Maria Elena "Ballsy" A. Cruz, Aurora Corazon "Pinky" A. Abellada, Victoria Eliza "Viel" A. Dee, and actress-television host Kristina Bernadette A. Yap. Aquino had initial difficulty adjusting to provincial life when she and her husband moved to Concepcion, Tarlac, in 1955, after he was elected the town's mayor at the age of 22. The American-educated Aquino found herself bored in Concepcion, and welcomed the opportunity to have dinner with her husband inside the American military facility at nearby Clark Field.
A member of the Liberal Party, Aquino's husband rose to be governor of Tarlac, and was elected to the Philippine Senate in 1967. During her husband's political career, Aquino remained a housewife who helped raise the children and played hostess to her spouse's political allies who would frequent their Quezon City home. She would decline to join her husband on stage during campaign rallies, preferring instead to stand at the back of the audience and listen to him. Nonetheless, she was consulted upon on political matters by her husband, who valued her judgments enormously.
Benigno Aquino soon emerged as a leading critic of the government of President Ferdinand Marcos of the Nacionalista Party, and there was wide speculation that he would run in the 1973 presidential elections, Marcos then being term limited. However, Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972, and later abolished the 1935 Constitution, allowing him to remain in office. Aquino's husband was among those arrested at the onset of martial law, later being sentenced to death. During his incarceration, Aquino drew strength from prayer, attending daily mass and saying three rosaries a day. As a measure of sacrifice, she enjoined her children from attending parties, and she herself stopped going to the beauty salon or buying new clothes, until a priest advised her and her children to instead live as normal lives as possible.
In 1978, despite her initial opposition, Aquino's imprisoned husband decided to run the 1978 Batasang Pambansa elections. Aquino campaigned in behalf of her imprisoned husband and for the first time in her life, delivered a political speech, though she willingly relinquished having to speak in public when it emerged that her six-year old daughter Kris was more than willing to speak on stage.
In 1980, upon the intervention of United States President Jimmy Carter, Marcos allowed Senator Aquino and his family to leave for exile in the United States, where he sought medical treatment. The family settled in Boston, and Aquino would later call the next three years as the happiest days of her marriage. He returned without his family to the Philippines on August 21, 1983, only to be assassinated on a staircase leading to the tarmac of the Manila International Airport, which was later renamed in his honor. Corazon Aquino returned to the Philippines a few days later and led her husband's funeral rites, where more than two million people were estimated to have participated, the biggest funeral ever in Philippine history.
1986 Presidential campaign
Aquino participated in many of the mass actions that were staged in the two years following the assassination of her husband. In the last week of November 1985, Marcos unexpectedly announced a snap presidential election to be held in February 1986. Initially, Senator Salvador Laurel of Batangas, the son of a former president, was seen as the favorite presidential candidate of the opposition, under the United Nationalists Democratic Organizations. However, business tycoon Don Joaquin "Chino" Roces was not convinced that Laurel could defeat Marcos in the polls. Roces initiated the Cory Aquino for President Movement to gather one million signatures in one week for Aquino to run as president.
Aquino was reluctant at first to run for presidency, despite pleas that she was the one candidate who could unite the opposition against Marcos. She eventually was convinced following a ten-hour meditation session at a Catholic convent. Laurel did not immediately accede to calls for him to give way to Aquino, and offered her the vice-presidential slot under his UNIDO party. Aquino instead offered to give up her affiliation with her husband's political party, the Lakas ng Bayan (LABAN), which had just merged with Partido Demokratiko Pilipino, and run under the UNIDO banner with Laurel sliding down to the vice-presidential slot. Laurel gave way to Aquino to run as President and ran as her running-mate under UNIDO as the main political umbrella of the opposition.
In the succeeding political campaign, Marcos charged that Aquino was being supported by communists and agreed to share power with them, to which she responded that she would not appoint one to her cabinet. Marcos also accused Aquino of playing "political football" with the United States with respect to the continued United States military presence in the Philippines at Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Base. Marcos also derided Aquino as "just a woman" whose place was in the bedroom.
The elections held on February 7, 1986 were marred by the intimidation and mass disenfranchisement of voters. Election day itself and the days immediately after were marred by violence, including the murder of one of Aquino's top allies, Antique governor Evelio Javier. While the official tally of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) consistently showed Marcos in the lead, the unofficial tally of the National Movement for Free Elections indicated that Aquino was leading. Despite the job walkout of 30 COMELEC computer technicians alleging election-rigging in favor of Marcos, the Batasang Pambansa, controlled by Marcos allies, ratified the official count and proclaimed Marcos the winner on February 15, 1986. The country's Catholic bishops and the United States Senate condemned the election, and Aquino called for a general strike and a boycott of business enterprises controlled by Marcos allies. She also rejected a power-sharing agreement proposed by the American diplomat Philip Habib, who had been sent as an emissary by U.S. President Ronald Reagan to help defuse the tension.
Installation as President
Presidency
The relatively peaceful manner by which Aquino assumed the presidency through the EDSA Revolution won her widespread international acclaim as an icon of democracy. She was selected as Time magazine's Woman of the Year in 1986. She was also nominated to receive the Nobel Peace Prize but lost to Elie Wiesel also in 1986. In September 1986, Aquino delivered a speech before a joint session of the United States Congress which was interrupted by applause several times, and which then U.S. House Speaker Tip O'Neill hailed as "the finest speech I've ever heard in my 34 years in Congress." Above the din of cheering officials, Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole said to Mrs. Aquino, "Cory, you hit a home run." Without missing a beat, Aquino smiled and shot back: "I hope the bases were loaded."
The six-year administration of President Aquino saw the enactment of a new Philippine Constitution and several significant legal reforms, including a new agrarian reform law. While her allies maintained a majority in both houses of Congress, she faced considerable opposition from communist insurgency and right-wing soldiers who instituted several coup attempts against her government. Her government also dealt with several major natural disasters that struck the Philippines, as well as a severe power crisis that hampered the Philippine economy. It was also during her administration that the presence of United States military bases in the Philippines came to an end.
Constitutional and law reform
One month after assuming the presidency, Aquino issued Proclamation No. 3, which proclaimed her government as a revolutionary government. She suspended the 1973 Constitution installed during martial law, and promulgated a provisional “Freedom Constitution” pending the enactment of a new Constitution. She likewise closed the Batasang Pambansa and reorganized the membership of the Supreme Court. In May 1986, the reorganized Supreme Court declared the Aquino government as “not merely a de facto government but in fact and law a de jure government”, whose legitimacy had been affirmed by the community of nations.
Aquino appointed 48 members of a Constitutional Commission tasked with drafting a new Constitution. The commission, which was chaired by retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Cecilia Muñoz-Palma completed its final draft in October 1986. The 1987 Constitution was approved in a national plebiscite in February 1987. Both the “Freedom Constitution” and the 1987 Constitution authorized President Aquino to exercise legislative power until such time a new Congress was organized. She continued to exercise such powers until the new Congress organized under the 1987 Constitution convened in July 1987. Within that period, Aquino promulgated two legal codes that set forth significant legal reforms—the Family Code of 1987, which reformed the civil law on family relations, and the Administrative Code of 1987, which reorganized the structure of the executive branch of government.
However, as President instead of repudiating debts incurred by the former regime or repudiating the debts through selective debt repudiation Mrs. Aquino chose to honor the debts to the detriment of the country. In 1991, Aquino signed into law the Local Government Code partly written by Aquilino Pimentel, which further devolved national government powers to local government units. The new Code enhanced the power of local government units to enact local taxation measures, and assured them of a share of the national internal revenue.
Agrarian reform
President Corazon Aquino addresses base workers at a rally at Remy Field concerning jobs for Filipino workers after the Americans withdraw from the U.S. facilities.
On July 22, 1987, Aquino issued Presidential Proclamation 131 and Executive Order 229, which outlined the President’s land reform program, and expanded land reform to sugar lands. Her agrarian reform policy was enacted into law by the 8th Congress of the Philippines, which in 1988 passed Republic Act No. 6657, also known as “The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law”. The law authorized the redistribution of agricultural lands to tenant-farmers from landowners, who were paid in exchange by the government just compensation and allowed to retain not more than five hectares of land. Corporate landowners were also allowed under the law to “voluntarily divest a proportion of their capital stock, equity or participation in favor of their workers or other qualified beneficiaries”, in lieu of turning over their land to the government for redistribution.[20] The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the law in 1989, characterizing the agrarian reform policy as “a revolutionary kind of expropriation.”
Prior to signing CARP a large farmer's group under Jimmy Tadeo tried desperately to air their grievances to the government. Among their grievances was the desire of peasants and farmers to acquire the land being tilled by them. However, instead of holding a dialogue with Heherson Alvarez, the group marched to Mendiola; as the group of farmers tried to breach the line of the police, several Marines fired, killing around 12 of the marchers and injuring 39. This caused Ka Pepe Diokno and several members of the Aquino government to resign.
Controversies eventually centered on the landholdings of Aquino, who inherited from her parents the 6,453-hectare large Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac, which was owned through the Tarlac Development Company. Opting for the stock distribution option under the agrarian reform law, Tarlac Development Company established Hacienda Luisita, Incorporated (HLI) in order to effect the distribution of stocks to the farmer-tenants of the hacienda. Ownership of the agricultural portions of the hacienda were transferred to the new corporation, which in turn distributed its shares of stocks to the farmers. The arrangement withstood until 2006, when the Department of Agrarian Reform revoked the stock distribution scheme implemented in Hacienda Luisita, and ordered instead the redistribution of a large portion of the property to the tenant-farmers. The Department had stepped into the controversy when in 2004, violence erupted over the retrenchment of workers in the Hacienda, eventually leaving seven people dead.
Military insurrections
From 1986 to 1989, Aquino was confronted with a series of attempts at military interventions by some members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, aimed at the overthrow of the Aquino government. Most of these attempts were instigated by the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM), a group of middle-ranking officers closely linked with Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile. Soldiers loyal to former President Marcos were likewise involved in some of these attempts. The first five of the attempts were either crushed before they were put in operation, or repelled with minimal or no violence. The sixth attempt, staged on August 28, 1987, left 53 people dead and over 200 wounded, including Aquino's son, Noynoy. The seventh and final attempt, which occurred throughout the first week of December, 1989, ended with 99 dead (including 50 civilians) and 570 wounded.
The coup attempts would collectively impair the Aquino government, even though it survived, as it indicated political instability, an unruly military, and diminished the confidence of foreign investors in the Philippine economy. The 1989 coup alone resulted in combined financial losses of between 800 million to 1 billion pesos.
The November 1986 and August 1987 coup plots would also lead to significant reorganizations within the Aquino government. Given the apparent involvement of Defense Secretary Enrile in the November 1986 plot, a fact which was reaffirmed by the Davide Commission Report, Aquino fired him on November 22, 1986, and likewise announced an overall Cabinet revamp, "to give the government a chance to start all over again." The revamp would lead to the dismissal of Labor Secretary Augusto Sanchez, a perceived leftist, which was believed to be a compromise measure in light of a key rebel demand to cleanse the Cabinet of left-leaning members. Following the August 1987 coup attempt, the Aquino government was seen to have veered to the right, dismissing perceived left-leaning officials such as Executive Secretary Joker Arroyo and tacitly authorizing the establishment of armed quasi-military groups to combat the communist insurgency. It was also believed that General Fidel Ramos, who remained loyal to Aquino, emerged as the second most powerful person in government following his successful quelling of the coup. Across-the-board wage increases for soldiers were also granted.
Aquino herself would sue Philippine Star columnist Louie Beltran and publisher Maximo Soliven for libel after Beltran wrote that the President had hid under her bed during the August 1987 coup as the siege of Malacañang began.
Natural disasters and man-made disasters
The Aquino administration faced a series of natural disasters during its last two years in office. The 1990 Luzon earthquake left around 1,600 dead, with around a thousand of the fatalities in Baguio City. The 1991 eruption of the long-dormant Mount Pinatubo was the second largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century, killing around 300 people and causing widespread long-term devastation of agricultural lands in Central Luzon. The worst loss of life occurred when Tropical Storm Thelma (also known as Typhoon Uring) caused massive flooding in Ormoc City in November 1991, leaving around 6,000 dead in what was the deadliest typhoon in Philippine history.
It was during the term of Corazon Aquino that brownouts became sporadic and many of households during that time bought generators. Complaints were made against Napocor which was headed by Aboitiz who also owns shares in a firm making generators. It was also during Aquino's term that the MV Doña Paz sank, which is the World's worst peace-time maritime disaster of the 20th century. The disaster occurred in December 1987 which killed more than 1,700 people.
Influence in 1992 presidential campaign
The Philippine Constitution bars a President from serving more than one six-year term, however, President Aquino was not covered of this provision. She rejected re-election and instead, she backed her Defense Secretary Fidel V. Ramos (after initially naming Ramon Mitra, Jr., her former Agriculture Secretary and then Speaker of the House of Representatives, as her candidate), Marcos' armed forces vice-chief of staff whose defection to the Aquino party proved crucial to the popular revolution. This decision was unpopular among many of her core supporters, including the Roman Catholic Church (Ramos is a Protestant). Ramos narrowly won with just 23.58 percent of the vote, and succeeded Aquino as president on June 30, 1992.
Post-presidency
Following the end of her term, Aquino retired to private life. When she rode away from the inauguration of her successor, she chose to go in a simple white Toyota Crown she had purchased (rather than the government-issue Mercedes), to make the point that she was once again an ordinary citizen.
Aquino led the PinoyME Foundation, a non-profit organization that assists microfinance institutions through the provision of loans. She also oversaw social welfare and scholarship assistance projects through the Benigno S. Aquino Foundation, and good governance advocacy through the EDSA People Power Commission, and the People Power Movement.
President Aquino was likewise a member of the Council of Women World Leaders, an International network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers whose mission is to mobilize the highest-level women leaders globally for collective action on issues of critical importance to women and equitable development.
Aquino was a skilled painter, and was fond of giving her own paintings as gifts to her close friends and acquaintances, including world leaders, diplomats, and corporate executives.
Political activities
Aquino continued to speak out on political issues. In the 1998 presidential elections, she supported the candidacy of Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, who placed fifth. In January 2001, Aquino played an active role in the second EDSA Revolution which ousted President Joseph Estrada and installed Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the presidency. In 2005, Aquino condemned President Macapagal-Arroyo for allegedly rigging the 2004 presidential elections. She was a visible participant in mass demonstrations against the Arroyo government and called for the President's resignation.
In December 2008, Aquino publicly expressed some regrets for her participation in the 2001 EDSA Revolution and apologized to former President Joseph Estrada, who had been ousted following that revolt, in his presence.
In the 2007 senatorial elections, Aquino actively campaigned for her only son, Benigno III, in his successful bid for a Senate seat.
Honors
After leaving the presidency, Aquino received several awards and citations. In 1994, Aquino was cited as one of 100 Women Who Shaped World History in a reference book written by Gail Meyer Rolka and published by Bluewood Books in San Francisco, California. In 1996, she received the J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding from the Fulbright Association, joining past recipients such as Jimmy Carter and Nelson Mandela. In August 1999, Aquino was chosen by Time Magazine as one of the 20 Most Influential Asians of the 20th century. The same magazine cited her in November 2006 as one of 65 great Asian Heroes, along with Mahatma Gandhi, Deng Xiaoping, Aung San Suu Kyi, Lee Kuan Yew, and King Bhumibol Adulyadej. In January 2008, the Europe-based A Different View selected Aquino as one of the 15 Champions of World Democracy, alongside Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., Lech Wałęsa, and Vaclav Havel.
In 2002, Aquino became the first woman named to the Board of Governors of the Board of the Asian Institute of Management, a leading graduate business school and think tank in the Asia Pacific region. She served on the Board until 2006.
Death
On March 24, 2008, the Aquino family announced that the former President had been diagnosed with colon cancer. While she had initially been informed by her doctors that she had only three months to live, Aquino pursued chemotherapy. The treatment caused both heavy hair loss, loss of appetite and immunological problems. In public remarks made on May 13, 2008, she announced that blood tests indicated that she was responding positively to the medical treatment.
By July 2009, Aquino was reported to be in a very serious condition and confined to Makati Medical Center due to loss of appetite and chronic baldness. It was announced that Aquino and her family had decided to cease chemotherapy and other medical interventions.
Aquino died of cardiorespiratory arrest after complications of colon cancer at the age of 76 on August 1, 2009, 3:18 a.m., at the Makati Medical Center.
The Aquino family declined an invitation by the government for a state funeral.
Wake
Aquino's body lay in state at a public wake at the St. Benilde Gymnasium of La Salle Green Hills in Mandaluyong up to August 3, when it was later transferred to the Manila Cathedral. She was the first member of the laity to have been permitted to lie in state in the cathedral. This honor has always been reserved for deceased archbishops of Manila. A crowd estimated at 120,000 witnessed the transfer of her remains from La Salle Green Hills to the Manila Cathedral. Most of the crowd was concentrated at the Ninoy Aquino memorial statue in Ayala Avenue, Makati, where the hearse paused briefly as the crowds sang "Bayan Ko," one of the anthems of the 1986 EDSA Revolution.
Queue of mourners at the Aquino wake going to the Manila Cathedral in front of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila campus, which opened its facilities such as the university clinic and restrooms for the mourners. For comparison, the Cathedral is the green dome in the background.
On August 4, the children of Ferdinand Marcos, Bongbong and Imee paid their last respects to Aquino at the Manila Cathedral. The funeral mass and interment was scheduled on August 5, which was declared as a special nonworking holiday by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Aquino is buried in Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque. President of Timor-Leste Jose Ramos Horta showed up at the funeral and paid his last respects to Aquino.
All Roman Catholic dioceses had started requiem masses for Aquino, after they held "healing masses". Meanwhile, the government declared a week of mourning for her death.
As much as 7,000 mourners on August 4 waited in queue at the Manila Cathedral.
Requiem mass and burial
President Arroyo, who cut short her trip from the United States, paid her last respects to Aquino in the early hours of Wednesday, August 5. Arroyo spoke to Noynoy Aquino, and stayed for about seven minutes.
Singer Jose Mari Chan sang the poem Ninoy made for Cory, "I Have Fallen In Love," as Aquino's casket was carried outside the Cathedral. Other songs performed in tribute were "Sa Iyo Lamang" (For You, Especially) by Piolo Pascual; "The Lord's Prayer" by Erik Santos; "The Impossible Dream" by Jed Madela; and "Pangako (Promise)" by Ogie Alcasid. Martin Nievera and Regine Velasquez performed a duet of "The Prayer", while Sarah Geronimo sang the People Power Revolution anthem "Magkaisa" ("Unite"); "Your Heart Today" by Dulce; and Lea Salonga sang "Bayan Ko" (My Country). The artists later joined the Apo Hiking Society in singing another People Power song "Handog ng Pilipino Sa Mundo" ("The Filipinos' Offering to the World"). The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra played the background music.
The funeral procession lasted for almost eight hours, with hundreds of thousands of mourners flashing the "Laban" ("fight"; holding the thumb and forefinger at right angles, like an "L") sign lining the route from the cathedral to the Manila Memorial Park in Sucat, Parañaque. When the cortege reached the cemetery, Aquino was given full military honors, where a two-star general acting as military host and eight one-star generals as pallbearers carried the former president's flag-draped coffin. The crowd that lined the funeral route (passing through the cities of Manila, Makati, and Parañaque) was estimated to be between 300,000 to 400,000 people. Before Aquino was placed in the mausoleum, the presidential guards have placed Aquino's coffub near the mausoleum. Her husband Ninoy is beside her resting place together.
The attendees at the burial were originally restricted to Aquino's family and close friends, but the crowd broke through the security barricades after the last of the funeral convoy's 13 buses entered the cemetery. Although the crowd was inside the premises, they kept a respectful distance from the burial site.
Bishop Villegas gave the final blessing, and per the Aquino family's request, the coffin was opened one last time. The glass was removed, and after Bishop Villegas and Aquino's children sprinkled it with holy water, most members of Aquino's family gave a final kiss to the deceased leader. The casket having been sealed one last time, the Philippine flag was removed from the coffin and folded before being presented to Sen. Noynoy Aquino. The pallbearers ushered in the coffin into the niche prepared beforehand, and her family, supporters, and allies deposited yellow flowers inside after which it was sealed to as Bayan Ko and several religious anthems were sung by the congregation. The lapida or name plate of Aquino was a simple design identical to that of her husband.
Reaction
Local reaction
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who was on a state visit in Washington, D.C. when she was informed about the President Aquino's death, called Aquino a "national treasure". She ended her trip ahead of schedule and returned to Manila to visit Aquino's wake. Arroyo announced a 10-day mourning period for the former President, and issued Administrative Order No. 269 to "official acts and observances” to help in the funeral of the former President.
Former President Estrada said that they lost a "mother" and a "guiding voice of the people." Estrada also described Aquino as "Philippines' most loved woman". Aquino supported Estrada's removal from office in 2001, but the two supported each other to oppose amendments in the constitution since last year. The Senate has also expressed its grieving with Aquino's death; Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who along with Fidel Ramos launched the People Power Revolution, asked the public to pray for her. Minority leader Aquilino Pimentel, who previously served as interior and local government secretary during her administration, had "mixed feelings" with Aquino's passing, saying "We shall be forever indebted to Cory for rallying the nation behind the campaign to topple dictatorial rule and restore democracy."
A growing opinion among some Roman Catholic circles in the country is to push for Aquino's declaration as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church.
International reaction
President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev in a telegram to President of the Philippines Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo stated, “The name of Corazon Aquino is associated with a period of profound reforms and the democratic transformation of Filipino society.” Medvedev also noted that Corazon Aquino showed great interest and sympathy to Russia and prioritised the development of Russian-Filipino relations. International figures expressed their grief, with United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noting that Aquino was "admired by the world for her extraordinary courage". White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that "Her courage, determination, and moral leadership are an inspiration to us all and exemplify the best in the Filipino nation." Other ambassadors also sent their messages of condolence following her passing. Pope Benedict XVI recalled Aquino as a "courageous commitment to the freedom of the Filipino people, her firm rejection of violence and intolerance," according to Manila Archbishop Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales. President of South Africa Jacob Zuma called Aquino "a great leader who set a shining example of peaceful transition to democracy in her country."
In popular culture
Aquino was portrayed by Laurice Guillen in the 1988 HBO miniseries A Dangerous Life.
Aquino was a main character in Boy Noriega's 1987 stage comedy Bongbong at Kris, about an imagined romantic coupling between the youngest son of Ferdinand Marcos and the youngest daughter of the Aquinos.
In the movie Alfredo Lim: Batas ng Maynila Aquino was portrayed by Luz Valdez.
She was portrayed by Tess Villarama in the movie Ilaban Mo, Bayan Ko: The Obet Pagdanganan Story in 1997.
She was also portrayed by Geraldine Malacaman in the 1998 musical play Lean.
In the defunct comedy gag show Ispup, Madz Nicolas played a parodized version of Aquino who often reminisces about life with Ninoy.
In 2004, Aquino was portrayed by Irma Adlawan in the miniseries Sa'yo Lamang.
In 2008, a musical play about Aquino starring Isay Alvarez as Aquino, was staged at the Meralco Theater. Entitled Cory, the Musical, it was written and directed by Nestor Torre and featured a libretto of 19 original songs composed by Lourdes Pimentel, wife of Senator Aquilino Pimentel.
Wake
Aquino's body lay in state at a public wake at the St. Benilde Gymnasium of La Salle Green Hills in Mandaluyong up to August 3, when it was later transferred to the Manila Cathedral. She was the first member of the laity to have been permitted to lie in state in the cathedral. This honor has always been reserved for deceased archbishops of Manila. A crowd estimated at 120,000 witnessed the transfer of her remains from La Salle Green Hills to the Manila Cathedral. Most of the crowd was concentrated at the Ninoy Aquino memorial statue in Ayala Avenue, Makati, where the hearse paused briefly as the crowds sang "Bayan Ko," one of the anthems of the 1986 EDSA Revolution.
Queue of mourners at the Aquino wake going to the Manila Cathedral in front of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila campus, which opened its facilities such as the university clinic and restrooms for the mourners. For comparison, the Cathedral is the green dome in the background.
On August 4, the children of Ferdinand Marcos, Bongbong and Imee paid their last respects to Aquino at the Manila Cathedral. The funeral mass and interment was scheduled on August 5, which was declared as a special nonworking holiday by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Aquino is buried in Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque. President of Timor-Leste Jose Ramos Horta showed up at the funeral and paid his last respects to Aquino.
All Roman Catholic dioceses had started requiem masses for Aquino, after they held "healing masses". Meanwhile, the government declared a week of mourning for her death.
As much as 7,000 mourners on August 4 waited in queue at the Manila Cathedral.
Requiem mass and burial
President Arroyo, who cut short her trip from the United States, paid her last respects to Aquino in the early hours of Wednesday, August 5. Arroyo spoke to Noynoy Aquino, and stayed for about seven minutes.
Singer Jose Mari Chan sang the poem Ninoy made for Cory, "I Have Fallen In Love," as Aquino's casket was carried outside the Cathedral. Other songs performed in tribute were "Sa Iyo Lamang" (For You, Especially) by Piolo Pascual; "The Lord's Prayer" by Erik Santos; "The Impossible Dream" by Jed Madela; and "Pangako (Promise)" by Ogie Alcasid. Martin Nievera and Regine Velasquez performed a duet of "The Prayer", while Sarah Geronimo sang the People Power Revolution anthem "Magkaisa" ("Unite"); "Your Heart Today" by Dulce; and Lea Salonga sang "Bayan Ko" (My Country). The artists later joined the Apo Hiking Society in singing another People Power song "Handog ng Pilipino Sa Mundo" ("The Filipinos' Offering to the World"). The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra played the background music.
The funeral procession lasted for almost eight hours, with hundreds of thousands of mourners flashing the "Laban" ("fight"; holding the thumb and forefinger at right angles, like an "L") sign lining the route from the cathedral to the Manila Memorial Park in Sucat, Parañaque. When the cortege reached the cemetery, Aquino was given full military honors, where a two-star general acting as military host and eight one-star generals as pallbearers carried the former president's flag-draped coffin. The crowd that lined the funeral route (passing through the cities of Manila, Makati, and Parañaque) was estimated to be between 300,000 to 400,000 people. Before Aquino was placed in the mausoleum, the presidential guards have placed Aquino's coffub near the mausoleum. Her husband Ninoy is beside her resting place together.
The attendees at the burial were originally restricted to Aquino's family and close friends, but the crowd broke through the security barricades after the last of the funeral convoy's 13 buses entered the cemetery. Although the crowd was inside the premises, they kept a respectful distance from the burial site.
Bishop Villegas gave the final blessing, and per the Aquino family's request, the coffin was opened one last time. The glass was removed, and after Bishop Villegas and Aquino's children sprinkled it with holy water, most members of Aquino's family gave a final kiss to the deceased leader. The casket having been sealed one last time, the Philippine flag was removed from the coffin and folded before being presented to Sen. Noynoy Aquino. The pallbearers ushered in the coffin into the niche prepared beforehand, and her family, supporters, and allies deposited yellow flowers inside after which it was sealed to as Bayan Ko and several religious anthems were sung by the congregation. The lapida or name plate of Aquino was a simple design identical to that of her husband.
Reaction
Local reaction
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who was on a state visit in Washington, D.C. when she was informed about the President Aquino's death, called Aquino a "national treasure". She ended her trip ahead of schedule and returned to Manila to visit Aquino's wake. Arroyo announced a 10-day mourning period for the former President, and issued Administrative Order No. 269 to "official acts and observances” to help in the funeral of the former President.
Former President Estrada said that they lost a "mother" and a "guiding voice of the people." Estrada also described Aquino as "Philippines' most loved woman". Aquino supported Estrada's removal from office in 2001, but the two supported each other to oppose amendments in the constitution since last year. The Senate has also expressed its grieving with Aquino's death; Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who along with Fidel Ramos launched the People Power Revolution, asked the public to pray for her. Minority leader Aquilino Pimentel, who previously served as interior and local government secretary during her administration, had "mixed feelings" with Aquino's passing, saying "We shall be forever indebted to Cory for rallying the nation behind the campaign to topple dictatorial rule and restore democracy."
A growing opinion among some Roman Catholic circles in the country is to push for Aquino's declaration as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church.
International reaction
President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev in a telegram to President of the Philippines Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo stated, “The name of Corazon Aquino is associated with a period of profound reforms and the democratic transformation of Filipino society.” Medvedev also noted that Corazon Aquino showed great interest and sympathy to Russia and prioritised the development of Russian-Filipino relations. International figures expressed their grief, with United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noting that Aquino was "admired by the world for her extraordinary courage". White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that "Her courage, determination, and moral leadership are an inspiration to us all and exemplify the best in the Filipino nation." Other ambassadors also sent their messages of condolence following her passing. Pope Benedict XVI recalled Aquino as a "courageous commitment to the freedom of the Filipino people, her firm rejection of violence and intolerance," according to Manila Archbishop Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales. President of South Africa Jacob Zuma called Aquino "a great leader who set a shining example of peaceful transition to democracy in her country."
In popular culture
Aquino was portrayed by Laurice Guillen in the 1988 HBO miniseries A Dangerous Life.
Aquino was a main character in Boy Noriega's 1987 stage comedy Bongbong at Kris, about an imagined romantic coupling between the youngest son of Ferdinand Marcos and the youngest daughter of the Aquinos.
In the movie Alfredo Lim: Batas ng Maynila Aquino was portrayed by Luz Valdez.
She was portrayed by Tess Villarama in the movie Ilaban Mo, Bayan Ko: The Obet Pagdanganan Story in 1997.
She was also portrayed by Geraldine Malacaman in the 1998 musical play Lean.
In the defunct comedy gag show Ispup, Madz Nicolas played a parodized version of Aquino who often reminisces about life with Ninoy.
In 2004, Aquino was portrayed by Irma Adlawan in the miniseries Sa'yo Lamang.
In 2008, a musical play about Aquino starring Isay Alvarez as Aquino, was staged at the Meralco Theater. Entitled Cory, the Musical, it was written and directed by Nestor Torre and featured a libretto of 19 original songs composed by Lourdes Pimentel, wife of Senator Aquilino Pimentel.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
JULY 2009 Feature: State of the Nation Address (SONA)
The State of the Nation Address (Filipino: Talumpati sa Kalagayan ng Bansa, abbreviated SONA) is an annual event in the Republic of the Philippines, in which the President of the Philippines reports on the status of the nation, normally to the resumption of a joint session of the Congress (the House of Representatives and the Senate). This is a duty of the President as stated in
Article VII, Section 23 of the 1987 Constitution:
“The President shall address the Congress at the opening of its regular session. He may also appear before it at any other time.”
The address is also an opportunity for opposition parties to protest against the government. In 2005, tens of thousands of people attended protest rallies during the State of the Nation Address of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, calling on her to resign.
In 2008, the SONA was delivered on Monday, July 28 at 4:00 P.M.
History
The "State of the Nation" address was first mentioned in the 1935 Constitution, in Section 10 of Article VII:
“The President shall from time to time give to the Congress information on the state of the Nation, and recommend to its consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”
With a few minor changes such as "President" for "He" and "its" for "their", this is the same wording as is in Article II, Section 3 of the United States Constitution. In 1935, the Philippines was a colony of the United States of America.
2006 marked the 70th anniversary of the State of the Nation Address. The first one was delivered by President Manuel L. Quezon on June 16, 1936. All such addresses are published in The Official Gazette, an annual publication by the government, which is a collection of all promulgations, Supreme Court decisions, executive issuances, and laws, which have been passed for the year. It is always delivered on the fourth Monday of July.
Local versions
Local governments in the Philippines also give their own addresses at some point during the year. At the provincial level, this is called a "State of the Province" Address, or SOPA, given by the provincial governor, while at the city and municipality level, this is called either a "State of the City Address" (SOCA) or "State of the Municipality" Address (SOMA), given by the mayor. In the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, this is called a "State of the Region" Address, or SORA, given by the regional governor. These speeches are not mandated by law, but are given usually as a matter of practice or tradition.
It is the practice of the Philippine Independent Church to release an annual "State of the Church" Address coming from the Supreme Bishop.
Article VII, Section 23 of the 1987 Constitution:
“The President shall address the Congress at the opening of its regular session. He may also appear before it at any other time.”
The address is also an opportunity for opposition parties to protest against the government. In 2005, tens of thousands of people attended protest rallies during the State of the Nation Address of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, calling on her to resign.
In 2008, the SONA was delivered on Monday, July 28 at 4:00 P.M.
History
The "State of the Nation" address was first mentioned in the 1935 Constitution, in Section 10 of Article VII:
“The President shall from time to time give to the Congress information on the state of the Nation, and recommend to its consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”
With a few minor changes such as "President" for "He" and "its" for "their", this is the same wording as is in Article II, Section 3 of the United States Constitution. In 1935, the Philippines was a colony of the United States of America.
2006 marked the 70th anniversary of the State of the Nation Address. The first one was delivered by President Manuel L. Quezon on June 16, 1936. All such addresses are published in The Official Gazette, an annual publication by the government, which is a collection of all promulgations, Supreme Court decisions, executive issuances, and laws, which have been passed for the year. It is always delivered on the fourth Monday of July.
Local versions
Local governments in the Philippines also give their own addresses at some point during the year. At the provincial level, this is called a "State of the Province" Address, or SOPA, given by the provincial governor, while at the city and municipality level, this is called either a "State of the City Address" (SOCA) or "State of the Municipality" Address (SOMA), given by the mayor. In the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, this is called a "State of the Region" Address, or SORA, given by the regional governor. These speeches are not mandated by law, but are given usually as a matter of practice or tradition.
It is the practice of the Philippine Independent Church to release an annual "State of the Church" Address coming from the Supreme Bishop.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
JUNE 2009 Features: Influenza A(H1N1) in South and Southeast Asia & Michael Jackson
A(H1N1) in South and Southeast Asia: The Pandemic Spreads
Cambodia's health authorities remain alert but confident that the country is prepared for a swine flu pandemic. In terms of ensuring that infected pigs do not spread the disease to Cambodia, the Cambodian Pig Raiser Association said it has told the government it should ban live pig imports. But Khlauk Chuon, the deputy director of Camcontrol at the Ministry of Commerce, said they would only ban live pig imports from a country that has been hit with swine flu.
All people entering India via the main airport hubs of Mumbai, New Delhi, Goa, Jaipur, Kochi, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad are being screened. The primary focus is on passengers entering from the United States of America, The United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, France, and New Zealand. As of June 23 2009, 63 cases have been confirmed in India.
The Indonesian government halted the importation of pigs and initiated the examination of 9 million pigs in Indonesia. Thermal scanners which can detect human body temperature have been installed at Indonesian ports of entry.
The Lao government bought 10 thermal imaging machines to install at the country's major immigration border checkpoints. The Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh said masks should be made available and health officials would be assigned to work at border checkpoints.
In Malaysia, health screenings were carried out on passengers traveling to and from Mexico via sea, air and land beginning April 17. The Health Ministry's disease control division activated its operations room to monitor the swine flu situation and informed medical practitioners treating suspicious cases to inform the district health office immediately. Thermal scanners were installed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Screenings were imposed in Pengkalan Hulu, at the border with Thailand, in late April. Quarantine rooms had been allocated in 28 hospitals, and the country has stockpiled more than 2 million doses of Tamilflu, as of May 2009. Schools were issued strict hygiene procedures on May 16 to contain any H1N1 outbreak among students and teachers. On May 15, the Health Ministry confirmed Malaysia's first case of A (H1N1) infection of a male student who had arrived via air from Newark. Malaysia recorded its first local infection of influenza A(H1N1) involving the 19th case as that person had no history of having traveled to a country that had the flu. As of June 26, 2009 there have been 105 confirmed cases of A(H1N1) in Malaysia.
In the Maldives, a ministerial committee has been established to supervise swine flu preventive measures to avoid an outbreak. All visitors arriving at the Malé International Airport on Hulhule Island and the country’s three commercial seaports are being screened.
In Myanmar, Chairman of Global Human Flu Prevention and Response Work Committee Deputy Minister for Health Dr Mya Oo inspected preventive measures against the human flu at Yangon International Airport on May 1.
Pakistan has taken precautionary measures at the international airports to check passengers coming from swine flu affected countries. Doctors are checking the incoming passengers and allow entry only to those with no flu symptoms. The major hospitals in all the big cities are on high alert.
In the Philippines, thermal imaging equipment at airports was implemented to screen passengers coming from the US for flu symptoms. The Philippines may quarantine travelers arriving from Mexico with fevers. Also, the importation of hogs from the U.S. and Mexico was manned, and the restriction of swine influenza vaccine use was retracted. On May 18, 2009, a Filipina girl who arrived from the US was the first confirmed case of H1N1 virus in the Philippines. As of June 26, 2009, there were 864 confirmed cases. By June 22, first known death was reported.
The first case of Influenza A (H1N1-2009) in Singapore was confirmed on May 27, 2009. It was announced on June 18, 2009 that Singapore appeared to have its first case of local infection of the A(H1N1) virus. As of June 26 there have been reported 365 confirmed cases of A(H1N1) in Singapore.
On April 28, 2009, the Thai Public Health Ministry issued a warning for Thais to avoid visiting the United States and Mexico which had been hit by the swine flu outbreak. The Thai Government installed thermal scanners in Suvarnabhumi Airport and other key airports. Airport health officials began using thermal screening equipment to monitor passengers. Thailand raised its swine-flu preventive measures to "maximum", with all visitors entering the country subjected to thermal scanners and even dignitaries not exempt.
Vietnam's Ministry of Health released an emergency dispatch and urged agencies to take precautionary measures against swine flu. Thermal imaging devices were dispatched to airports and border gates to screen passengers. In response to WHO's warnings, Vietnam on April 30, 2009 raised its swine flu alert level to 4 which indicated a "threat of community level outbreaks" while local authorities have been executing precautionary measures. On May 1, 2009 an Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade official said that Ministry was considering a ban on pork import "under certain situations" to prevent swine flu from entering Vietnam. As of May 31, 2009. The Government of Vietnam announced its First new case of A(H1N1) virus in the Country. A 23 years old Vietnamese student who recently returned from the United States has tested positive for swine flu.
Michael Jackson (1958-2009): The King of Pop
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist and entertainer. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he made his début onto the professional music scene at the age of 11 as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1969, and began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group. Jackson was referred to as the "King of Pop" in subsequent years; his 1982 album Thriller is the world's best-selling record of all time and four other solo studio albums are also among the world's best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995).
In the early 1980s, he became a dominant figure in popular music and the first African American entertainer to amass a strong crossover following on MTV. The popularity of his music videos airing on MTV, such as "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and "Thriller"—widely credited with transforming the music video from a promotional tool into an art form—helped bring the relatively new channel to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made Jackson an enduring staple on MTV in the 1990s. With stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of physically complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced many hip hop, pop and contemporary R&B artists.
Jackson donated and raised millions of dollars for beneficial causes through his foundation, charity singles and support of 39 charities. Other aspects of his personal life, including his changing appearance and behavior, generated significant controversy, damaging his public image. Though he was accused of child sexual abuse in 1993, the criminal investigation was closed due to lack of evidence and Jackson was not charged. The singer had experienced health concerns since the early 1990s and conflicting reports regarding the state of his finances since the late 1990s. Jackson married twice and fathered three children, all of which caused further controversy. In 2005, Jackson was tried and acquitted of further sexual abuse allegations and several other charges.
One of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records—including one for "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time"—13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career, and the sale of 750 million records worldwide. Jackson's highly publicized personal life, coupled with his successful career, made him a part of popular culture for almost four decades. Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, aged 50. The specific cause of death has yet to be determined. Before his death, Jackson had announced a 50-date sell-out This Is It comeback tour, in London, England.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
MAY 2009 Feature: Boto Mo, Ipatrol Mo: AKO ANG SIMULA
About BMPM
You, dear citizen, have the power to effect change on what you don’t like and replicate the good that you see and do.
Your vote in the May 10, 2010 elections and how you promote democracy in the country and protect the whole election process is equally important in how you can effect changes.
Boto Mo, I-Patrol Mo: Ako ang Simula is one vehicle for change we offer you.
Send your ideas on how the 2010 elections should be relevant to address the hard times we face, how to keep people in government honest and accountable and how to search for the leaders of our nation through the 2010 elections, and air your views on various issues and concerns.
Select stories may subsequently be published on abs-cbnNEWS.com or aired on the various ABS-CBN news platforms following validation by our reporters.
To go to BMPM Website:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/botomo - ABS-CBN News Official BMPM Website
http://botomoipatrolmo.multiply.com - Multiply
You, dear citizen, have the power to effect change on what you don’t like and replicate the good that you see and do.
Your vote in the May 10, 2010 elections and how you promote democracy in the country and protect the whole election process is equally important in how you can effect changes.
Boto Mo, I-Patrol Mo: Ako ang Simula is one vehicle for change we offer you.
Send your ideas on how the 2010 elections should be relevant to address the hard times we face, how to keep people in government honest and accountable and how to search for the leaders of our nation through the 2010 elections, and air your views on various issues and concerns.
Select stories may subsequently be published on abs-cbnNEWS.com or aired on the various ABS-CBN news platforms following validation by our reporters.
To go to BMPM Website:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/botomo - ABS-CBN News Official BMPM Website
http://botomoipatrolmo.multiply.com - Multiply
Sunday, April 26, 2009
APRIL 2009 Feature: Ted Failon
Ted Failon
Representative, 1st District Leyte
In office: 2001 – 2007
Born: March 29, 1962 in Tacloban City, Leyte
Nationality: Filipino
Spouse: Trinidad Etong (1965-2009)
Occupation: broadcast journalist, radio commentator, former congressman
Mario Teodoro Failon Etong (born March 29, 1962), better known by his names Ted Failon or Teodoro Failon is a Filipino broadcast journalist, radio commentator, and a former congressman representing the first district of Leyte, Philippines, from 2001 to 2007.
Early life
Ted Failon was born and raised in Tacloban City, Leyte, on March 29, 1962. Working early on to financially support his studies, he finished his elementary school at St. Andrew's School Parañaque in 1974, and high school at UNIVERSITY OF PERPETUAL HELP SYSTEM DALTA LAS-PINAS CAMPUS DEPT OF BUSINESS HIGH SCHOOL in 1979. He took up AB Economics in Colegio de San Juan de Letran while working as a disc jockey in a small joint along EDSA and Cubao, Quezon City. He earned a Bachelor in Broadcast Communication degree from Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Manila in 1996, and has attended the Bachelor of Laws program of Arellano University.
Career
Failon worked as Announcer at Radyo DIWA in Tacloban City from 1983 to 1988, and Program Director at DWGV-FM 99.1 in Angeles City, Pampanga from 1988 to 1990. He later moved to ABS-CBN where he went on to become Executive Producer and News Anchor between 1990 and 2001. He was elected as Representative of 1st district of Leyte from 2001 to 2004. Failon resumed broadcasting at ABS-CBN in 2004 up to the present.
At ABS-CBN, Failon has hosted television and radio programs covering news and public affairs. He became popular after co-hosting the public affairs program Hoy Gising!. He also taught journalism at his alma mater, the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
Today, Failon is one of three main news anchors of TV Patrol World, the flagship news program of ABS-CBN, the Philippines' largest broadcasting network. He is also a radio commentator and newscaster in DZMM, a radio network owned by ABS-CBN. At DZMM, he co-hosts "Tambalang Failon and Sanchez" with veteran broadcaster Korina Sanchez.
Politics
In 2001, Failon entered politics when he ran for a seat in the House of Representatives, representing the 1st District of Leyte. He won the seat, defeating veteran politician Alfred Romualdez, the husband of actress Cristina "Kring-Kring" Gonzales and nephew of former Philippine First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos. Failon served in the 12th Congress, but retired at the end of his term in 2004 to resume his broadcasting career at ABS-CBN. He was succeeded by Representative Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, another nephew of the former First Lady.
Awards
Failon has received numerous awards for broadcast journalism, including the KBP Golden Dove Awards, the Catholic Mass Media Awards, the PMPC Star Awards for Television, and the UST TV Awards.
Advocacies
Failon is a respected political commentator, and a renowned advocate of good governance, press freedom, democracy, and social justice. He is an active member of Tacloban Jaycees, the National Press Club, and CIVICOM Inc.
Wife's death
Failon was married to Trinidad Arteche–Etong (1965–2009). On 15 April 2009, Trinidad Etong was rushed to the hospital after sustaining a gunshot wound to the head. She died from her injuries the following day. Failon himself had rushed his wife to the hospital, and subsequently issued a statement saying that he had found his wounded wife in their bathroom after she had used his handgun in a suicide attempt. Hours after the shooting, Failon was arrested, allegedly for tampering with the crime scene, though he was able to leave police custody the following day to be at his wife's bedside. Failon himself denied any involvement in the shooting of his wife, and he tested negative for powder burns in a paraffin test conducted by the Quezon City police.
The family driver and three housemaids of the Failon family were charged by the Quezon City police for obstruction of justice, for allegedly destroying important evidence in the shooting, which occurred at the Failon family home. This was followed by the arrests of Mrs. Failon's brother and sister by the Quezon City police, allegedly also for obstruction of justice.
Representative, 1st District Leyte
In office: 2001 – 2007
Born: March 29, 1962 in Tacloban City, Leyte
Nationality: Filipino
Spouse: Trinidad Etong (1965-2009)
Occupation: broadcast journalist, radio commentator, former congressman
Mario Teodoro Failon Etong (born March 29, 1962), better known by his names Ted Failon or Teodoro Failon is a Filipino broadcast journalist, radio commentator, and a former congressman representing the first district of Leyte, Philippines, from 2001 to 2007.
Early life
Ted Failon was born and raised in Tacloban City, Leyte, on March 29, 1962. Working early on to financially support his studies, he finished his elementary school at St. Andrew's School Parañaque in 1974, and high school at UNIVERSITY OF PERPETUAL HELP SYSTEM DALTA LAS-PINAS CAMPUS DEPT OF BUSINESS HIGH SCHOOL in 1979. He took up AB Economics in Colegio de San Juan de Letran while working as a disc jockey in a small joint along EDSA and Cubao, Quezon City. He earned a Bachelor in Broadcast Communication degree from Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Manila in 1996, and has attended the Bachelor of Laws program of Arellano University.
Career
Failon worked as Announcer at Radyo DIWA in Tacloban City from 1983 to 1988, and Program Director at DWGV-FM 99.1 in Angeles City, Pampanga from 1988 to 1990. He later moved to ABS-CBN where he went on to become Executive Producer and News Anchor between 1990 and 2001. He was elected as Representative of 1st district of Leyte from 2001 to 2004. Failon resumed broadcasting at ABS-CBN in 2004 up to the present.
At ABS-CBN, Failon has hosted television and radio programs covering news and public affairs. He became popular after co-hosting the public affairs program Hoy Gising!. He also taught journalism at his alma mater, the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
Today, Failon is one of three main news anchors of TV Patrol World, the flagship news program of ABS-CBN, the Philippines' largest broadcasting network. He is also a radio commentator and newscaster in DZMM, a radio network owned by ABS-CBN. At DZMM, he co-hosts "Tambalang Failon and Sanchez" with veteran broadcaster Korina Sanchez.
Politics
In 2001, Failon entered politics when he ran for a seat in the House of Representatives, representing the 1st District of Leyte. He won the seat, defeating veteran politician Alfred Romualdez, the husband of actress Cristina "Kring-Kring" Gonzales and nephew of former Philippine First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos. Failon served in the 12th Congress, but retired at the end of his term in 2004 to resume his broadcasting career at ABS-CBN. He was succeeded by Representative Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, another nephew of the former First Lady.
Awards
Failon has received numerous awards for broadcast journalism, including the KBP Golden Dove Awards, the Catholic Mass Media Awards, the PMPC Star Awards for Television, and the UST TV Awards.
Advocacies
Failon is a respected political commentator, and a renowned advocate of good governance, press freedom, democracy, and social justice. He is an active member of Tacloban Jaycees, the National Press Club, and CIVICOM Inc.
Wife's death
Failon was married to Trinidad Arteche–Etong (1965–2009). On 15 April 2009, Trinidad Etong was rushed to the hospital after sustaining a gunshot wound to the head. She died from her injuries the following day. Failon himself had rushed his wife to the hospital, and subsequently issued a statement saying that he had found his wounded wife in their bathroom after she had used his handgun in a suicide attempt. Hours after the shooting, Failon was arrested, allegedly for tampering with the crime scene, though he was able to leave police custody the following day to be at his wife's bedside. Failon himself denied any involvement in the shooting of his wife, and he tested negative for powder burns in a paraffin test conducted by the Quezon City police.
The family driver and three housemaids of the Failon family were charged by the Quezon City police for obstruction of justice, for allegedly destroying important evidence in the shooting, which occurred at the Failon family home. This was followed by the arrests of Mrs. Failon's brother and sister by the Quezon City police, allegedly also for obstruction of justice.
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