Monday, Mar. 10, 1986
The breathless
clip of events in the Philippines last week left
President Corazon Aquino with little room for
herself, both figuratively and literally. A
steady string of tasks, from selecting a Cabinet
and ordering up various commissions to greeting
diplomats and receiving journalists, crowded her
time from the moment the Marcos family fled.
Malacanang Palace proved unsuitable to receive
the stream of visitors because Marcos loyalists
had seeded the grounds with booby traps and
looters had laid waste to the living quarters.
Aquino was thus forced to continue operating out
of the Manila building owned by her family,
which, with its cramped waiting rooms, had
barely sufficed as a campaign headquarters. Clad
in trademark yellow, Aquino met last Friday with
TIME's Hong Kong bureau chief Sandra Burton.
Amid constant interruptions, she reviewed the
heady days behind and the challenges ahead.
Excerpts from the interview:
On toppling
Marcos. I'm sure no one ever thought it would
happen. It was the people who did it. I can't
claim credit for it, but I am very happy that I
played a major role in this.
On her
activities after Lieut. General Fidel Ramos and
Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile staged their
revolt. The house we were staying in was very
close to the army camp. (My brother) Peping
said, "The sooner you can get out of this house,
the better." They asked me, "Where do you think
you should stay?" I said at the Carmelite
monastery. I got to the monastery, which was
like The Sound of Music, and these nuns welcomed
me. They said, "Cory, you will be very safe
here, because they will have to kill all of us
before they do anything to you." I slept very
well, considering that they had no mattress.
On Enrile's
resignation. This was totally unexpected. How
could I possibly think that at some point in my
life Minister Ponce Enrile and I would be
working together when all along he was the
Minister of Defense when my husband (Benigno ("Ninoy")
Aquino Jr.) was incarcerated for seven years and
seven months? All I remember of him is each time
I would go to see him to ask for some so-called
privilege for Ninoy. This was the first time I
talked to him since I returned from Boston (in
1983).
On Enrile's
role in the government. At this point everything
is so delicate, and I have to be very careful
about what I say publicly. But I take it
positively and a number of people agree with me.
It is difficult for us to explain Enrile. Yet
what consoles me more than anything else is that
this unique occurrence was responsible for a
minimum of bloodshed where the civilians were
called upon to defend the military.
On conflicting
political demands. I am getting flak from all
sides. The % politicians think that I have not
included enough of them; the nonpoliticians
think that I have gone back to the old ways; and
the mass public groups think I have forgotten
them. Yesterday, Bishop Federico Escaler said,
"Cory, my goodness, you have not done anything
about the political prisoners." I said, "Excuse
me, Bishop. Do you realize I formed a committee
(that includes Enrile and Ramos) to hurry up the
release of the prisoners?" He said, "Why did you
include those two?" It just so happens they are
part of this government.
I gave a
lecture here the other day, and I told them,
"Look, you people were so tolerant and so
patient under Marcos for 20 years, and here I am
only two days and you are expecting miracles.
Then last night I talked to the nonviolent
group, and again here come their protests, and I
said, "This is all the thanks I get? Here I am
giving my all and you people are still
complaining. Why did I go through this exercise?
You can get somebody else." I just wanted to
make things clear.
On Marcos'
request to remain in the country. At first I was
told he wanted to stay two more days, and I
thought maybe he wanted to die in his own
country. But when I found out that was not it, I
said he had to go because the longer he stays in
this country, the harder it will be for things
to normalize.
On whether
Marcos will be permitted to return, alive or
dead. It is not in the interest of this country
that he be brought back. Maybe at a very much
later date, but not now.
On foreign
aid. I am very happy that all the ambassadors
who have been visiting me have been saying that
they will come to my assistance. In fact, the
Canadian Ambassador said that his government
will give an initial aid of $5 million in food,
but they were sending it through nongovernment
agencies, which was what I was asking for
before. I said, "That was before, but now you
can trust the Aquino government. Can't you give
half directly to us?" The U.S. and Japan have
told me that they will help. West Germany also.
On her
changing life. The problem is that we have no
space in this temporary headquarters. This
morning I had to be so unpolitical and say,
"From now on, nobody sees me without an
appointment." So, friends or no friends, they
have to make an appointment.
On herself. I
told Cardinal Sin that I can no longer be humble
because people don't take me seriously then, so
I have to project my confidence, even more than
most men would. My philosophy is to do
everything within your capability and then leave
the rest to God. I have honestly been living
that way since Ninoy's incarceration. No one can
say Cory did not give it her all.
With Knowledge Comes Power
Start learning the
laws the country is said to hold
so we can stop the corruption by keeping one
another accountable.
