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MANILA - Former Philippine leader Corazon "Cory" Aquino, who died Saturday at the age of 76, was a reluctant leader despite leading a revolution that restored her country to democracy in 1986.
For three days in February of that year, the world watched as the woman in a bright yellow dress led millions in a peaceful uprising that toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who had ruled with an iron fist for two decades.
During the next six years, Aquino -- a devout Roman Catholic -- changed the country's constitution.
But her presidency was marred by at least six failed military coups, political squabbling, insurgent attacks and her failure to change a political system dominated by elite family clans.
Time magazine made Aquino its woman of the year in 1986 and in 2006 named her one of Asia's heroes, praising her "quiet courage" and describing her as "the symbol of People Power and an inspiration to others around the world struggling against tyranny."
The 76-year-old Aquino, who suffered from colon cancer, reportedly refused further medical treatment after she was admitted to a Manila hospital in late June, with family members by her side and the country praying for her recovery.
Born into the Cojuangco clan in the northern province of Tarlac on January 25, 1933, Aquino was a product of privilege, power and wealth.
Educated in the United States and Manila, she entertained no political ambitions -- but all that changed when she met and married Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, a bright young journalist from another prominent Tarlac clan, in 1954.
Ninoy was seen by many as a president in the making, but for Marcos the then-senator was a threat. In September 1972, Marcos declared martial law and jailed hundreds of his opponents and critics, including Ninoy, who subsequently went into exile for medical reasons.
Corazon Aquino helped keep the opposition alive, speaking out on behalf of her husband and demanding change.
In 1983, against the advice of friends, Ninoy flew back to the Philippines from exile in Boston to seek an audience with the ailing Marcos. But before he could even get off the plane, he was gunned down by assassins.
His grief-stricken widow flew back to the Philippines, where she was quickly thrust into the role of uniting the opposition.
"I don't seek vengeance, only justice, not only for Ninoy but for the suffering Filipino people," Aquino declared as she reluctantly accepted the nomination of her peers.
After Marcos won the 1986 elections, which were marred by massive irregularities, the Aquino-led opposition, backed by the Catholic church, soon rallied about one million people on the streets.
"People Power" was born, Marcos was quickly ousted and Aquino took the presidential oath of office.
She quickly set up a commission to draft a new constitution, dismantled the network of Marcos cronies that controlled the economy and freed scores of political activists.
Aquino also began talks with communist and Muslim insurgents, but her efforts would soon be undermined by problems within the coalition government she built. She later survived a series of bloody coup attempts.
In retirement, and until her illness, Aquino remained in the public eye, often speaking out against alleged abuses in government.
She became a vocal critic of President Gloria Arroyo, whose family has been accused of massive corruption, and joined street protests against Arroyo until she was diagnosed with colon cancer in March of last year.
In the 1990s, Aquino said the presidency had taught her a valuable lesson in governance.
"I realised that I could have made things easier for myself if I had done the popular things, rather than the painful but better ones in the long run. After all, in the long run, I wouldn't be around to be blamed," she said.
- AFP/ir
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