The Heaven's wept shamelessly yesterday as Corazon C. Aquino- Asia's first female leader - the first woman President of the Philippines - breathed her last.

The leaderships of the whole world joined in condolence and praise of the country's Joan of Arc who died clutching the rosary given by the visionary. Lucia of Fatima.

Many times on the cliff of death, she died on the first Saturday of the month of Our Blessed Lady and the first day of the same month her beloved Ninoy was shot at the tarmac on August 21, 1981.

One million signatures arranged by the late Chino Roces convinced the reluctant housewife Cory Aquino to battle Marcos for the 1986 snap presidential election. At that time, the presidency was apparently meant for the one person who desired it the least.

For Cory Aquino, becoming president was not about personal power but people empowerment.

The four-day EDSA Revolt, borne out of Marcos' cheating Cory in the 1986 election counting, gave the spectacle to an awed mankind as a million believers stopped tanks and soldiers with flowers and rosaries.

Bewildered, the Marcoses fled to Hawaii. The "Bloodless Revolt" inspired revolutions that ousted tyrranical regimes and communists despots from South Africa, to South America, Pakistan to the Red countries.

Phillip Habib had once tried to broker a "power-sharing" scheme between Cory and Marcos which the "Soul of the Nation" rejected because to her democracy was non-negotiable. One either has it or does not have it.

The US Congress gave Cory in 1987 a three minute standing ovation, unseen in the halls of that august body in recent memory, before her speech that earned for the Philippines an instant US$200-Milllion aid from America. "The richest honararium ever given to a speech", so says speech--maker Rep. Teddy Boy Locsin.

Cory caused the writing of the new 1987 Constitution. She empowered local governments, reopened Congress and the judiciary, dismantled monopolies, freed the political detainees, and freed business to market forces.

Most of all Cory Aquino freed Media for which its practitioners will forever be grateful.

From a deaf-mute ogre in Marcos days, Philippine Media is considered today as one of the freest in the world.

In the seven bloody coups against her, Cory never left Malacanang, ready to die defending the flag from those who wanted a military dictatorship back. When the late Star columnist Beltran accused Cory of hiding under her bed during a coup, she sued him for libel. Courage was Cory's strong suit -soft-spoken and frail she may be.

In her first address to the graduates of the PMA in 1987 , Cory said: "Welcome home, my soldiers" And rightly she said that, for soldiers salute courage in its rawest form shown in Cory's indomitable fortitude.

Cory Aquino , to her last day, is a story of class. "Just to be near her gives you a sense of nobility", one close associate said of her.

The 76-year old "Woman in Yellow", described in one of the famous prophetic quatrains of seer Nostradamus, as to overthrow an evil regime- has been 1986 Woman of the Year of Time Magazine and a Nobel Prize Nominee who also received 16 doctorates (honoris causa) from sixteen universities in many countries.

Even after her presidency, Cory Aquino did NGO work to empower the poor. When term extensions for FVR and GMA reared their ugly heads, Cory snaked out of retirement to say her piece.

"The country has lost a National Treasure" says President GMA . " A world-renowned advocate of democracy, peace,women's empowerment and religious piety", BBC News was quoted..

Cory is one of "the most trusted persons the nation has known" and certainly has been the one person prayed for by most Filipinos in this century. She will be laid to rest on Wednesday -in funeral rites that would eclipse the one million adoring followers that escorted her Ninoy to his grave.

It will take a long time before this nation will again find a person of such "honor, honesty,humility and prayer."In her death, she will loom larger than life and her legacy for freedom will be forever.

In the US Congress, Cory so proudly declared on her democracy." Three years ago, I left America to bury Ninoy to his grave. Three years after, I am back in America as a president of a free nation.", to the thunderous applause and tears of all.

In the twilight of her life Cory still spoke to the nation in these paraphrased words: I have done my share for our country. If you think you have not, do it now."

Cory Aquino, patriot and icon of democracy will remain in our hearts. Salamat nang marami, Tita Cory.

THE REBIRTH OF A CRUEL DICTATOR

"I will close Station DYRD and the Bohol Chronicle once I get re-elected in 2010", thus squeaked the Part-time City Mayor-Hallucinating Broadcaster in his government-paid radio program..

Maybe the Top Honcho expected the management and staff of BCRC to suffer heart attack or high blood pressure ( like overweight Mama's Boys) by his threat. Hardly.

But of course,, the City Mayor must get himself re-elected first. Is that the reason then why he will do everything -fair and foul- to prepare a war chest including an inexplicable P40-Million supplemental budget? Or through other illegal means?

But media practitioners are merely amused by his rantings.. It is like we challenging him to a public debate on issues and the City Mayor's answer is to gag our mouths - with threats of closure. It is in the nature of cowards.

A one time -winner-take all public debate on City issues would be a good idea.But it would be an act of mercy on our part not to engage anyone who is unarmed.

His threat just reminded us of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos. He closed the press and brought his own arsenal of print, radio and TV media to mislead the people. The people merely smirked behind his back.

Eventually, the people just turned off the government radio and TV utilized for propaganda and used the government newspapers to wrap fish in the public market.

For like Marcos, he can only kill the body but not the spirit. For as Cory told the US Congress: democracy must be defended by arms when attacked by violence, by truth when attacked by lies.

Thus Marcos with all his goons and money could not stop the "mosquito press" who churned out underground newspapers and the xeroxed brigades so people will know the truth that tyrants wanted to hide.

Does His Immensity think he can really suppress truth? Today, with technology allowing the free unhampered use of cellular phones and internet? Will this Budding Dictator of the South also in 2010 confiscate our cels and computers? He can aim for Guinness Book of Records, of course.

Besides, we have a Free World with international, national and regional Press associations and the United Nations who will document the rebirth of Mr. Marcos in the "City of Friendship" of Tagbilaran. What a shame that would be.

In his desperation, in the meantime, he peddles stories about market leadership in readership and listernership , as if people will ever stop searching for the truth in public (dis)service, based on surveys.

He sidesteps legitimate public issues and like a fish vendor instead insults and attacks radio and newspaper men who cross his wide path. Unfortunately for His Immensity, many would rather not dignify these" cry baby" wailings and stoop down to his level.

In other words, if imitation is the best form of flattery-those jaded journalists would certainly not give the City Mayor the illusion of idolatry -by imitating his tasteless style of personal attacks.

In truth, his main objective is really for people to stop listening to DYRD and reading the Chronicle because both will not stop opening one can of worms after another in City Hall, regardless of his threats.

He calls broadcasters as "basureros" who are not qualified to be in radio because they are not Mass Communication graduates.The truth is our broasdcasters are graduates of the "Announcers Accredited" exams administered by the (KBP) Kapisanan ng mga Boradcasters ng Pilipinas., without the benefit of "bar test leakages" that some of our so-called quasi-lawyers have benefited from.

The City Mayor ,without a single unit in broadcasting, advertises himself as such- making himself the violator of his own imagined edict. What hypocristy we have in our midst.

The scheming Chief Tenant of City Hall also tried disinformation recently that DYRD did not broadcast Rep Edgar Chatto's trip to the USA with GMA which is a blatant lie.Same with the fairy tale story that our veteran radioman Pedy Bolanio allegedly applied with a rival station and was rejected.

If you want the truth, the City' Mayor's goat was gotten first when in October 2008 our media enterprise hit his limp-wristed flip-flopping on the drainage issue. So in Jauary 2009, he let loose his "loyal" Treasurer to harass us with tax deficiencies. The Department of Finance cosequently reprimanded the treasurer since she was in fact the recipient of the tax payments of our media enterprise with xeroxed reciepts of the same sent to DOF.

Thus, daily the City has to endure the radio language of a City Mayor that is worse than a fish monger while opening it with Scriptural quotes of the Holy Bible while gospel writers like Saints Luke, John, Matthew, and Mark roll on their graves.

But History always has a way of dealing with tyrants and democratic warriors. In her death, Cory Aquino is toasted globally as democracy's champion while Marcos the Dictator freezes in a mausoleum in Ilocos and derided by the Guinness as the other half of the Conjugal Kleptocrats.

Everyday, the City Mayor adds more footnotes to his place in history.

For Comments: email to bingo_dejaresco@boholchronicle.com Or editor@boholchronicle.com