Thank you, Cory

I can only imagine what the nation went through during those tumultuous years. The story has only been told to me in fragments.

Said my mother in a text message: "I covered Cory when she was alive. Now, Ate Jus is covering her, as she is brought to her final resting place." Papa expressed how happy he was that we were there. "I'm glad you experienced what we did during our college days," he said.

My sister is a Marcos Baby. Her name "Laya" is short for malaya or free. My grandmother, when she was still alive, told stories of how she and my sister used to hide under a table in our old house in Sikatuna, Cebu. Papa was detained when Martial Law was declared. Two years after President Corazon Aquino was elected president, I was born.



I woke up at 4:30 a.m. Ate and I joined the Ateneo contingent. Our seventeen buses drove to the Manila Cathedral. These photos were taken by Ate who had a press pass and a decent view from the balcony.











The Ateneo contingent stayed outside at the Simon de Anda shrine. We stood under the rain for four hours. We watched the final service through a giant screen.



I saw Dean Vilches of the School of Humanities. Also took a quick photo with Larry. Was not able to take a shot of Father Nebres.













We offered yellow roses as the casket passed by. I wore yellow shoes bought from Carcar, Cebu (chicharon and ampao land) last summer.







Despite the erratic weather, people gathered along Roxas Boulevard. Everyone flashed the Laban sign. I felt the Hope.











Traffic was a pain in the bladder. The little boys from the Ateneo Grade School had to pee in plastic bottles at the back of the bus, which I seriously would have done if I were a dude. Three of us girls decided to "abandon bus." We scuttled to a gasoline station a few meters ahead. With luck on our side, we made it back to the bus with enough time to purchase cookies and water. The hunger made our heads hurt.

We also came across a group of Ateneans (Mr. Rene San Andres one of them) who walked from the Cathedral to SLEX. Earlier, a mom of one of the grade schoolers bought siopao for everyone in the bus. We still had some food left, so we shared those with the kick-ass Ateneans who braved the 60 kilometers.

It was already nighttime when we arrived at the Manila Memorial Park.







As President Cory was finally laid to rest, we all chanted "Cory! Cory! Cory!" I felt out of breath. It felt like seeing her for the last time even if I didn't really see her face, since the casket was already closed. Even if I never saw her in person in my lifetime. Nevertheless, I want to thank her for the hope she has brought to this country.

May we never abandon that hope.

Arrived in Katipunan at 10 p.m. I was listening to my usual slew of Dylan songs on the way home. These lines from Love Minus Zero/No Limit struck a chord:

My love she speaks like silence,
Without ideals or violence,
She doesn't have to say she's faithful,
Yet she's true, like ice, like fire.
People carry roses,
Make promises by the hours,
My love she laughs like the flowers,
Valentines can't buy her.

In the dime stores and bus stations,
People talk of situations,
Read books, repeat quotations,
Draw conclusions on the wall.
Some speak of the future,
My love she speaks softly,
She knows there's no success like failure
And that failure's no success at all.

Thank you, Cory.

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