Mar Roxas' Statement: Tita Cory

(Senator Mar Roxas' personal and political life is closely intertwined with "Tita Cory" and her family. Ninoy Aquino and Mar's father, Gerry Roxas, were part of the liberal triumvirate (Aquino, Roxas and Salonga) that put up a spirited fight against the Marcos regime. On all sides of their respective family trees, the Aquinos and Roxases have enjoyed very close generational ties)

Tita Cory, personally and through her husband Ninoy, underwent so much pain and abuse but she never surrendered. Today, even in death, her dreams live on and they will never be defeated.

At no time did an ordinary housewife like her exert an extraordinary influence in the course of our recent history. As she cared for Ninoy and her family during the days of his brave struggle against the dictatorship, she nurtured the nation in its brave journey from darkness to freedom.

Her leadership was a bridge between the long era of rebellion and strife in the seventies and eighties, and the restoration of democracy towards the nineties. It was a leadership steeped in pure selflessness. For Tita Cory fought dictatorship with the same fervor that she loved our nation. Through her, we were able to live out and show to the world, our own patriotism.

We saw how the EDSA revolution that was sparked by Tita Cory reverberated globally. It inspired peoples all over Eastern Europe and Latin America to bring down authoritarian rule without violence, to the extent that even the Berlin wall was torn down three years later. The whole world owes much to her shining example.

Tita Cory joins the ranks of the greatest freedom fighters of the last and current century-- Ghandi, Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi, among several others who have devoted their life and being to principle that there is nothing more precious than the liberty and dignity of human beings.

Tita Cory stood for the unity and reconciliation of our people. The least that we can do today is to set aside our partisan interests, tone down our partisan voices and pray as one nation for her peace and the peace that she dreamt for all of us.