"Come to the ISO building now. She's here, and we've got to interview her."
It was late in the afternoon, five years ago. The sun was on full-dial. In between involuntarily passing out from exhaustion of having to endlessly endure college requirements from professors who enjoyed seeing Sophomores suffering from synaptic relapses from over-studying, I received that phone call.
"Who's this? Who's there now?," I'd mumble, checking the clock resting on top of a pile of books I borrowed from the library but forgot to return.
"Cory is here. We need reporters to interview her for a story. I've got a couple of them here but we need more."
It was Jamie Santos, the Associate Editor of the college newspaper I worked for.
"Cory who?"
"Cory Aquino," she said, her voice echoing disappointment with the my lack of first-name-only recognition. "Former President? Icon of democracy? Gave hope to millions of Filipinos suffering under the iron first of that dictator Marcos?"
"Oh, yeah. The lady who wears yellow a lot."
Twenty minutes later, armed with a tape recorder I borrowed, I arrived at the ISO building. I was the design editor for the newspaper so I wasn't sure what I was doing there. I wasn't a reporter. I wasn't even sure who Cory was. But the boss said I had to be there. Little did I know that it would be my first interview and would be the start of what-would-be a career in journalism.
The room was silent, with only the humming of low-hanging ceiling fans providing a soundtrack. Sitting quietly on a chair, in the middle of a group of entranced college journalists, wearing (to my surprise) an orange ensemble, she offered me a seat next to her.
"Shall we begin?"
It was Cory Aquino. Growing up in the United States, I'd hear about Cory from my parents, aunts, uncles -- stories I was too young to remember, stories not old enough to appreciate or understand at that point. I'd catch a glimpse of her in US history books -- about a line or two mentioning a reluctant housewife who was chosen by her people to lead them against a regime. I had a sense that she was important to the Filipino people, which in turn, should make her important to me. But that connection to Cory never manifested itself back then. She was merely a character to a story, a minute detail I had to remember for a history exam.
But on that unceremonious afternoon, sitting in front of her, I wondered who Cory really was, and why she was important. Important enough for my fellow college journalists in that room to be dazed in admiration, shaken up with feelings of unworthiness and luck, as if having tea with the Queen. Who is Cory?
That answer I'd have to wait for until after that interview, until after graduation, and not until I started working as a reporter with the rest of the grown-ups. Not until two weeks ago, when I was given assignments in New York and Boston and began unraveling Cory's life in the United Stated that I'd get a chance to answer that question. But heaps of history books later, coupled with hours of stories and anecdotes from her closest friends, I realized that I've amassed more knowledge of Cory 101, but ultimately, will never really know her.
More importantly though, I've realized why Cory was, and should be, important to the Filipino and to me -- Cory was first.
Oftentimes, you'd hear people casually say in conversations that you never forget your first time. It's true. History will serve the Filipino so that they may never forget their first Female president. The generation before us will have their memories, and will never forget the first time a housewife challenged a dictator, stood on a precipice, declaring freedom to a people that has long thirsted for it. And as a journalist, I certainly won't forget my first interview and that it was with "that lady who wears yellow a lot".
Cory Aquino was first. But now, at a time in our nation's history where uncertainty and indecision continue to fester, Cory should not be remembered as such. Rather, she should be remembered as the one who paved the way, and gave the rest of us an opportunity so that we can be the second.
To let her be an inspiration, and for us to follow her example that above all, our people and our nation should be the firsts.
Former Senator Ninoy Aquino once said that "the Filipino is worth dying for." Little did he know that his wife would prove him wrong. If anything, Cory's exemplary life reveals that the Filipino is worth living for.
(For more news on Cory, log on to: http://coryaquino.abs-cbnnews.com)
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