We Filipinos — young and old, rich and poor, professionals, academics, housewives, students, workers, priests, and nuns — soon found common cause against the martial law regime after Ninoy was killed.

But it is not as if Ninoy was Martial Law’s first and only victim. There had been thousands of others who were detained, abducted to disappear forever, tortured and salvaged because they opposed the absolute power that the dictator held over our lives. But for many of you here present, it took the slaying of a former senator, a high-profile and prominent political leader to realize that the dictator had gone too far.

I suppose a number of you thought that if Ninoy Aquino could be so brutally eliminated, then not money, bloodline, or political connections could assure any Filipino that he or she was safe from the murderous hand of the dictatorship.

But instead of retreating into the safety of our homes and minding our own businesses, our people went out into the streets — to grieve over Ninoy’s death and bury him in the longest and largest funeral that the world had seen in a long time, then to demand for justice for Ninoy and all other victims of the repression of martial law.

It took only two years and six months of relentless popular protest for the dictatorship to fall. By November of 1985, Marcos had agreed to a snap election, which threw the opposition into some disarray until, aided by a million signatures gathered by the venerable Chino Roces and Cardinal Sin’s appeal to Doy Laurel, it was agreed that I would carry the torch for the united opposition.

In February 1986, after what was known to be the dirtiest and bloodiest election campaign ever mounted in this country, the dictator, in a desperate attempt to hang on to the presidency, used every power within reach to steal the election from us. But the will of the people prevailed, expressed in numerous acts of courage as volunteer poll watchers and inspectors, as human barricades at Comelec offices, as defiant computer tabulators and later, as human shields in EDSA where the public linked hands to protect the armed forces and the police from the dictator’s bombs and bullets. Finally, abandoned by all but his immediate family and his closest coterie of cronies, the dictator fled the country.

The peaceful revolution at EDSA was the most eloquent expression of the political power that the Filipino people had gained during the two and a half years of peaceful protests after Ninoy was killed. By stubbornly refusing to leave that crucial intersection of EDSA where Camp Crame faces Camp Aguinaldo, in spite of dire warnings from Malacanang, our people drove away the dictator and restored democracy in our country.

When Marcos did flee, we felt what it meant to be empowered for the first time in 14 years. Finally, we were in control of our lives and our futures, with no dictator to compel us how to behave, how to think, and who to follow.
The world saluted us for our unusual feat and “people power” became identified with the Filipino people.

My presidency was off to a great start, riding as I did on the shoulders of people power. In my first year in office, armed with emergency powers, we set about laying the foundation for social justice, economic emancipation, and political freedom. We appointed a constitutional commission to rewrite the Constitution, we established the PCGG to go after the stolen wealth of the Marcoses and their cronies. We dismantled the monopolies that Marcos had given to his cronies as rewards for their fealty. We retooled the bureaucracy so that government would work for the people and not against them. We set up the Human Rights Commission to go after the violators of human rights and establish a human rights culture in our society. And we went about trying to reform the military and the police so that they serve only the duly established government and all of the Filipino people.

The latter proved to be the hardest to accomplish. My presidency was rocked by seven coup attempts, the most dangerous one in 1989 which almost succeeded in erasing all the gains we had made since 1986.
But the majority of the military opted for professionalism over adventurism and I completed my term in 1992. And, in spite of the return of old-style political campaigning with all of its ills, I presided over the first regular presidential elections in the country since 1969, and turned over the presidency peacefully to my duly-elected successor.

With democratic institutions back in place, the presidency of Fidel Ramos was a period of political normalcy which he used for construction — building the necessary physical, economic and legal infrastructure as he steered the country toward economic tigerhood.

But politics had a way of disturbing the progress we were making. Who can forget the attempt to amend the Constitution to allow the president to run for another six-year term? Most of us were at the Luneta on that rainy day of September 21, 1997 when hundreds of thousands of our countrymen turned out to reject this move.

We stood firm in defense of the rule of law and not of men even if we were cautioned about the possible election of Joseph Estrada, whose capability to address the awesome responsibilities of the presidency was perceived with much skepticism. But we wished President Joseph Estrada well, hoping that since he had declared his heart was with the Filipino people, he would, at the very least, do our country no harm.

But in less than two years, we were back in the streets, calling for Estrada’s impeachment, if not his resignation.

Since the assumption of the presidency by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, we have had little respite from political turbulence. President Arroyo has tried to move us forward but our country continues to be beset with internal as well as external problems.

Twenty years after his ultimate sacrifice, what would Ninoy have to say about where we, the recognized leaders of business and politics, have brought our country and our people? And while we are engaged in soul-searching, let us ask ourselves, where do we go from here?

Listening to political analysts, one would think that people power was in tatters. Where are the cheering crowds, they asked on the 17th anniversary of EDSA last February, which was celebrated with a simple mass inside the EDSA shrine.

In the face of such jeering cynicism, I feel it is time to harness people power in its fullest sense. It is time to equate people power not simply as a political tool, but more importantly as an ideology of hope.

People power, as I know it, refers to the collective efforts of individuals and communities to take control over their lives to pursue the common good for the greatest number.

We accomplished this politically in EDSA in 1986 and again in 2001. Now I believe it is time to make people power work for the Filipino economically and morally, by using it to create a dynamic, progressive, caring, and compassionate society, the kind our children would be proud to be a part of.

During the past two months, I have been traveling around the country meeting with Filipinos who have been doing extraordinary things for their fellow Filipinos. I have been inspired by the selflessness and caring of these people who have committed themselves to make life better for others. They truly represent what People Power People are all about.

People Power People generally work quietly and willingly, neither seeking nor getting publicity, but making a real difference in their communities. They bring health, livelihood, education, housing, and most important of all, empowerment, to people – especially the poor – who would otherwise lose hope in their situation.

I was thinking, if enough of us stopped complaining about how bad things are and did something to improve our environment, if we took responsibility for our communities, if we placed duty to country and people ahead of our personal interests, if we set aside politics for the higher goal of national unity and progress, we could inspire and uplift, teach and transform society.

I, for one, have resolved to set aside politics to concentrate on this path that I have chosen. Primarily, I want to ensure that this crusade is not tainted with partisan politics.

Our people are deeply suspicious of politicians whom they know only to be interested in them come election time. The real question they are asking is, “What’s in it for you?”

What’s in it for me is getting to know what People Power People are doing for our people and getting inspired by them. But I would rather tell the people what is in this for them.

Our people are tired of empty promises and ad hoc solutions to their problems. I want to address this gap by encouraging more people with the heart and the resources to follow in the footsteps of People Power People and undertake sustainable programs that will benefit needy communities.

I want our people to understand that I am committed to see that the People Power People movement lasts way beyond the next election. I intend to see it take root and flourish, regardless of who is president of our country, its fruits benefitting the Filipino people, and not any politician who might want to exploit it.

While it is important that we elect the best people to lead us, I do not want to be distracted from this crusade. Presidents will come and go but our people’s needs are constant.

The work at hand is challenging and difficult, but as the late Fr. Horacio de la Costa said, the question to ask is, not if it is difficult, but if it is worthwhile. Didn’t Ninoy say the Filipino is worth dying for?

Ninoy’s anguish was that the good he had done would come to nothing. But his ultimate sacrifice gave us back our freedom, restored democracy, and inspired people power. His life and death were not in vain.

So, you ask, Quo Vadis, Filipino? We could stay the country’s present course to political and economic perdition, or we could emulate, support, or be People Power People and take responsibility for empowering ourselves and our communities, regardless of the political or economic environment.
And so, on August 20, 2003, the eve of the 20th anniversary of Ninoy’s martyrdom, I am launching the People Power People Movement to pay tribute to many Filipinos who continue to selflessly offer themselves for the good of others. I have initially identified 20 groups to mark the 20th anniversary but I would like to meet more of these new heroes beyond our commemoration so that many more will inspire us to strive to be the best we can be.

This is the spirit of People Power People. Ultimately, it is the spirit of giving without counting the cost, toiling without seeking for rest, fighting and not heeding the wounds, working and not asking for any reward – save that of knowing that we are doing good for our country and people.

Corazon C. Aquino is a former President of the Republic of the Philippines. This speech was delivered before a Joint General Membership Meeting of the Makati Business Club, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, Industrial Houses Association of the Philippines, and the Management Association of the Philippines on 16 July 2003 at the Dusit Hotel Nikko in Makati.