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A Rousing Farewell on Cory's Final Ride Down Ayala Avenue
5:19 PM
(UPDATE) Recalling both the funeral procession of her husband
and the protest movement that catapulted her to power, Corazon Aquino
made her final journey down historic Ayala Avenue at midday Monday as
yellow confetti rained down on a crowd estimated to be in the tens of
thousands.
Like her slain husband Ninoy, former president Aquino was in a casket
traveling on a flat-bed truck, as well-wishers ready for rain but
enduring a scorching heat instead sang along to songs made famous
during the triumphant 1980s campaign against former dictator Ferdinand
Marcos.
As the convoy reached Makati, office employees spilled out to the
streets to show their support for Mrs. Aquino, who passed away Saturday
after more than a year-long battle with colon cancer. Many of them
flashed the "Laban" sign or raised clenched fists, with yellow ribbons wrapped around their wrists.
Aquino supporters escorted the truck while the convoy inched its way
down Ayala Avenue, shouting "Cory! Cory!" Students and other groups
marched in front as it neared the monument of opposition leader Benigno
"Ninoy" Aquino Jr., Mrs. Aquino’s husband, whose assassination in 1983
sparked a wave of protest that swept his widow to power.
The scenes were reminiscent of the protests that culminated in the 1986
EDSA people power revolt that ended the dictatorial rule of Ferdinand
Marcos and installed Mrs. Aquino to the presidency.
The Insular Life building in front of Ninoy Aquino’s monument flashed “Cory, hindi ka nag-iisa"
(Cory, you are not alone) on its ticker tape projection screen. The
business district had been one of the centers of anti-Marcos protests
in the years leading to the EDSA revolt.
Thousands
of supporters stood in the intense noonday heat to view the flag-draped
coffin of Mrs. Aquino. Mang Nestor, a 75-year-old Makati resident, said
he did not mind enduring the heat and congestion as long as he got to
see the remains of the former president.
Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay paid tribute to the late president as the cortege reached the monument: “Salamat, sapagkat kayo ang nagbalik ng tunay na demokrasya." (Thank you for bringing back genuine democracy.)
The song “Bayan Ko," popularized during the 1986 People Power Revolution, was sung afterwards, accompanied with raised fists and Laban signs.
Supporters waved yellow flags with the face of Ninoy while yellow
banners fluttered from the windows of high-rise buildings along Ayala
Avenue.
A shopping mall played “Magkaisa," a song that became the anthem of the 1986 People Power Revolution, as the convoy slowly made its way along Ayala avenue.
The cortege is expected to reach the Manila Cathedral at 2 p.m. Public viewing of Mrs. Aquino’s remains will resume at 4 p.m. - Sophia Dedace and Melissa de los Santos, GMANews.TV
