Corazon "Cory" Aquino on Stamps

-
Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that office. Aquino was also the first popularly and democratically-elected female president and head of state in Asia. She is best remembered for leading the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, which toppled the authoritarian regime of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the Philippines. "Tita (Auntie) Cory", as she was affectionately known, is revered by many Filipinos as an icon of Democracy, and was hailed by TIME Magazine as the "Saint of Democracy," due to her well-known spiritual life and strong adherence to non-violence and democracy.

A self-proclaimed "plain housewife", Aquino was married to Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr., the popular opposition leader and staunchest critic of then President Ferdinand Marcos. Senator Aquino was assassinated on August 21, 1983 upon returning to the Philippines after his
exile in the United States.

After her husband's assassination, the widowed Aquino became the reluctant leader of the opposition against the authoritarian rule of the Marcos regime. She united the fragmented opposition and strengthened its moral crusade against the abuses and excesses of President Marcos' martial rule. In late 1985, when President Marcos called for a snap election, Cory Aquino challenged his regime. Aquino thrust herself into the political arena only after one million signatures urging her to run for president were presented to her.

Despite having no prior political experience, except being her husband Ninoy's wife, Aquino proved to be a cult leader, inspiring orator and skilled campaigner. She ran for president with former senator Salvador Laurel as her vice-presidential running mate. When Marcos-allied Batasang Pambansa proclaimed Ferdinand Marcos the winner in the 1986 snap elections, Aquino called for massive civil disobedience protests against him, declaring herself as having been cheated and as the real winner in the elections. Filipinos enthusiastically heeded her call and rallied behind her. These series of events eventually led to the ouster of Marcos from power and the installation of Aquino as president of the Philippines in February 1986, an event which is now known as the historic 1986 EDSA .

Now in power, Aquino oversaw the restoration of democracy in the Philippines and the promulgation of a new constitution, which limited the powers of the presidency and established a bicameral legislature. Her administration gave strong emphasis and concern for civil liberties and human rights, peace talks and dialogues with communist insurgents and Muslim secessionists. Aquino's economic policies, meanwhile, centered on bringing back economic health and confidence and focused on creating a market-oriented and socially-responsible economy. Despite these achievements, Aquino's presidency was not smooth-sailing as she had to face series of nine coup attempts against her administration and destructive natural calamities and disasters until the end of her term in 1992.

After her term expired in 1992, Aquino returned to private life although she remained active in the public eye, constantly voicing her views and opinions on the pressing political issues in the country. In 2008, Aquino was diagnosed with colorectal cancer (the same ailment that killed her mother Doña Demetria "Metring" Sumulong Cojuangco) and after a one-year battle with the disease, she died on August 1, 2009.

The Philippine Postal Corporation (Philpost) sold over 70,000 Cory Aquino’s limited-edition stamps, priced at P7 each, shortly after they were released last September 8, 2009. And now Philpost is launching another set of stamps since the first edition were sold out.

According to Postmaster General Hector Villanueva in a press statement:

“We have not had a stamp that sells like hotcakes. The people are lining at our post offices to get their hands on [the stamps]. We hardly had enough to supply the request of the Aquino family. It is phenomenal.”

Philpost will release the 2nd Cory Aquino limited-edition stamps for about 300,000 nationwide on September 18, 2009. And the new stamps will sport the same designs as the first edition, but with minor changes on the position of the postmark and some texts.

It is also considered as a collector’s item because it is exclusively issued by Philpost branches, the two differently-designed stamps joined side by side bear a photo of Aquino flashing the “Laban” sign on the left, and a photo of her smiling on the right.

Popular posts from this blog

The Visayas Art Fair 2024- Connect, Create, Cultivate

-
Image
  How do you show appreciation for your art and culture? By owning it- it is a piece of your heritage - a future relic. It does not have to be very beautiful or costly. But if it "speaks" to you, acquire it, keep it, because you like looking at it, your descendants will thank you for it. Your painting might be in the Cebu City museum in 2068!    Take the time to visit the Visayas Art Fair 2024. Twenty eight galleries from all over the country showcasing deeper visual imageries and a diversity of styles and representations. The VAF aims to expound on the relationship between the visual arts and the creative industries that fuel their economic potential.    The Visayas Art Fair was a historical undertaking in 2021 with the banner, Connecting The Islands Through Art, initiated by the National Commission for Culture and Arts , together with the Cebu Design Week Inc., Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas , Sacred Heart School for Boys Batch 1985 Foundation, a
Read more

Rodolfo S. Cornejo on Stamp

-
Image
Rodolfo S. Cornejo is the first Filipino composer who received an honory degree from a government recognized music school in the United States . He is also remarkable for his pianistic and compositional know-how by improvising a piano composition at the spur of the moment.   He was born on 15 May 1909 in Singalong , Manila . At the age of six, he had his formal piano lessons. After 2 years, he played fourteen pieces and six encores for his recital. In that same year, he became the organist of the Pasay Catholic Church when they moved in. When he was ten, he composed a piano piece entitled, " Glissando Waltz ". He became so keen and inspired about music by his mother's genuine support.    At 13, he composed the "Salute", a military march that was also published. He also composed the Philippine Suite: Paalam sa Pagakadalaga , Okaka Variations , Paalam na Sinta , Oriental Fantasy , Nocturne in G, Piano Concerto no. 1 , and the Moro Wedding Dance . At 14, tw
Read more

Manuel H. Bernabe on Stamps

-
Image
Manuel H. Bernabe (1890-1960) “King of Balagtasan ” in Spanish was a poet, linguist and politician, Manuel Bernabe was born on February 17, 1890 to Timoteo Bernabe and Emilia Hernandez of Paranaque, Rizal .   At the age of 10, he already started writing verses. He studied at the Ateneo de Manila where he finished his Bachelor of Arts degree with high academic standing in 1907, and then took up law at the University of Santo Tomas , but not able to took up the bar exams. In 1910, Manuel’s first poem was published in the Renacimento Filipino.   In 1912, he translated Virgil’s Aenid from Latin to Spanish. In 1913, he received an award for his poems: “Himno al Sagrado Corazon de Jesus (Hymn to the Sacred Heart of Jesus ), “El Zapote,” and “Espana a Filipinas”.   In 1912, he joined the staff of La Democracia and in 1918, of La Vanguardia of the Roces Publications . He was a columnist but from time to time he also published poems and short stories in the magazine Exelsior.   Manuel
Read more

Tops Artfest 2024- A Celebration of Art

-
Image
The TOPS ARTFEST 2024: Why The Cebu Community Should Not Miss It?  By Celso Duazo Pepito I was happy to graduate in Fine Arts in 1981 at the University of the Philippines Cebu . But for the next two to three decades of  my art practice, my journey as member of creative community were full of difficulties and challenges. In the 80's and 90's we had very limited platforms for exhibition, encouraging us to organize our exhibits in hotels , restaurants , malls , hospitals , etc . Added to our problems is the limited art collectors in Cebu during that time. Attendees of exhibitions, more often than not were same people who have the heart for collecting artworks. And there were instances when these collectors will shy away from art exhibitions, with valid reasons that they do not have enough walls to hang their collections. With this problem in mind, few artists have opted to look for another job, if only to survive. There were few passionate painters, however, that opted to nurture
Read more

Glimpses of Old Cebu: Images of the Colonial Era

-
Image
" Glimpses of Old Cebu: Images of the Colonial Era " is a 276-page coffee table book of nearly 600 of the best photographs, postcards , stereoviews and lantern glass slides of Cebu and its many towns taken between 1870-1945. More than just a mere showcasing of rare, never-before-seen images, the book also provides a treasure trove of information accompanying nearly every picture. The author, Lucy Urgello Miller has been collecting vintage Philippine postcards and photographs for over 20 years, the thrust of her collection being Cebu . She acquired 90% of her Cebu collection in the United States where she is living with her husband Richard "Rick" Miller. Most of the collection was bought at antique postcards shows. Lucy has about 1,000 pictures and postcards on Cebu but she selected only the best and most interesting for this book. Mommy Gingging, Lucy and my wife Grace A blue-blooded Theresian, Lucy spent her entire education from kind
Read more

The Kudyapi- The Philippine Two-Stringed Lute

-
Image
The kutiyapi or kudyapi, is a Philippine two-stringed, fretted boat-lute. It is the only stringed instrument among the Maguindanao people, and one of several among other groups such as the Maranao and Manobo . It is four to six feet long with nine frets made of hardened beeswax . The instrument is carved out of solid soft wood such as from the jackfruit tree.   Common to all kutiyapi instruments, a constant drone is played with one string while the other, an octave above the drone, plays the melody with a kebit or rattan pluck (commonly made from plastic nowadays). This feature, which is also common to other related Southeast Asian "boat lutes", which were influenced by varying degrees by Indian concepts of melody and scale via the Malay archipelago .   Among the T'Boli , Manobo and other Lumad groups, the instrument (known as Hegelung, Kudyapi or Fedlung) is tuned to a major pentatonic scale . Among groups like the Bagobo , the Kutiyapi (Kudlung) is also used as
Read more

Vicente Fabella on Stamps

-
Image
Vicente F. Fabell a (1891-1959). Educator, economist, civic leader and the first Filipino certified public accountant . He was the founder of Jose Rizal College .  He was born on May 7, 1891 in Pagsanjan , Laguna , the third of six children of Juan Fabella, who served as mayor of Pagsanjan during the Spanish and American regimes, and Damiana Fernandez.    He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of the Philippines in 1912 and then continued his studies in the United States, obtaining concurrent degrees of bachelor of philosophy from the University of Chicago and diploma in commerce from Northwestern University in 1915. That same year, he became a certified public accountant in the state of Wisconsin .   In 1916, upon his return to the Philippines, he became a professional lecturer in accounting and auditing at the University of the Philippines . At the same time, he opened the accounting firm, Vicente Fabella and Company.   He was instrumental in the founding
Read more