by Venus R. Parmisana

A day before the interment of former President Corazon Aquino, the faculty members of the English Department of the College of Arts and Social Sciences, joined the Filipino nation in paying last respects by offering prayers and saying goodbye to our dearly loved Mother.

Clad in black or yellow, the faculty donned themselves with tiny yellow ribbons on their chests in support to what Aquino had fought for even until her last days. The CASS teachers put up ribbons in some areas at the CASS premise; set up an altar at the lobby where a photo of the late President was displayed; offered flowers of various kinds and put up a signage: “We will miss you, Tita Cory.”

The English teachers, headed by the Institute Secretary Dr. Rhodora “Nenet” Englis and Chairperson Prof. Nancy Echavez, stood by the altar and took a memento of the heartwarming moment. They shared a time of silence and recounted the greatness of Cory Aquino who led a bloodless revolt that restored democracy in the Philippine soil.

Some students heeded the call of solidarity and they came to school in black shirts with yellow ribbons. Yellow was the symbol of the nonviolent mass “people power” uprising that toppled Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.

Cory Aquino succumbed to complications due to colon cancer at 3:18 am on August 1, 2009, at age 76.

Topics : cory aquino