Philippine history is filled with Filipino women accomplishing feats of which they were thought incapable because patriarchy deemed so. They were not called leaders, but heroes:  Melchora Aquino (aka Tandang Sora) provided medical care, food, and sanctuary to revolutionaries; Gregoria de Jesús guarded the Katipunan seal and documents, and served as secretary of its women’s section; Gabriela Silang led the fight for independence against Spain; and Pura Villanueva Kalaw championed women’s rights to vote and participate in the political process.

The term “hero” has become interchangeable with “leader,” with more Filipino women assuming leadership roles traditionally reserved for men. Corazon “Cory” Cojuangco Aquino became the Philippines’ first woman president in 1986, ending the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and redefining leadership as building a better life for the people, not as exercising absolute control and normalizing corruption.

But Cory Aquino’s legacy is under fire with the rampant corruption and disregard for the people’s rights and lives. To honor and keep her legacy alive, the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation (NCAF) and De La Salle University-Jesse M. Robredo Institute of Governance (DLSU-JRIG) held the inaugural President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino Forum on Women in Leadership on Oct. 16 at DLSU’s Henry Sy Sr. Hall. The forum will henceforth be held annually.

DLSU-JRIG director Francisco Magno said Cory Aquino’s administration wasn’t just historic but also transformative, inspiring the JRIG to strive to “nurture ethical, people-centered, and inclusive leaders—especially women and the youth—who’ll carry forward the unfinished work of democratic transformation.”

Francis Joseph “Kiko” Aquino Dee, NCAF executive director and University of the Philippines Diliman political science senior lecturer, said his grandmother “faced many challenges as a woman candidate and as our first woman president.” 

“This memorial forum series is about seeing how these challenges have changed or persisted for women leaders today,” he said.

Jia Aquino Dee, Cory’s granddaughter, added in a video message: “People everywhere today yearn for leaders with integrity. Despite the unique challenges that they face, women in the Philippines and around the world have done more than their fair share to fill that gap. May this memorial forum in Lola Cory’s name become a regular space for women from all walks of life to celebrate our victories and learn from each other as we make the world a fairer and better place.”

The speakers were Margie Penson Juico, Cory Aquino’s appointments secretary from 1986 to 1992 and a former chair of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office; Heidi Mendoza, a former commissioner of the Commission on Audit; Dinagat Rep. Arlene “Kaka” Bag-ao; and  Vice Mayor Aina Mari Sisante Maligalig of Magallanes, Cavite. 

They were described by the organizers as embodying “courage, tenacity, and compassion in advocating for good governance and social change.”

‘Character is everything’

Speaking via Zoom, Mendoza said she and Cory Aquino had parallel lives as housewives, mothers and reluctant politicians, and that the former president—who, she noted, chose country over self—reminded her that leadership is not wholly about dominance and control.

Mendoza said she entered politics and sought a seat in the Senate in the May midterm elections because she was sick and tired of the wrongdoings in government, and “believed in the power of the people.” She urged young Filipinos to view Cory Aquino as a challenge to rise above apathy and show courage in the real world.

Juico said she felt overwhelmed working in Malacañang during Cory Aquino’s administration but learned that “leadership isn’t the absence of fear but saying ‘yes’ to duty even if your knees are shaking,” and that “courage wears a gentle face.” 

She said Cory Aquino’s moral compass guided her in helping her boss “make optimum time” of her presidency: “I had to say ‘no’ to powerful recommendations. I kept in mind what she said—‘Was it right?’ Was it moral?’ Character was everything.”

“Cory was the quiet guardian of integrity,” Juico said. She said the then President disdained the executive and legislative powers granted her under the old Constitution, which led to her overseeing the drafting of the new Constitution that came into effect on Feb. 11, 1987, establishing the Philippines as a democratic state with sovereign people.

Juico went on to say that Cory Aquino was a paradigm of deep faith, quiet strength, and delicadeza (propriety), who believed that leadership should be served with a clean heart. She refused the unnecessary privileges and trappings of power, and paid for her children’s airfare when they travelled, Juico said. 

“She wanted to be one with the people,” Juico said. “She consulted a lot of people before making a decision. There was no distance between the public and private Cory.” 

Juico further said Cory Aquino’s legacy of restored democracy and decency in public life exemplified a leadership that lifted others, and reflected “women’s leadership as grounded on compassion and nurtured outside of themselves.”

After Cory Aquino’s term ended, Juico stayed on for 17 years as her special assistant, continuing their shared advocacies of faith, people empowerment, and social justice. She said their mantra was “I work with all my heart, I pray with all my might, and the rest I leave it up to God.”

Maligalig said she was only a year old when Cory Aquino became president. Nonetheless, “she’s an inspiration [because] without her there might be less women leaders,” the vice mayor said. “She’s someone you can be proud of, someone to prop up as an example because of her integrity and delicadeza.”

“Her presidency is proof that women leadership is possible. Difficult but possible,” Maligalig added.

Defining moments

Not all the speakers were able to deliver their remarks at length. But the forum moderator, Marites Dañguilan Vitug, asked each to share the defining moment that brought them to their positions.

Juico said it was the 1986 Edsa Revolution that thrust her into public service.

Maligalig said she was struck when a recipient of an affidavit she had prepared expressed gratitude for it. “Whatever you do has an impact,” she said. “You don’t have to look at the top. Start at the bottom and know what the grassroots need to initiate reform.” 

Bag-ao said her defining moment was learning about democracy and citizen participation at DLSU, her alma mater, and in her case with the farmers fighting for land ownership in Sumilao, Bukidnon.

She overcame intense challenges in Dinagat Islands where she unseated the ruling Ecleo family, earning her the moniker “Dragon Slayer.” She has been leading participatory programs empowering women, farmers and fishers in the course of her service as Akbayan Party-list representative in 2010, Dinagat representative in 2013 and 2016, Dinagat governor from 2019 to 2022, up to now as representative again.

“It’s hard going up against a dynasty because the Ecleos were considered gods…” said Bag-ao, a social justice advocate and alternative lawyer. She cited the cultish mindset of the Ecleo  followers who, she said, bought and drank the water their “masters” had bathed in as a prophylactic measure against Covid-19.

She said she was the only electoral candidate in Dinagat who is not an Ecleo, but she was undaunted. She recalled being buoyed by the encouragement of Cory Aquino’s son, then President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. “PNoy was the first president to help young politicians like me,” she said.

In her election campaign, Bag-ao said, she showed the people of Dinagat the contrasts between her and the Ecleo dynasty, and offered alternatives. Instead of the usual ayuda, or handouts, she set up livelihood programs and scholarships “with the help of PNoy,” as well as workshops. She connected the people to one another by paving and cementing the roads in Dinagat and, during the pandemic, she engaged the women in sewing face masks and had quarantine facilities constructed. 

She also said she lives like her constituents—in simple and accessible domiciles—unlike, she said, the Ecleos’ out-of-bounds palatial homes. 

Fighting misogyny 

Cory Aquino’s administration was plagued by nine coup attempts, highlighting the view of her by certain sectors of the military as not strong enough for the presidency, Juico said, adding that the journalist Louie Beltran, since deceased, also ridiculed her by writing that she hid under her bed during one coup attempt. 

“The military wasn’t ready to accept governance,” Juico said. “There was conflict and she resolved it well by ending her [term] peacefully and handing the office to a military officer.” It was a retired five-star general, Fidel V. Ramos, who succeeded her as president.

Cory Aquino sued Beltran for libel and “did all she could for the military to be satisfied with her governance,” Juico said. For example, Juico said, the Bigay Puso outreach program had the wives of military officers and Cabinet members leading the relief services for calamity victims. She also “forgave Secretary of Defense Juan Ponce Enrile for the coup attempts,” Juico said. 

Vice Mayor Maligalig said that in her experience, “women aren’t seen as weak in Magallanes compared to other cities” because even the mayor is a woman. She said her policies promote good governance, social welfare, and gender and development.

The question arose: Would a woman taking on masculine traits be effective in fighting misogyny? 

Bag-ao argued it wouldn’t work but redefining leadership would—“like what Cory did”—by presenting women’s characteristics that show leadership values. “Women are more consultative and transparent in policies, in how they present themselves, and in putting action in the right perspective [because] democracy needs nurturing,” she said.

She herself has been a casualty of leadership stereotyping, including being branded as rebellious during her DLSU days and as hating commitment because she is unmarried, Bag-ao said. The situation is completely opposite when it comes to her unmarried male counterparts, she pointed out, deploring how women are still “treated as second-class citizens.”

Empowerment

That women are capable is a given, but the issue of how they can claim more space and opportunities remains. Maligalig called for more role models to follow, for more “women worthy of emulation.”

Bag-ao identified the Sangguniang Kabataan as a good venue to engage communities in a smaller scope, and to push the mindset that serving the people is not about money or a political business passed down through generations. “There must be participation to guard against corruption and political dynasties. The political party system and anti-dynasty bill must be strengthened to prevent corruption,” she said.

She also underscored the challenge of creating more spaces for women—an advocacy that, she pointed out, is comparatively more difficult because women are tied up with duties and chores, unlike men who have “more time to join seminars, etc.” She cited a solution that has helped the women in Dinagat—employing women participants of its Sustainable Livelihood Program to do the meal catering for their meetings. 

“It’s important that mothers be given economic power,” Bag-ao said. “We should understand what the needs of mothers are, including single mothers. We should create participative democratic spaces where they can truly express themselves.”