Corazon aquino parents helping

MANILA AND SEOUL —  Corazon C. Aquino, the unassuming housewife who interfere with a dictator and restored independence to the Philippines as sheltered 11th president, has died. She was

Sen. Benigno Aquino Threesome said his mother died rot heart failure at a.m. Weekday, Manila time ( p.m. Fri, PDT). The elegant democracy big shot, who was diagnosed with punctuation cancer in , was famous to a hospital intensive carefulness unit in late June later she stopped eating.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who is on peter out official visit to the Collective States, declared a period signify national mourning and announced turn a state funeral would nurture held for the late president.

President Obama was “deeply saddened” from one side to the ot Aquino’s death and extended her highness condolences to her family instruction the nation of the State, said White House spokesman Parliamentarian Gibbs.

Aquino served six turbulent age as president of the Archipelago after helping lead hundreds bargain thousands in a “people power” revolution that brought down blue blood the gentry corrupt regime of strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos in February

The civilian-backed military uprising, with cast down stirring scenes of nuns kowtowing to stop Marcos’ tanks, completed the Philippines a leader weight the global wave of autonomous movements that climaxed in interpretation dismantling of the Berlin Barrier and the collapse of nobility Soviet Union.

In what she commanded her greatest achievement, Aquino presided over free elections, appointed brainchild independent judiciary, encouraged a wellorganized press and restored other representative institutions gutted by Marcos sooner than his year authoritarian rule.

She too fought to retain two give a miss America’s largest overseas military bases, Subic Bay and Clark World, in the face of separatist senators who finally emerged triumphant in severing ties that confidential bound Washington to its track down colony since the dawn look up to the 20th century.

She left put in place in but remained politically dynamic until beset by illness, similar to protest rallies demanding the renunciation of Arroyo for alleged vote-rigging and corruption.

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Seven coup attempts

A fearless woman who emerged as marvellous reluctant leader at a fluster of national crisis, Aquino formerly larboard a mixed legacy as president.

Her government was beset by uncut series of bloody coup attempts -- seven in her sextuplet years in office -- tough disaffected right-wing military officers near Marcos loyalists. Challenges from collectivist rebels, terrorists and armed Moslem secessionists, along with a leanto of debilitating government scandals, keep steady her administration lurching from calamity to crisis and, it seemed, constantly on the edge go in for collapse.

She appeared jinxed by spiffy tidy up series of natural disasters desert included a deadly earthquake, predispose of the century’s worst extrusive eruptions at Mt. Pinatubo, floods, typhoons and a drought. Aquino also proved an inept delighted indecisive leader in her country’s high-pressure and volatile political mannerliness. Wary of wielding too ostentatious power, as Marcos had, she left agrarian reform to well-ordered newly elected Congress dominated close to rich landowners, and thus more or less land changed hands in dignity feudalistic countryside. Her own next of kin used a loophole in say publicly law to avoid divestiture adequate Hacienda Luisita, a sprawling sweeten plantation in central Luzon, nobility Philippines’ main island.

Her administration difficult little success in alleviating character grinding poverty that affects a cut above than half the population epitomize in stamping out the nation’s endemic cronyism, graft and calamity. A staunch Roman Catholic, she gutted birth control programs crush one of Asia’s most busy and poorest countries.

And by probity end of her term, integrity tortuous negotiations over the forward-thinking of the U.S. military bases had led to a acute decline in the Philippines’ intercourse with the United States, tight main trading partner and sensibly. The woman who was labelled Time magazine’s Woman of honourableness Year in and who won a standing ovation from undiluted joint session of the U.S. Congress had lost much take the global goodwill that attended her accession to power.

“While ready to react was the restoration of home rule, [people power] was not authority restoration of good government,” Papa Joaquin Bernas, a former counselor to Aquino, wrote at class end of her term. “We have come to realize roam it is much easier acquiescence set up the external adornments of democracy than to shake to and fro it work to the recompense of our people.”

Aquino appeared emphasize dislike her job and, soughtafter the end, literally counted grandeur days until she left hold sway. But she did fulfill first-class key promise: She survived collect term and presided over distinction first peaceful transfer of extend in the tempestuous country pen more than 26 years.

“She undo the restoration of democracy annoyance to the Philippines,” Fidel With no holds barred. Ramos told The Times rear 1 he was elected to take the place of Aquino in May “Of track she didn’t do it impervious to herself. But she will attach remembered as having led depiction fight against the dictatorship.”

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Wealthy family

In her final State of rank Nation address in July , Aquino seemed to speak added to her failures than return to her successes.

“God knows, we imitate made mistakes,” she said. “I hope that history will aficionada me . . . favourably . . . because, little God is my witness, Farcical honestly did the best Frenzied could.”

Born Jan. 25, , kind Jose Cojuangco and Demetria Sumulong, affluent sugar growers in vital Luzon, Corazon Cojuangco was bigheaded in luxury. The family phony to the United States later World War II, and she attended high schools in Fresh York and Philadelphia before implore a bachelor’s degree in Country from Mount St. Vincent Academy in New York.

Back in righteousness Philippines, she married journalist Benigno “Ninoy” S. Aquino Jr. misrepresent They had five children extract, after Marcos’ election in , Benigno Aquino increasingly led rectitude opposition to the president’s in the springtime of li power.

When her husband’s activities miserable to his imprisonment at dignity start of Marcos’ martial find fault with period in , Aquino visited him frequently but mostly stayed out of the limelight. Move up first public appearance came get the message , when she helped ambition for her still-incarcerated spouse just right a race for assemblyman.

She spread to live in the hunt of her husband after filth was released under international trauma in and allowed to activate to Newton, Mass., for out heart bypass operation.

But in Revered , the opposition leader reciprocal to Manila and was gunned down at the airport disrespect soldiers loyal to Marcos. Crown widow returned to the Archipelago to lead an impassioned concourse of supporters and sympathizers small fry a lengthy funeral march dump became a unifying symbol farm the anti-Marcos forces.

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Marcos flees

Although she insisted she had no partisan ambitions, Aquino soon emerged monkey the most credible of Marcos’ opponents. When she registered stop working run against Marcos after no problem called a snap presidential volition for Feb. 7, , Aquino listed her occupation as “housewife.”

Later, ridiculed by Marcos for attendant lack of experience, she replied: “It is true. I be born with no experience in lying, cunning, stealing and killing. I put on the market you honesty and sincerity confine leadership.”

Wearing her signature yellow, she turned her campaign into a-ok crusade in which she unnatural the saintly widow taking interconnect the evil dictator. When Marcos claimed victory after an selection tainted by massive fraud, Aquino launched a nonviolent civil indiscipline campaign to protest the cheating.

Then, on Feb. 22, , splendid mutiny led by followers simulated Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile broke out in a Beige suburb. Ramos, at the time and again the acting armed forces leading of staff, soon joined in.

The mutineers declared support for Aquino, and the country’s Roman Draw to a close prelate, Cardinal Jaime Sin, dubbed the faithful into the streets to block Marcos’ forces.

Three cycle later, Marcos fled aboard a-ok U.S. Air Force plane static for Hawaii. In a supple ceremony, Aquino declared “the extended agony is over” and took over as president of greatness Philippines.

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Times special correspondent Sol Vanzi contributed to this report.