MANILA, Philippines — The nation marks the 79th Birth Anniversary of former President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino on January 25, 2012. She was the 11th and the first woman President of the Philippines. Her Presidency, which saw the restoration of democratic institutions in the Philippines and the enactment of the 1987 Constitution, spanned six years from February 25, 1986, to June 30, 1992. President Aquino was the mother of President Benigno S. Aquino III, the 15th President of the Philippines.

The focal point of the celebration of President Aquino’s Birth Anniversary will be her monument on Roxas Boulevard and her gravesite at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City. There will be wreath-laying and speeches that will extol her love of God, country, and people, integrity and honesty.

Born on January 25, 1933, in Paniqui, Tarlac, President Corazon C. Aquino was the sixth of eight children of Jose C. Cojuangco Sr. of Tarlac and Demetria Sumulong of Antipolo, Rizal. She finished grade school as valedictorian in St. Scholastica’s College in Manila in 1943.

She studied at the Assumption Convent in 1946, and was sent to the United States to study in Ravenhill Academy in Philadelphia, Notre Dame Convent School in New York, and College of Mount Saint Vincent, also in New York where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in French Language, minor in Mathematics in 1953.

After graduation, she returned to the Philippines, married opposition leader, Senator Benigno S. (Ninoy) Aquino Jr. on October 11, 1954, and led the simple life of a housewife and mother of five children – only son, Benigno S. Aquino III and daughters Maria Elena, Aurora Corazon, Victoria Eliza, and Kristina Bernadette.

She became a rallying figure of the opposition when her husband was assassinated on August 23, 1983. The People Power Revolution of February 25, 1986, catapulted her to the presidency. She received acclaim as a global icon of democracy.

Among her awards and citations: One of 15 Champions of World Democracy, One of 65 Asian Heroes, David Rockfeller Bridging Leadership Award, Pearl S. Buck Award, Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding, J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding from the US Department of State, United Nations Silver Medal, Canadian International Prize for Freedom, and Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award.

She stepped down from the presidency in 1992, but remained active in public life. She delivered speeches and lectures in international forums. She passed away at the age of 76 on August 1, 2009. Thousands of people joined her funeral procession which lasted for almost eight hours.

We join the nation and the Filipino people in honoring and paying tribute to President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino on her 79th Birth Anniversary. May her virtues and spirituality be an inspiration to us all. MABUHAY!