MANILA - Through her death, former President Corazon Aquino has reunited the Filipino people once again, the late president's former spokesperson said Saturday.
"I think today, the Fillipino nation is again united the way it was in 1986. Ninety-nine percent are very admiring, sympathetic and grateful for what she and Ninoy have done for us," human rights lawyer Rene Saguisag, Mrs. Aquino's former presidential spokesman and legal adviser, told radio dzMM in an interview.
Saguisag said he had mixed feelings of pain and relief when he learned about Mrs. Aquino's death.
“Of course it’s painful, but at the same time, relieved that she is now beyond all pain,” he said.
He said the last time he saw the former president was in early 2008 when he was recuperating from the injuries from a car accident that killed his wife.
"Mahigit isang oras na consoling me, comforting me. That was early 2008," Saguisag said.
He remembers Mrs. Aquino as how she is perceived by all Filipinos--a true symbol of democracy. He said Mrs. Aquino did not only restore democracy in the country, she practiced it during her administration from 1986 until 1992.
Saguisag was one of the many opposition figures who convinced Mrs. Aquino to run for president against Marcos. He served as Mrs. Aquino's campaign spokesman and was eventually appointed presidential spokesman and legal adviser.
He said it was also Mrs. Aquino who convinced him, through his late wife, to run for senator in 1987.
"Ayaw ko rin namang pasukan iyon, pinatawag ang asawa ko. They had a very tearful session in the guest house," Saguisag said.
Saguisag said that from 1987 to 1992, Mrs. Aquino practiced what she preached.
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