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Cory in 1985 interview: I do not seek any political office


For those of an older generation -- old enough to know what Big Ike's Happening was -- the accompanying video excerpt from a lengthy Cory Aquino interview is more than a revealing portrait of an unassuming future president. It's a window into the 1980s, down to the hair-do's of both the guileless widow and glib Viewpoint program host Dong Puno, then known as Ric. Compared to today's slick productions, Viewpoint was downright quaint. The real value of this cultural artifact, of course, is that it sets the stage for what we know happened in the months after the interview on August 20, 1985, the eve of Cory's husband Ninoy's second death anniversary. She was hoping the multitudes again would turn out to join her in marching in the streets.

When she claimed little interest in high office, one could sense her sincerity, another artifact from a more innocent time. "I think that I just serve as some kind of symbol now, reminding people of what Ninoy did and how we should sacrifice for our country," Cory told Ric Puno. She added that her political role was simply helping choose who would be Marcos's challenger in the event of a snap election. Watching this video, recently excavated from the files of Mr. Puno, the viewer relishes knowing the future and what both host and guest could only speculate about at the time. Months later, Marcos did call for a snap election that would take place in February 1986. Cory the self-described homebody would soon occupy what media likes to call "the Palace," and she would become the closest modern Filipinos would have to a benevolent queen. - HOWIE G. SEVERINO, GMANews.TV
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