All roads lead to La Salle, to Tita Cory

Its a sad sad day in in Manila and the heavens are mourning too with this downpour. The traffic in my hood in Greenhills has been bad since this morning where it seems like everyone is headed to La Salle to pay tribute to Tita Cory.
The remains of the former president of the Philippines and national hero is now in the school for public viewing.
She passed away this morning at 3:18am of cardio-respiratory arrest. She has been suffering from colon cancer for more than a year.
I remember this People Power icon, great woman-power role model, my hero who was hurled into politics when her husband ex-Senator Ninoy Aquino was murdered at the tarmac of the airport. I was studying in Brussels then and would be glued on TV to find out what's going on back home while my sisters would march to EDSA and be part of history.
Quotable quotes of Cory (from Boo): “I could have rigged the 1992 elections for my successor. Instead, I directed the chiefs of the military to do the country proud by assuring a fair and free election, whatever the result. Better still, I could have run myself. The constitutional limitation of a single presidential term did not apply to me. But that limitation was a cornerstone of the new Constitution I had caused to be drafted and for which I vigorously campaigned. How could I serve as the first example of its moral violation?”
"June 30, 1992 was therefore one of the proudest moments of my life. I was stepping down and handing the presidency to my duly elected successor. This was what my husband had died for; he had returned precisely to forestall an illegal political succession. This moment is democracy's glory: the peaceful transfer of power without bloodshed, in strict accordance with law.”
She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for championing democracy and human rights in 1986 but lost to Elie Wiesel. We will surely miss Tita Cory!