Why Cory Aquino stood tall: Prayer and virtue in leadership

A forum held recently sought to revive the values that defined the presidency of the late Corazon C. Aquino—moral and ethical virtues like integrity, humility, propriety or “delicadeza.” But reading the Inquirer report (see “Forum: Cory Aquino’s leadership values, and making them the norm again,” 10/19/25) on the forum, it seemed to miss the true sources of Aquino’s strength and power.

It was, for this aged slob, her life of prayer rooted in a profound and true faith, from which other virtues arise. Without these, Aquino would not have been the redeeming leader that she was.

Of course, we need those virtues. But they cannot exist without prayer and true faith, faith as distinguished from the fake ones that some public figures now wield to our consternation. It is our duty to develop them. They can hone our hunger for truth and justice and spawn unselfish public service. Sometimes, they result in acts of urgently needed sacrifice.

Their lack deadens concern for public good. Many possess those virtues, even just in rudimentary forms, but they are easily corroded by the unseen and visible vicissitudes of the world, the flesh and the devil. They can be overwhelmed, and then be totally obliterated—as what has apparently happened to many government men these days.

Quite importantly, the presence and efforts of a truly faithful, prayerful, and devoted leader can transform the atmosphere and aura of his workplace, or the “culture” of his office, to become more effective and productive in achieving its mission and goals for the good of the public at large. The opposite is also true.

Aquino, as I saw her from a distance, was a woman of deep prayer. Prayer and faith were the sources of her will, her staying strength and her transforming power. Prayer can enable our virtues to withstand the eroding elements that are all about us. It can ultimately result in the transformation that Aquino effected in our land.

It should now be obvious to perceptive guys that no amount of human determination, brilliance, and effort can solve, or make just a meaningful dent on the perennial problems afflicting us, interrelated they may be—corruption, graft, poverty, hunger, backwardness, ineffective government, etc.

It does seem—and many will agree—that our overall situation has gotten worse instead, though there may have been times when there was palpable promise in our horizon—because there was a prayerful guy on top, like Aquino’s son, the late President Benigno Aquino III.

Aquino gave rise to a contrast too glaring to be ignored. Her predecessor derided her as a plain, know-nothing housewife, and there seemed to be something to that claim.

On the other hand, her predecessor had a brilliant and proven legal mind. His regime brought our land, then the leading nation in Asia, to its darkest period after World War II, and practically to the brink of hell.

In contrast, that simple, know-nothing housewife brought about promise, liberation and change, and restoration, transformation, and redemption. She stabilized our democratic moorings, saving the nation. And she withstood powerful factions that used everything, including armed might, to put her down and bring on their own nefarious agendas.

Oddly, with our country facing another very dark predicament, there is no strong, unequivocal call for prayer. Those rallies shouting for justice for public thieves and grafters won’t bring us anywhere—or any ray of real hope. So would those investigations, despite the apparent sincerity and determination of our probers.

But we still need those rallies and investigations. We have to pursue matters to their logical ends. We have to enforce human righteousness and justice—for the sake of our self-respect, sanity, and social order. We have to put across a strong message to those who don’t understand what human affairs are all about.

We also need to look at ourselves and our nation—for we have collectively seemed to have become a profane, corrupt race despite our Christian faith. We need to strengthen our faith and prayer lives. Let us remember that human effort alone, no matter how brilliant and great, cannot swing it. This time, let’s be sure that our effort at nation-building results in success.

Quin T. Ataviado,

quintataviado@gmail.com