The United States, after conquering the country at the turn of the century, imported schoolteachers and doctors, and trained the Filipinos for eventual self-government. The Spanish also stimulated the development of a plantation economy that pauperized the mass of the peasantry and enriched a handful of landowners. Thus the archipelago is still a sprawl of disparate languages, cultures and loyalties, whose people lack a strong sense of national identity. The Philippines was a Western colony for nearly all its history, and that experience partly explains its plight.Įxcept for spreading Catholicism, the Spanish did little to unify the islands during 300 years of rule. So all the plans to renovate the Philippines, which have repeatedly been postponed, will be undoubtedly shelved again in the scramble to succeed her. She is a premature lame duck, however, having vowed to retire at the end of her term in 1992. Aquino is likely to meet resistance in Congress, the White House and the business community unless she displays more dynamism. Without additional help, those problems are bound to become increasingly critical. For while she has made progress, she has barely scratched the surface of the profound and pervasive social, economic and political problems that face the Philippines. But she cannot hope to rekindle the euphoria of her previous reception. Aquino will be back tomorrow in quest of aid, trade and investments, and her personal charm still inspires sympathy. She conquered Congress with a moving speech that ''Tip'' O'Neill, then speaker of the House, called the ''finest'' he had heard in his 34-year career. A modest, devout housewife, she had recently toppled the venal and despotic Ferdinand Marcos in a melodramatic morality play, and the capital gave her a tumultuous ovation.įormer Secretary of State George Shultz, a ''Cory'' doll pinned to his lapel, beamed with rare emotion at a banquet in her honor. Three years ago, when Philippine President Corazon Aquino arrived here on her first official visit, she was welcomed as if she were the reincarnation of Joan of Arc. Originally published on November 6, 1989.
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