Today, one year ago, we lost one of the most loved, if not the most loved, Philippine presidents. Fondly referred to as the Saint of Democracy, former President Corazon “Cory” Aquino finally joined her creator. It would have been a fine Saturday, 1 August 2009.

Prior to August 1, we’ve followed the medical bulletins indicating that President Aquino, fondly called Tita Cory, was in a lot of physical suffering from cancer. While we prayed for a miracle, we were also preparing for the reality that Tita Cory would be gone any time soon. And so on the first day of the month of August, the same month that her martyred husband (Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino) died, Tita Cory was finally granted eternal rest.

We wrote during that day: “We mark this day, 1 August 2009, as a very sad and solemn day for Filipinos. Today, at around 3:18 a.m., our beloved former President Corazon “Cory” Aquino, joined her Creator.”

We could continue writing about her life, but let’s just say that the previous write-up would suffice for our purpose (see President Corazon “Cory” Aquino, 1933-2009). She was buried on August 5, declared as a national holiday to enable Filipinos to grieve without being hampered by work. Not much difference without the holiday; so many Filipinos would be absent anyway.

We wanted to go to the Manila Cathedral for her wake. That’s the first and only time that someone who is a “civilian” (laity or someone who is not a member of the clergy) was allowed the privilege and honor of having a wake at the Manila Cathedral. Our friends and relatives were there, braving the almost half a day of wait in the queue and the heavy rains. Nobody budged. We weren’t able to make it.

We wanted to join the procession from the Manila Cathedral to the Manila Memorial Park in Paranaque, where Cory was buried, but we were not able to attend. Yet we could not work or leave the house. We were glued in front of the TV watching the entire thing, from the preparations in the morning until the sign-off in the evening.

A year after, when monuments were created in Cory’s honor (see Cory Aquino Memorial Shrine), we finally resolved to visit her grave and pay our respects. “Guard, saan banda si Tita Cory?” (Where is the tomb of Tita Cory?), we asked the guard at the entrance of the Manila Memorial Park. Just 10 or 15 minutes back, coming from the direction of Makati, we took the Sucat exit of the South Luzon Expressway, turning right at the first intersection. We saw the Loyola Memorial Park, but was told that’s not the place. Just go straight up ahead. We saw the Manila Memorial Park, also at the left side of the road.

“Ah, kay Tita Cory. Pagdating niyo sa fountain, kanan papunta sa pataas na tulay. Pagkatapos ng apat na intersection, makikita mo si Tita Cory sa kanan.” The guard seem to be know that there’s no other Tita Cory. He knew exactly where the tomb is. He probably heard and answered the same questions, “where is the tomb of Tita Cory,” a million times before. He probably visited the tomb. We said thank you and went our way, except that we did not find any fountain.

The memorial park is huge, even bigger than many subdivisions. It has huge and grandly-designed mausoleums, with names that resembles a who’s who list of known family names. The yellow ribbons on posts and trees were no help — they’re everywhere. We assumed that we could easily spot the mausoleum of Tita Cory and Ninoy. We thought the mausoleum would be the grandest and the biggest. But assumption, as one movie line goes, is the mother of all f*#kups.

The last man we asked was a driver onboard his tricycle, having just dropped a passenger. “Doon po,” he said, “ituturo ko po sa inyo.” We thought he’d just raise his hand and point towards the general direction of the tomb. Then, without hesitation, he made a u-turn, and led us all the way to the tomb. We were amazed. This is the same kind of spirit during the burial of Tita Cory, when people spontaneously acted in unexpected ways to show their respect and appreciation for this extraordinary woman. This is the same spirit of the four honor guards, who stood in attention for a whole day, without food and water, under the sun and in pouring rain. This is the same spirit of a sea of people who gathered around the cortege and walked from the Manila Cathedral to the burial site. 22 kilometers, more or less.

“Salamat po,” was all we could say to the driver. He smiled and went his way. After half an hour of finding our way around the memorial park, we found the mausoleum of Tita Cory. It is so simple, dwarfed by the surrounding mausoleum’s for other lesser mortals. Typical of Cory.

We went to visit the tomb ahead of Cory’s death anniversary. We figured many people, including President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino and his siblings, would visit on August 1 and we might not have the silence to pay our respects. Yest five people were already there when we arrived around 10 a.m. Four more individuals arrived while we were saying our prayers. In all likelihood, these visitors, just like us, are unknown to President Cory Aquino or her entire family. But we know Tita Cory. She will be missed. Terribly missed.