When President Marcos declared martial law in 1972, one of his most vigorous

opponents was the rising young politician Benigno Aquino (cf. Firing Lines #S302, #S303, and #S665). Aquino was promptly jailed on charges of murder and subversion, and his sole link with the outside world became his wife, Corazon (Cory), who up till then had played a very private role. In 1980 Aquino was permitted to go to the United States for heart surgery, taking his family with him. In 1983 he returned to resume his political career, and was gunned down at the airport. (On Marcos's orders? Mr. Pelaez: "Well, let's say that he created the environment which led some people to believe that they were doing him a service by eliminating Mr. Aquino.") In an election held in February of 1986 Mrs. Aquino defeated President Marcos; when he attempted to overturn her victory, a military rebellion backed by massive street demonstrations forced him to flee. At the time of this show, Mrs. Aquino had just paid her first state visit to the United States, to wild acclaim. Mr. Pelaez, whom she had called out of retirement to be her

ambassador, here recounts his country's recent history--often very movingly--and offers his own thoughts, less on "where is Cory going" than on what the U.S. should do.