My
parents gave me the name ‘Nico’, being
born a month after the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution. My mother explains
giving the name to me “matunog na matunog
ang sigaw ng bayan nung mga panahong iyon ‘Ninoy!’ at ‘Cory!’” and that she
was there in the streets of EDSA, 8-months pregnant (way to go!) with me.
Years
after, I still am in EDSA, having been involved in the community for more than
20 years already in different capacities, starting as a regular participant at
the Children’s Prayer Group (a play and pray group for children), an altar server, a lector and now as coordinator of the youth ministry. Members of the
community, hearing this story and witnessing my growth from Day 1 of the EDSA
Shrine, say that I’m living up to my name. I share their amazement of
the realization, because then I honestly did not care much about that story. It
didn’t matter much to me. It was not on purpose that I chose to serve at the EDSA
Shrine because of my name. For me it was simply an amusing coincidence.
It
was just last year when I learned of the significance of my name. In the Bible,
a person’s given name either suggested something of who one was or what
aspirations the parents had of their child. Take Moses’ name which meant “drew out” for he was drawn out from the
Nile River; Esau, the firstborn of
Isaac, was given that name for being born reddish and “hairy” and his twin was
given the name Jacob for he was
holding on to the “heel” of Esau when he came out of the womb; on the other
hand, we find Abram, which is Hebrew
for venerated father—a name that showed perhaps his parents’ hopes and dreams
toward his being.
Their
names established their identities to a degree of self-fulfilling prophecy. Moses indeed drew out God’s people from
Egyptian slavery to the Promised Land; Esau,
in his hunger, perhaps thought like a beast in exchanging his
birth right for a serving of red stew. Jacob,
whose name also meant “cheat” or “activist”, tricked his twin brother to giving
him his birth rights.
We also see God appoint new
names to his people. Jacob was named Israel,
which means “strong with God”, after wrestling with Him from night until
daybreak. Abram was changed to Abraham
promising him to be the “ancestor/ father of a multitude.” And of course, there
is Simon, the apostle, upon professing faith in Jesus as the Christ, was given
the name Peter which meant “rock” upon which Jesus built the Church. These new
names gave new character to their identities that brought to fulfillment God’s
plans in salvation history.
While I’m quite certain that
this is no longer how parents name their children nowadays, I somehow subscribe
to the idea that one’s given name does
carry with it a distinct identity, a character, a spirit that guides us in
our daily being and becoming. Our names contain our essence and purpose.
Now if this is “what’s
behind a name”, what does my name say about me then, being Ninoy-Cory?
I believe that I was named
after them because of the highest values and ideals they embodied:
Ninoy Aquino, was a
brilliant mind, yet, what made him distinct was his courageous act of coming
home to the Philippines with the knowledge that it might cost him his life. The Filipino was worth dying for, he claimed,
and brought it to reality. Cory on the other hand, from being a simple
homemaker to responding to the call of the people for her to run as President
of the Philippines, allowed herself to be used by God as an instrument of
bringing democracy back to the Filipinos; and so the people named her an Icon
of Democracy. But to me, she was first and foremost, a woman of deep faith and
prayer.
My name also carries the
context that I was born under: of euphoria from regaining democracy, of pride
for the Filipino race, of hope for a brighter future, for each Filipino to live
in justice, peace, solidarity and progress.
Come to think of it, what my
name contains overwhelms me. And yet, I’ve seen certain alignments of these in
my life. Following after two inspiring leaders, professionally, I’ve been
promoting leadership programs that cultivate the same values, inspiring dreams,
and ultimately transforming lives, especially that of the Filipino youth. There
is much to live up to with my name, but I take it as a reminder of WHO I am – MY
TRUTH; of WHAT I am to do – MY PURPOSE; of WHAT THERE IS TO GAIN – MY VISION.
Who I am embodies the
essence of these two modern heroes of EDSA, but don’t we all who are part of
the EDSA Shrine Community?
Unpublished editorial writeup for Shrinews August 2013 Special Issue. I was Editor-in-chief. :)
