The passing of former President Corazon Aquino did not only trigger the momentum for the launch of her son Noynoy’s victorious campaign for the presidency. It also required changes in the Aquino Museum in Tarlac City.

For now, much of the space is devoted to the political journey of former senator Benigno “Ninoy”  Aquino Jr. that ended prematurely with his assassination, and whose mastermind has gone unprosecuted. It is a death not in vain, though, for it politically emboldened a people who have been stifled for so long. The remaining area features the presidency of Mrs. Aquino, and the People Power Revolution that paved the way for her entry into Malacañang.

But because of the public’s outpouring of adulation for Mrs. Aquino during her wake and funeral, the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation (NCAF) has decided to renovate the museum to highlight also what she did after her term—“her contribution to the development of nongovernmental organizations, the protection of Philippine democracy, the promotion of people empowerment, as well as her influence on Philippine history in general.”

For this reason, a competition entitled “Re-Awakening Democracy” was  launched by NCAF, under the sponsorship of a private corporation, with the objective of creating “a design solution for the permanent exhibition of the Aquino Museum.”

As of this writing, three finalists have been chosen, and they now have “to develop their designs into full schematic level,” which would serve as a basis for selecting the winner.  Reliable sources say that the grand winner will be announced in August—most likely on Mrs. Aquino’s second death anniversary.

It is hoped that the changes will give the public a better idea of who Mrs. Aquino was not only as a president but as a person.

In a tour given for the staff of the Ateneo de Manila John Gokongwei School of Management, Nina Abellada, the Aquinos’ first granddaughter, recalled the former President as a doting grandmother who was there not only during important events in their life, but who was also ready to do ordinary things with them, like going to the National Book Store to buy school stuff. She would also tell her grandchildren stories about Ninoy, especially of his courage and love of country.

The closeness is such, says Abellada, that they can go and confide their problems to Mrs. Aquino, who would always tell them to pray for God’s guidance. Even when she was already sick, Mrs. Aquino would still pray with her grandchildren whenever they had problems, however “minor” they seemed to be, like landing a job.

This is not to suggest that the exhibit focuses on Mrs. Aquino’s being a grandmother. Rather, it should reveal her person and character based on such anecdotes.

As Ballsy Cruz, the Aquinos’ eldest daughter, was reported to have said the renovated museum should highlight Mrs. Aquino’s traits and values. For instance, her mother, Cruz says, was “the self-effacing housewife, [who] was thrust into a position of leadership that she could not spurn and emerged a source of inspiration for millions.”

In truth, if there’s one thing that Filipinos should remember her, according to Shiela Coronel in her writeup on Mrs. Aquino for Time magazine’s 60 years of Asian Heroes project, it is for “uniting Filipinos in their fight for freedom.”

“Filipinos will always be grateful that Corazon Aquino was there when we needed her most,” Corondel adds.

In essence, what Mrs. Aquino showed was not only courage but also a sense of selflessness—just like her husband—and the willingness to sacrifice despite the personal hardships that she would face in leading a fight to end a dictatorial regime.

This difficulty is reflected in the wish of Mrs. Aquino in the same article by Coronel: “I hope they [the people] will realize it was not easy restoring democracy after a dictatorship.”  It is this sense of selflessness that could be, and should be, the unifying theme of the two exhibits.

While it is true that pictures can paint a thousand words, to use a cliché, the public perhaps can have a better grasp of the former President’s person through more text in the exhibit, like her correspondences, both official and personal, and other writings. It would be interesting to know, for instance, what she thought of and how she felt about the failed military coups against her presidency. From this layman’s view, it is suggested that redundant pictures and other items like gifts from heads of state be further edited. All exhibit materials should also be properly labeled, including family pictures.

In any case, Ninoy and Cory Aquino have set the bar high. It is so high a threshold that it cannot be satisfied by mere economic clout or political title. Thus, any member of the Aquino family whose memory will be honored in the museum in the future should be able to respond to one other name—hero.