Palace offers prayers for cancer-stricken Cory

MANILA, Philippines - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo led prayers in one of several healing Masses on Friday for the recovery of ailing former president Corazon Aquino. The Mass held at Malacañang in Manila on Friday morning was also attended by members of the Arroyo Cabinet, Vice President Noli De Castro, and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, a report aired over QTV’s Balitanghali said. Mrs. Aquino’s children could not attend the Mass but her sisters-in-law Margarita “Tingting" Cojuangco, Teresita Aquino-Oreta, and Lupita Aquino-Kashiwahara, and niece Jackie Aquino were there to represent the Aquino-Cojuangco clan. Deedee Siytangco, the former president’s spokesperson, said Mrs. Aquino’s family was very much thankful to President Arroyo for the Mass offering. Relations between Mrs. Arroyo and Mrs. Aquino turned sour following the "Hello, Garci" controversy in 2005, in which the President was supposedly caught on tape calling an election official about poll results in the 2004 elections when the canvassing was still going on. President Arroyo admitted calling a poll official who she did not identify. Mrs. Arroyo claimed she only wanted to protect her votes. Mrs. Aquino then joined the political opposition and other Cabinet members of the Arroyo administration in calling for the President’s resignation. Last December, she even declared EDSA II — the people power revolution of January 2001 that propelled Mrs. Arroyo to the presidency — a mistake and apologized to ousted president Joseph Estrada for her participation in the uprising. Mrs. Aquino had been undergoing treatment for colon cancer since March 2008. Late last month, she was taken to the Makati Medical Center when she lost her appetite. Her family, friends and former officials started holding novena Masses last week after doctors stopped giving her chemotherapy treatment in a sign that her condition had worsened. As of Thursday, Siytangco said the democracy icon remained "stable, conscious, and aware." She also said Mrs. Aquino was even able to drink a milk shake. Return of the 'political evil' Meanwhile, three more Masses were held, one at the EDSA Shrine in Ortigas, Mandaluyong City, and the others at the Department of Foreign Affairs office in Manila and Ateneo De Manila University for Mrs. Aquino’s recovery. At the EDSA Shrine, prayers took a political color as pupils of Saint Pedro Poveda College warned that the “political evil" which Mrs. Aquino fought through the 1986 EDSA People Power I revolution is threatening to return. "Lord Jesus, You took on our human nature to free us from the dominion of evil. Look with loving kindness and care upon our Tita Cory who, in humble imitation of You, freed us from the domination of evil in our political life. Not once, but twice but again and again, with every threat of return," said the prayer read by Mrs. Aquino’s grandchild, Gina Dee, a Grade VII pupil of Poveda. “Divine Healer, source of wisdom and light, stay with Tita Cory the way she has always stood by Your teachings in the face of every temptation offered by power and position. To You alone she has always turned because she loves You with the expectation of no other reward but to love You even more," the prayer added. The political opposition has repeatedly accused President Arroyo of trying to cancel out all the gains made by EDSA I and II with her allegedly persistent moves to tinker with the Philippine Constitution to perpetuate herself in power. Stable condition Gina Dee refused to be interviewed after the Mass. Her mother, Biel Aquino Dee, said that her mother is still in stable condition. "She’s okay, she’s stable. She can now eat very little," Mrs. Dee said. She said the Aquino family was happy to see the overwhelming support being shown by the Filipino people for the speedy recovery of the former president, who is considered as an icon of democracy. Monsignor Gerardo Santos, head of the Manila Archdiocese and Parochial Schools, said the country still needs Mrs. Aquino who has successfully led the people in 1986 to defeat the dictatorship. Santos, a veteran of EDSA People Power I, said the ailing former Philippine leader is an inspiration for students and teachers, including those who had not witnessed EDSA People Power I. "We are here to give continuous prayers for her and her well-being. She is an inspiration for our students and teachers. We pray that she could still get back to us to motivate our young people and lead us especially in the 2010 elections. We still need Tita Cory because she is a symbol of the youth," Santos said. EDSA has been the center of activities of anti-Marcos groups during the 1986 People Power revolution that ousted the late President Ferdinand Marcos from his more than 20-year rule and propelled Mrs. Aquino to power. On Sunday, a Mass will be held for Mrs. Aquino at the SM Megamall by the Rivers of the Living Water Community. In addition, another series of healing Masses will also be held Monday to Friday next week for the former president at the Rockwell Chapel in Makati. - Kimberly Jane T. Tan, GMANews.TV