Mass held for Cory on eve of 77th birthday

A memorial Mass was held at the historic EDSA Shrine Sunday as part of Monday’s commemoration of the 77th birthday of the late President Corazon “Cory" Aquino. Mrs. Aquino’s children - Ma. Elena Aquino-Cruz, Victoria Eliza Aquino-Dee and Sen. Benigno Simeon “Noynoy" Aquino III - attended the Mass that was celebrated by Fr. Catalino Arevalo. Mrs. Aquino, recognized globally as an icon of democracy, died on August 1 last year after months of battling colon cancer.

A GMA Flash Report quoted the Aquino siblings as saying that they still feel the sadness of their their mother’s loss, even as they expressed gratitude to the multitude of her supporters who are joining them in their commemoration. “What gives me consolation, and courage to overcome the emptiness, is the realization that I am not alone in my grief. There are many others, like you, who felt the loss of a truly phenomenal woman," said Sen. Aquino in a speech. Mrs. Aquino, widow of slain Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., was installed as the country’s president in 1986 following the ouster of former president Ferdinand Marcos in the historic EDSA People Power Revolution. In his speech, Sen. Aquino, a presidential aspirant under the Liberal Party, encouraged Filipinos to live up to his mother's ideals by forging a “younger, stronger and more creative" brand of heroism and sacrifice “Working together in fulfilling our own aspirations for our country would be an ideal tribute to the woman who loved her country until the very end," he said. - Jerrie Abella/KBK, GMANews.TV