Tomas scraps Mass for Cory

CEBU, Philippines - A dejected Cebu City Mayor Tomas R. Osmeña has decided to cancel the planned “Mass for Cory” at the Carmelites Monastery in barangay Mabolo after the spokesman of Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal described the event as “only a political gimmick.”

Osmeña reiterated that his intention to hold a mass for the late President Corazon Aquino is just to remind the Cebuanos about the heroic acts of the then widow of Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino and leader of the 1986 People Power bloodless revolution.

The mayor chose the Carmelites Monastery as the venue for the “mass for Cory” because it was there where Mrs. Aquino took refuge after learning that the military was going after her during the start of the Edsa revolt.

Osmeña said he already announced in public that he is going to ask the Cardinal or the Carmelite nuns to be the ones to handle the event, including the sending of invitations and the program itself and that he would not even go up on stage.

The mayor also explained that while the city would only serve as organizer of the event and he even encouraged anybody, including his critics like Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, Congressman Antonio Cuenco, former mayor Alvin Garcia to attend.

But Cardinal Vidal’s spokesman, Msgr. Achilles Dakay, said in a radio interview that the planned mass at the Carmelites monastery is no longer needed because the Churches are already conducting masses for the late president.

Osmeña said “if Msgr. Dakay says its politics, therefore, I’m going to cancel the whole event. I don’t need the aggravation coming from the Cardinal’s spokesman.”

The mayor however did not just allow Dakay to get away with his argument that the planned “Mass for Cory” is no longer necessary, because the Churches already have similar masses for the late president.

“If you were to follow that logic than why do we have a main Sto. Niño procession when there are already dozens of small Sto. Niño processions,” he said.

“I challenged him to say that the big Sto. Niño procession is just a politics because there are other ones already. I wish that His Eminence would enlighten his flock on this issue as I find it pointless to discuss this with Msgr. Dakay given his bias,” Osmeña said.

To recall, Osmeña even planned to close the traffic at Juan Luna Avenue in front of the Carmelites monastery to give more space for those who will attend to the mass.

Hero Status

Meanwhile, Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia and her brother Rep. Pablo John Garcia said there is no need for a legislative measure to name former president Corazon Aquino as a national hero.

“I think she is already a hero,” Gov. Garcia said as she describes that the former president was “a hero who is ready to give up everything” and even her own personal interest for the country.

At least two separate measures were filed at the House of Representatives seeking to recognize the valuable contribution of Aquino by declaring her a national hero.

Both Joint Resolution 41 and 42 were passed on second reading last week.

These were proposed by Agusan del Sur Rep. Rodolfo Plaza and Camarines Norte Rep. Liwayway Vinzons-Chato respectively.

“President Aquino is recognized  all over the Philippines as having lived for democracy and for the people which her husband and fellow freedom fighter, Benigno S. Aquino Jr., believed, are worth dying for,” the resolution states.  

Declaring President Aquino as a national hero is “a way of ensuring the continuity of her legacy of democracy and love of country,” it added.

Pablo John, for his part, said that only the people can confer a hero status and that the Filipino people have already conferred it to the former president.

“I believe she is already a hero to millions of Filipinos across many generations. I personally don’t believe you need to legislate that,” Pablo John said in a text message to The Freeman.

Further, Pablo John said that legislation would only “trivialize” her legacy.

“You don’t need a bunch of lawmakers to make Cory a hero. We don’t need that because she is already one,” the lawmaker said.

President Aquino is also recognized as a democracy icon in the international community. She received numerous citations and recognitions including Time Magazine Woman of the Year in 1986, the J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding in 1996, the Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding in 1998, and her nomination to the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. – with Garry B. Lao/NLQ (THE FREEMAN)