Reforms don’t come from force - Cory

Former President Corazon Aquino asked the people yesterday to pray for the "misguided" soldiers who took over a luxurious residential high-rise in Makati City’s business district, so they "will soon realize that true reforms can never arise from the use of force."

She also rallied the Catholic faithful to use "prayer power" to counter the coup attempt.

"May I ask for our collective prayer to enlighten these misguided brothers of ours… We ask the Blessed Mother to intercede for us so that this problem can be resolved soonest," she said.

Aquino enjoined other concerned citizens to gather for prayer at the EDSA Shrine or in their respective parishes.

The former president attended a Mass at the EDSA Shrine, a 10-minute drive away from Oakwood, the building taken over by "rogue junior officers."

She left the safety of her home in Quezon City to attend Mass at the Shrine in order to be counted.

"As citizens, we are called upon to contribute our share in the midst of these current destabilization efforts," she stressed.

Aquino asked for prayers for President Arroyo "as she leads us through this present crisis. As citizens, we are called upon to contribute our share in the strengthening of our hard-won democracy in the midst of these current destabilization efforts."

After the 9:30 Mass, Aquino — who herself survived seven coup attempts during her six-year term — proceeded to the Villa San Miguel, residence of the influential but ailing Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin, along Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong City.

In all major political upheavals since 1986, Aquino and Sin had joined forces to rally civil society to the cause of democracy and a civilian-led government.

Her nephew Rapa Lopa, who was with her at the time, said Aquino was not afraid to venture out and attend Mass at the shrine despite visible troop movements along EDSA.

When asked if his aunt had offered the President any advice or help, Lopa said Mrs. Arroyo had not gotten in touch with them as of 11 a.m. yesterday. Aquino has said she does not give unsolicited advice.

But those who covered Aquino and observed her demeanor during the coup attempts against her administration say the country’s first woman president strongly believes that a commander-in-chief should never leave the Palace even when his or her life is in danger.

In the May 2001 siege of Malacañang, Aquino had offered the President the help of Gen. Voltaire Gazmin, the group commander of the elite Presidential Security Group during the Aquino administration.

Aquino credits Gazmin largely for the fact that she is still alive today, despite rebel troops laying siege to Malacañang’s gates in 1987 and 1989, the bloodiest coup attempts in Philippine history.

Gazmin is now ambassador to Cambodia.

Aquino’s only son, Tarlac Rep. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, who was seriously wounded in the 1987 coup attempt, was by his mother’s side at the EDSA Shrine yesterday, said Aquino’s spokeswoman Deedee Siytangco.

Meanwhile, civil society groups pledged to defend the country’s democratic institutions against the destabilization attempts by "a small group of disgruntled officers."

The groups said in a statement that the timing of the coup attempt is highly suspicious, coming after the landmark decisions of the Sandiganbayan and the Supreme Court on the Marcoses’ Swiss bank accounts and the ownership of the coconut levy fund.

"For too long, the Filipino people have cried out for justice and now when it is near, their sweet victory may be placed in jeopardy. This is a high price to pay just to satisfy the concerns of a few and the ambitions of those who shamelessly exploit their grievances and legitimate aspirations," their statement said.

They added that it is "tragic that those with honest grievances have played into their hands and allowed themselves to be used."

The groups also said the coup attempt could have a negative effect on the economy.

"While we sympathize with the legitimate grievances and desire for reforms being invoked by some elements in the military, we emphatically point out to them that violence will not solve their problems but will only exacerbate them," they said in the statement.

The groups said these officers should realize that their "adventurism" leads only to more misery by casting doubt on the country’s political stability.

"We find this threat to democratic institutions by those sworn to defend them contemptible, especially since some of those behind it are the very same characters who set back our economy with the coup attempts of ’87 and ’89 that erased the gains of EDSA I," they said.