There will be no debate, however, as the five candidates only agreed to pray together for the holding of clean, honest, orderly, peaceful and credible elections.
Mrs. Aquino, who has shunned endorsing any of the five presidential aspirants, has invited all the five and their respective spouses to attend the 12:30 p.m. Mass on Sunday to be celebrated by Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales at the historic San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila.
President Arroyo, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, actor Fernando Poe Jr., former Sen. Raul Roco and evangelist Eduardo Villanueva have all confirmed their attendance to the Mass.
The Mass will be the culmination of the nine-day novena that religious groups, led by the Pastoral Parish Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), held to pray for the conduct of honest, orderly and peaceful elections (HOPE).
Both the Comelec and the PPCRV had previously organized a presidential debate among the five contenders to the top post but it did not materialize because of Poe’s adamant refusal to participate, which prompted Mrs. Arroyo and subsequently Lacson to cancel their participation.
Deedee Siytangco, official spokeswoman for Mrs. Aquino, told The STAR that the representatives of the five presidential candidates had met with Mrs. Aquino last Wednesday to discuss how the Mass should proceed.
Siytangco said Mrs. Aquino and the five representatives of the candidates made a walk-through at the San Agustin Church.
She stressed that during the Mass, "everybody would be on equal footing." The five candidates would be seated in alphabetical order while their respective spouses would be seated directly behind them.
With this arrangement, Mrs. Arroyo will be holding hands with Sen. Lacson during the singing of "The Lord’s Prayer," that part of the Mass when seatmates are supposed to link hands in prayer.
Lacson has been Mrs. Arroyo’s most bitter critic even before the official campaign period started, commencing with his "Jose Pidal" exposé against First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.
Siytangco said former presidents like Mrs. Aquino and Fidel Ramos, along with Senate President Franklin Drilon, Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos and businessman Jose Concepcion, chairman of the National Movement for Free Election (Namfrel) would be seated across them in the front row.
Before the Mass proper starts, Siytangco said all the five presidential candidates would be reading together a "specially" composed common prayer to ask for the intercession of the Divine Providence for the conduct of honest and clean elections in the country.
Their vice presidential candidates, however, were not invited.
"We don’t want any politics. Nobody was forced to accept the invitation. But we’re happy that everybody said ‘yes’ they would come," Siytangco said.
"There will be no speeches," she added.
Siytangco said Mrs. Aquino, though, would make her usual brief statement before the Mass ends to thank everyone for joining the Mass.
"She (Mrs. Aquino) is the moral force. Even if they were fighting during the campaign, but if we can show to our people that they can pray together even as political enemies, I think that will give hope to our countrymen," she said. — Marichu Villanueva