Noy congratulates Tagle on elevation to cardinal, but...

SYDNEY – President Aquino welcomed the appointment of Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle as cardinal but desisted from making further comment to avoid politicizing the issue.

“Well, Archbishop Tagle is somebody I really admire from way back. And it’s really a credit to what he has done for the church and for its followers to be recognized and given this singular honor. And we applaud the decision of the Vatican in naming him as cardinal,” Aquino told reporters in a briefing on Thursday night while he was on his state visit here.

“Now, my only worry is if I praise him, will he be criticized because I praised him and the church as people who are against me? Maybe I can add, hopefully, Cardinal Tagle, my praising you will not get you into the bad light of certain people who think always ill of me,” Aquino said.

In an interview Wednesday evening over Vatican Radio, Tagle said that to be named cardinal of the Catholic Church is a source of solace and at the same time terrifying.

“I am consoled by the trust and love that the Pope shows to me, to the Archdiocese of Manila and to the whole Church in the Philippines. He wants to hear us and to benefit from our experiences of faith and mission,” Tagle, who was among the new cardinals named by Pope Benedict XVI, said.

He expressed his gratitude to the Pope for his trust and confidence in him and the church in Manila and the Philippines.

Workers also expect the 55-year-old Tagle to help protect the rights of workers.

The militant Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) yesterday hailed the appointment of Tagle, who they said values the role of workers in society.

“The new cardinal is someone who recognizes our value in society and speaks up for the defense of our dignity,” KMU chair Elmer Labog said in a statement.

Labog recalled that in the last Labor Day celebration, Tagle expressed compassion to the plight of workers and stated that the worker is more important than capital and profit.

“We hope that Cardinal Tagle will continue to uphold workers’ dignity and stand up for workers’ rights,” he added.

At a time when the Aquino government and big capitalists are conspiring to intensify the exploitation of workers, Labog said they need all the help they can get from an influential cardinal.

“Cardinal Tagle understands that workers’ dignity has been sacrificed at the altar of capital and profits. At a time when workers are being exploited to the bone and their dignity is being attacked, it is good to have a cardinal that stands up for workers,” Labog said.

Labog said workers have been calling for a significant wage hike but the Aquino government and big capitalists are implementing a significant wage cut through the two-tiered wage system. – With Mayen Jaymalin