Tarlac leaders pray for Tita Cory’s health

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    TARLAC CITY – Aside from her being an icon of democracy in Asia, former President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino is also a Tarlaqueño, a woman and a public servant “with a great sense of delicadeza.”

    As such, she deserves “quick recovery” from her illness because “we still need her pieces of advice for the country.”

    As “Tita Cory” battles colon cancer at the Makati Medical Center, her “kabalen” (provincemates) never stop praying for her quick recovery.

    Across Tarlac, parishes and households hold novena prayers for the first Tarlaqueño president of the country. (She also holds the record of being the first female president in the Philippines and in Asia.)

    Last July 11, a Holy Mass intended for Ms. Aquino’s quick recovery was held at the San Sebastian Cathedral here.

    Despite the heavy rains, government leaders from this city and from Tarlac’s 17 municipalities arrived to join hundreds of Catholic faithfuls and their parish priests in praying for Aquino’s health.

    Outside, yellow balloons fought against the rain and the wind.

    Board Member Pearl Angelie Erguiza Pacada said Aquino “still has a lot of things to do for the country.” “We still need her pieces of advice.”

    “Yes, we are proud that Tita Cory’s a Tarlaqueño, but we are also proud that she’s a woman,” Pacada, who is the first elected female president of the Provincial Board Members League of the Philippines (PBMLP), said.

    “We admire her for her courage as a woman President of the country,” she added.

    Tarlac City Mayor Genaro Mendoza, whose father had worked for 40 years under the family of Aquino at the Central Azucarera de Tarlac (CAT), said the former President “is a true icon of democracy and a model public servant.”

    “She has shown during her presidency the highest form of delicadeza and what it takes to be a public servant,” he said.

    “As a transition President, she could have run for another term, but she stood firm on her commitment that she would only serve as a transition President,” he said.

    “True to her words, she did not run anymore. Hindi siya nagsamantala (She did not take advantage of her position),” he said.

    But being out of public office did not stop her from participating in the affairs of the state, he said.

    “She never tires of expressing herself for the people,” he added.

    Mendoza said Aquino “has always been serious and very firm but not difficult to deal with.”

    He said he knows this very well because his family is close to the Cojuangco-Aquinos and he grew up with the Aquino children, particularly Sen. Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III.

    “Kapag may gusto siyang gawin, nagagawa niya (Whenever she wants something done, it gets done),” he said. “That’s why I know that she will recover.”

    Capas Mayor Reynaldo Catacutan, who is also president of the Tarlac chapter of the Mayors’ League of the Philippines, said that during Aquino’s presidency, his town greatly benefited.

    “Naging mabait siya sa mga taga-Capas (She was generous to the people of Capas),” he said.

    He also said then President Aquino poured a lot of funds for projects in Capas, particularly those under former New People’s Army (NPA) chief Bernabe Buscayno.

    The Aquino Administration (1986-1992) showcased Buscayno—who co-founded with Jose Maria Sison the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) – as a rebel who turned into a cooperative leader.

    Catacutan said he is nostalgic of the days he was working as a legislative assistant of then Rep. Herminio Aquino (Tarlac, 3rd district) because those days gave him the opportunity to work closely with Tita Cory.

    Congressman Aquino is an uncle of slain Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., the former President’s husband.

    The same sentiments are shared by Moncada Mayor Benito Aquino, who became town chief executive during the Aquino presidency.

    “I did not get the chance to work closely with her, but, without asking her help, she was able to deliver infrastructure assistance to my town through then Gov. Mariano Un Ocampo,” he said.

    He said Ms. Aquino “was an honest chief executive of the country and there was no anomaly against her during her term.”

    For this reason, he said, “I hope she’ll get well the soonest.”

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