Cory Aquino's Last Day in La Salle Green Hills

I got some volunteers and brought them to the wake of President Aquino in LSGH the other day. It was a very nice experience, although I must admit very tiring also. I am not complaining. We draw strength from President Aquino herself, who didn't grew tired defending the Philippines from all angles, from people who want to destroy its institutions from left to right. We draw strength from hundreds and thousands of people who tirelessly fall in line for hours just to see the body of the former President.

Trying to offer whatever it is you can to someone who you only dream to have met when she was alive is all worth it, I can say. All the sufferings she took can't match anything I know of. This little act of sacrificing my time and skills is a way of saying thank you. On behalf of the Filipino youth of my generation, thank you for restoring democracy; thank you for being a moral voice amidst all these politics and mess in government; thank you for who you are and what you have done for the Philippines.

At the end of the day, you think about yourself, and how will you end up in the future. As much as you imagine to have something like this, you continue to understand that no one could be at par with a great Filipino personality such as that of Cory Aquino.

The stub above are the color-coded stubs to be given to people so that they may control and create order for the Necrological mass before she's finally laid to rest.


Photo by Tin Sanchez
Today, they transfered President Aquino from LSGH Gym to the Manila Cathedral. What they expected to be a 45 minute drive became more than 4 hours for them because of the sea of people that flooded the route of the convoy. In many aspects, the crowd was likened with the Funeral march of Ninoy Aquino, which happened more than 20 years ago.

The Hero and the Heroine

Photo grabbed from Lorenz

President Cory Aquino's wake at La Salle Greenhills

I just came from Makati, supposedly on my way home, when I received a text. Nico Martin forwarded a text from Paolo Rieza, my batchmate in NCPAG and IamNinoy-UPD head, asking if KAISA can volunteer for the wake of President Aquino in La Salle Green Hills. Without thinking, I immediately went down Ortigas, and walked to LSGH. I entered, and volunteered to do whatever work they needed done. It didn't matter that I was alone, or what they asked me to do, all I wanted was to help in any way I can.

It was solemn and very peaceful inside. The line from the gate to the gym came in a steady never ending stream of people, paying their last repects to an international icon of democracy.


Just a while ago, Francis Aquino-Dee, grandson of President Cory Aquino, wrote in his blog and addressed all those who have "offered and continue to offer their prayers and support for the late president Corazon C. Aquino, and the Aquino Family."

"The generosity each one of you has extended and continues to extend to our family has touched us more deeply than you may know. Words fail to express our gratitude for all of your support and patience. While my Lola was always and will always be a member of our family, we also realize that as a true public servant, she belongs to you just as much as she does to us. Thus, the pain that some of you might feel at her loss may equal or even surpass the pain we in the family feel now, which is why the patience you have extended our family for our privacy, is all the more appreciated. Now, as one people, let us mourn for the loss of a truly wonderful woman, but while we grieve, I pray that we may also be able to celebrate, celebrate the extraordinary life she lived and celebrate the peace she now feels as she finally joins our Father in Heaven.

The story of Cory Aquino is one that began long before her birth, and will no doubt continue long after her passing. It is the story of mankind's continuous struggle against the evils of poverty, violence, and oppression. Her life is but a chapter in this story, one about how a simple unassuming woman was able to battle these evils for as long as she could, but as a chapter allows a story to progress from start to finish, so did her life allow each one of us to progress towards her story's, our story's, happy ending."