Family calls for prayers Cory in serious condition

CEBU, Philippines – Former president Corazon Aquino, who is battling stage-four colon cancer, is in serious condition at a hospital where she was admitted last week, and family and friends are asking for prayers for the erstwhile leader.

Family spokeswoman Deedee Sytangco said the 76-year-old democracy icon was admitted to the intensive care unit last week after she stopped eating, and was being fed intravenously.

“Mrs. Aquino is not very well but is not in pain and has not been placed on life support,” Sytangco said.

Aquino was diagnosed with cancer last year and has been undergoing chemotherapy, but Sytangco said she was no longer receiving treatment at the moment.

“We hope the people will support her and pray for her,” Sytangco said.

The social secretary of Aquino, Margie Juico, planned a nine-day novena for the stricken former leader, calling her condition very serious, but pleaded to the public not to dwell on her condition but pray for her instead.

She said that prior to being admitted to the hospital, Aquino said if she were to choose, she would prefer “being with Ninoy,” her late husband.

However, she went on to say she is still continuing her battle against cancer if only for her children.

Reading a prepared statement, her son Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III said his mother is still in the hospital for loss of appetite. “I wish to thank everyone who attended the Novena Mass today and those who continue to pray for my mother’s healing.” he said.

Her condition prompted expressions of concern from some politicians.

Senator Manny Villar issued a statement calling on the nation to pray for the former president: “I enjoin the Filipino nation to offer a prayer for former president Cory Aquino, as she enters a critical period in the battle against cancer.”

“Our prayers are also with the members of her family. May their unshakeable faith in God strengthen them in this difficult time, “ Villar added.

Villar said Filipinos will forever be indebted to Aquino for her significant contribution to the restoration of democracy in the country and that at a time when there are serious threats to democracy, she remains the icon that people turn to for hope.

Aquino was a humble homemaker propelled to politics by the 1983

assassination of her husband, opposition leader Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. She was swept into power following an uprising by mutinous soldiers in 1986 that toppled the dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Although her six-year term as president was marked by several bloody coup attempts, she is regarded as a symbol of the Philippines’ return to democracy.

She is also known as a moral crusader and after her term ended in 1992 continued to fight for various causes, including anti-corruption efforts.

Last year, she led street protests alongside ex-president Joseph Estrada, calling for the ouster of incumbent president Gloria Arroyo, whose family they accuse of massive corruption.

But Estrada himself was a former ally of Marcos. And he was the first ever president to be impeached and later forced to leave office. Found guilty of plunder, Estrada was imprisoned until she was pardoned by Arroyo.

Aquino has largely remained out of the public eye in recent months, with doctors fearing she may contract infections in her fragile state.

Among those who gathered for the novena were her former Cabinet members as well as friends and supporters such as Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, Gina de Venecia, and industrialist Jose Concepcion.

“I heard the news that president Cory Aquino is undergoing difficult time in her illness. I join our people in the prayers for her quick recovery. President Cory is one of the great leaders I respect and emulate,” Senator Mar Roxas said in a statement. — AP, AFP/JST (THE FREEMAN)