FPJ horse ‘Tisoy’ also pulled Cardinal Sin’s carriage

Just as it brought FPJ to his final resting place, so did the actor’s favorite horse take the cardinal’s remains for a last ride around the plaza in front of Manila Cathedral.

"Tisoy," the horse used to pull the carriage of Fernando Poe Jr. in

December, was the same one used in former Manila archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin’s funeral parade yesterday morning.

The eight-year-old Tisoy waited patiently by the carriage adorned with white roses. Soon military pallbearers with black armbands, lifted the casket on top of the carriage.

The white horse did its duty without complaints, carrying the coffin surrounded by small, bronze-colored wood carvings of the replica "Pieta" and "Last Supper," for a final parade around Plaza Roma.

Tisoy had a much longer walk last Dec. 22, when it transported the casket of its owner Poe from Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City to the North Cemetery in Manila.

The Western Police District (WPD) said the event was peaceful with some 10,000 people present in the sendoff for the beloved prelate.

A crowd had gathered early outside the Manila Cathedral yesterday morning and bore witness to the burial of Sin, the WPD said.

Chief Superintendent Pedro Bulaong, WPD district director, said some 200 policemen and 10 bomb-sniffing dogs patrolled the area to ensure that the ceremony would be peaceful and orderly. There were no reports of any untoward incident.

Before 8 a.m., traffic around the historic walls of Intramuros was heavy as students from Catholic schools and members of Church-based organizations walked from Rizal Park and adjacent areas to the Manila Cathedral. Some traffic was rerouted.

President Arroyo promptly arrived at 9 a.m. and was ushered inside the church. Although it was only last Monday evening when she made her public apology of election impropriety, she was not jeered by the crowd. But neither was she applauded.

The applause was reserved for the late cardinal who had helped put two presidents to power.

Six times people clapped: when his casket was carried outside by the pallbearers; when they began the parade; just before the procession ended; after the Philippine flag was given to the surviving relatives of the Cardinal; after Balanga Bataan Bishop Socrates Villegas delivered his homily; and when they released the 76 doves which signify the age of Sin.

It was a solemn procession. The crowd watched in silence as the casket containing the body of the Cardinal was carried outside of the cathedral. Military pallbearers flanked both sides of the carriage.

Military Ordinate Bishop Leo Tumulak led the procession. Behind the carriage were the nine former auxiliary bishops of the Cardinal, namely, Villegas, Teodoro Bacani, Teodoro Buhain, Ramon Arguelles, Rolando Tirona, Jesse Mercado, Gabriel Reyes, Manuel Sobrevinas and now Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz.

On their vestments was the word "Serviam" — Latin for "I will serve" — the motto of the late Cardinal.

Escorted by honor guards composed of personnel from the Navy and the Marines, the 40-minute procession marched around Plaza Roma to strains of "Nearer My God to Thee." After a standard 21-gun salute in three volleys, white and light blue colored balloons were released.

After the procession, the military pallbearers brought the casket to the front steps facing the plaza, folded the Philippine flag that had been draped on the coffin and gave it to Mrs. Arroyo, who turned it over to Dr. Ramon Sin, brother of the late prelate.

The President told the Cardinal’s family that the flag was offered to them by a faithful nation in "honor of his (Sin’s) service and love." The guests then returned inside the cathedral for the Mass.

However, as soon as the cathedral’s wooden doors were closed, frenzy broke out in the plaza as police were unable to stop the people who breached the security line and crossed toward the church while others began picking the white roses attached to the carriage.

One who was not able to enter the cathedral due to the confusion was retired justice Bernardo Pardo.

Among those who waited outside the Church were students from Sienna College, St. Joseph’s College, Concordia College, Sta. Isabel College, Philippine Women’s University, Sta. Catalina College, Miriam College and St. Paul’s College.

A satellite clinic, with medical representatives from the Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Sta. Mesa, said there were 18 people who were brought to their tent because of dizziness.

The people huddled near television sets to view the Mass inside the Cathedral. During the homily some were teary eyed as Bishop Villegas, who was treated like a son by the Cardinal, paid homage to his mentor.

Residents from the Jaime Cardinal Sin Village in Punta, Sta. Ana and employees of the Archdiocese of Manila released 76 doves about five minutes early because it had started to rain. And although people ran for shelter, they never left the grounds of Plaza Roma.