Philippine church leaders pray for ex-president diagnosed with cancer

Published: 2008-03-25

MANILA, Philippines (CNS) -- Catholic leaders said they will pray for former Philippine President Corazon Aquino and will continue to celebrate Masses for truth, following her children's announcement that she has cancer. Aquino's son, Sen. Benigno Aquino III, and daughter, Kris Aquino-Yap, announced March 24 that their mother had been diagnosed with colon cancer and was scheduled for prechemotherapy procedures the following day. They would not reveal the stage of the illness, saying only that their mother asks for privacy and prayers, reported the Asian church news agency UCA News. Aquino-Yap said her mother was making her condition known to explain her absence from the movement for truth she was leading with religious men and women and whistleblower Rodolfo Lozada Jr., as well as the campaign for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's resignation amid allegations of corruption. The former president, 75, took office after the 1986 "people power" uprising in Manila deposed Ferdinand Marcos. She served as president for six years.

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