Cory’s spirit ‘continues to be very, very strong’
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 07/02/2009 11:29 PM
Printer-friendly version | 
Send to friend | 
Share your views
MANILA - The family of former president Corazon Aquino on Thursday has "entrusted everything to God" after the country’s icon of democracy reportedly refused further chemotherapy or other medical treatment in her fight against colon cancer.
In a statement, the children of Mrs. Aquino commented on their mother's health condition, saying her current hospitalization at the Makati Medical Center was because of "her loss of appetite, caused by fluid build-up in her stomach area."
Aquino was admitted at the hospital last week, and was moved to the intensive care unit Wednesday. However, she was moved out to a private room the next day, according to a staff of Mrs. Aquino's son, Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III.
The statement from the Aquino children also thanked everyone who has been praying for their mother, who has been battling cancer "with much courage for a year and a half."
"We remain in complete trust in God’s infinite healing power," the statement said.
"Our family wishes to thank the Filipino people for your prayers and outpouring of love and concern for our mother," the statement said.
"She has and always will be a woman of faith, a fighter, a source of hope and inspiration for all of us, not just her family but our entire nation as well," it added.
'Very, very strong'
On Thursday evening, television host Kris Aquino-Yap, Mrs. Aquino's youngest child, assured the public that the former president's spirit "continues to be very, very strong."
"Alam ho ng lahat ang pinagdadaanan ng mom [namin] at kung ano ang kanyang patuloy na pinagdadaanan. Pero ang puwede kong ibahagi [ay ito]: malakas po kasi ang spirit niya. Nilalabanan niya ito," Kris said on Showbiz News Ngayon, the program she co-hosts, after reading the text of the family's statement.
"Last night, when I got there, nag-usap pa kami... You know, I just want to assure everybody na nakakausap namin siya, and her spirit continues to be very, very strong," Kris said.
She also said that they are not sharing much information about Mrs. Aquino's hospitalization because it is "painful."
"Kung hindi man ho kami nagbabahagi ng more details, sana po maunawaan niyo, because its painful, and its something that we would like to keep to ourselves," she said.
"But please do know na alam po namin na lahat kayo concerned, lahat kayo may pagmamahal na binibigay, at ina-appreciate po namin 'yon. At sana ipagpatuloy nalang po natin ipagdasal," she said.
"We just want to say thank you sa inyong lahat, dahil alam po namin 'yung pagmamahal at pagdarasal na inaalay niyo sa kanya, and that gives us so much strength, and also her," she added.
Prayers for speedy recovery
Meantime, friends and relatives of Mrs. Aquino continue to offer prayers for her speedy recovery as she pursues her battle against colon cancer.
On Thursday, at the Greenbelt Chapel in Makati City, some of her close friends and supporters, including former President Joseph Estrada, his wife Loi Ejercito and son Senator Jinggoy Estrada attended a healing mass and novena and appealed to the public to pray for her immediate recovery.
Mrs. Aquino's former classmates and schoolmates at St. Scholastica's College have also begun a vigil for her speedy recovery.
Even former First Lady Imelda Marcos offered her prayers.
"I asked all these people to offer prayers to her. I have peace in my heart and am comfortable with the truth. I am praying for her safe recovery," Marcos said, as she handed out bags of rice at a northern Manila slum to celebrate her 80th birthday Thursday.
Nationwide response
Church leaders, among Mrs. Aquino's staunches supporters, also aired their concern and prayers for the former president.
Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal meanwhile said he is saddened as well as worried on the former president’s condition.
Vidal, who was interviewed in Cebu, said many Filipinos are also concerned about Aquino’s condition especially, he said, when they remember the many sacrifices that Aquino made to regain and preserve the country’s democracy.
Vidal said Aquino is a symbol of the country on the struggle to regain the country’s democracy.
The Catholic church leader said he last talked to the former president when he invited her on his birthday last February.
Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra meanwhile also called for prayers for the Aquino’s well-being.
He said the former president has done a lot of good things for the country. He enjoined all Negrenses to pray for her quick recovery. Navarra that she is still needed by the country and the Filipinos.
No medical bulletins
Despite Aquino being a news story closely monitored by both local and international media, the administration of Makati Medical City is not releasing any medical bulletin about the former leader's condition.
No medical bulletin has been released by doctors and the Aquino family, but Deedee Sytangco, Mrs. Aquino's spokesperson, disclosed that the former president has decided to forgo further chemotherapy or any other medical treatment.
"The country's icon of democracy is fighting the hardest battle of her life," spokeswoman Deedee Siytangco wrote in an article published in the Manila Bulletin's Thursday edition.
"She is no longer receiving any chemotherapy or any other medical interventions," she said, quoting a family member.
Aquino has largely remained out of the public eye in recent months, with doctors fearing she may contract infections in her fragile state.
She had been undergoing chemotherapy and was previously hospitalized from March to May. With reports from ANC; Lynda Jumilla, Niña Corpuz, Jenny Reyes, and Gretchen Malalad, ABS-CBN News; and the Agence France-Presse
Comments