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AQUINO IGNORES CARDINAL SIN´S ADVICE, BACKS RAMOS FOR PRESIDENT

Updated: January 28, 1992 05:00 PM GMT
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Despite the advice of Cardinal Jaime Sin of Manila against endorsing candidates, President Corazon Aquino announced Jan. 25 that she is backing her former defense secretary Fidel Ramos´ bid for the presidency.

"Secretary Eddie Ramos, I am confident, will fearlessly pursue the vision of this democratic society that our people have fought hard to re-establish," Aquino said after a Mass celebrating her 59th birthday at Malacanang palace.

After the Mass, Aquino said she had sought the advice of family, friends and colleagues, and had prayed over the choice.

Kris Aquino, the president´s daughter, said in a TV interview after Mass, "The hardest for her was deciding whether to endorse anyone or not, but she felt she had gone this far, and now was not the time to back down."

Early this year, Cardinal Sin advised Aquino against endorsing any presidential candidate in the May 11 polls, calling it "an insult to the intelligence of Filipinos."

A Malacanang official said that during the clergy´s Christmas party, the cardinal advised Aquino against endorsing Ramos, a Protestant and former commander of the national police under deposed President Ferdinand Marcos.

Many priests, Religious and lay Church workers suffered under Marcos´ martial law.

A Ramos aide told UCA News that Ramos met with the cardinal to discuss his candidacy and the cardinal´s opposition to it.

Despite repeated claims by his spokesman that he will not back any candidate, Cardinal Sin is believed to prefer former Chief Justice Marcelo Fernan, one of three who had sought Aquino´s endorsement.

The third seeking her endorsement was House Speaker Ramon Mitra, the official candidate of the ruling "Laban Ng Demokratikong Pilipino" (LDP, Struggle for a Democratic Philippines) party.

Jesuit Bishop Francisco Claver of Malaybalay told UCA News, "They say her popularity is waning, that she is a ´lame duck´ president and that her endorsement is not important, but there are so many of them fighting for her official endorsement."

Political observers say Aquino´s backing is important for candidates like Ramos, who does not have political machinery such as a government network or the LDP to translate popular support into votes.

Ramos, who joined a military mutiny in 1986 that helped unseat Marcos and put Aquino in power, has been among the top three presidential candidates in various surveys.

He told reporters he was "very, very happy" about Aquino´s endorsement.

When he emerged from a meeting with Aquino Jan. 23, he said he was confident he would ultimately get the support of Catholics. He noted that 86 percent of the people who preferred him in surveys were Catholics.

Snapshots of the 1986 "people power" revolt show him with a statue of the Blessed Mother behind him as he negotiated the outcome of the uprising.

Mainly because of the announcement, this is the first year in Aquino´s presidency that Cardinal Sin was not invited to celebrate her birthday Mass, Malacanang staffers told UCA News.

Auxiliary Bishop Gabriel Reyes of Manila said the Mass, with more than 300 government officials, friends and relatives attending.

Bishop Reyes said that Aquino´s trying years as president have helped develop her wisdom. He thanked her for years of service to her people, especially in the restoration and protection of democracy.

Aquino said, "My choice springs not from a personal whim, but from the conviction that the next leader must preserve these (country´s) gains (under her government) and continue to uphold the constitution and the rule of law while pursuing our program for the social and economic advancement of the Filipino people."

END

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