A Cory Aquino Anecdote

Corazon Aquino

Fr. Teofilo Rustia, one of the visiting priests in our parish, was one the chaplain in Malacanang during the regime of President Corazon Aquino. He told us one of Cory’s great anecdotes:

As we all have seen or known, President Aquino usually sits in the front row during mass. I remembered that time, the coup (of Gregorio Honasan) was still at its peak and the security within the chapel was very intensified. There were security in every entrance in the chapel, and there were also some around 4-6 feet from Cory, in every direction.

I said, “I am the Lamb of God, Happy are those who are called upon…”

And Cory said, not loud enough to be heard by the whole chapel, but enough to be heard by me, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say a word and I shall be healed”

Then suddenly, a woman, went through the security personnel without being stopped, and approached the President herself. She the put a veil in Cory’s head.

And I was stunned. Why did no one from the security stopped the woman? The choir asked the same thing. And no one knew what happened to the woman after she put the veil into Cory’s head. I was really intrigued by the silence of the security so I asked one of them.

“Sir, why didn’t you stop the lady from approaching President Cory?”, I asked.

“Father, we didn’t see her”, said one of the men in the Presidential Security Group.

No one in the PSG saw the lady. Not one. There were around a hundred watching the chapel.

From then on, the people in Malacanang speculated that it was the Virgin mary who put the veil into Cory’s head.

Fr. Teofilo Rustia, one of the visiting priests in our parish, was one the chaplain in Malacanang during the regime of President Corazon Aquino. He told us one of Cory’s great anecdotes:

Corazon Aquino

As we all have seen or known, President Aquino usually sits in the front row during mass. I remembered that time, the coup (of Gregorio Honasan) was still at its peak and the security within the chapel was very intensified. There were security in every entrance in the chapel, and there were also some around 4-6 feet from Cory, in every direction.

I said, “I am the Lamb of God, Happy are those who are called upon…”

And Cory said, not loud enough to be heard by the whole chapel, but enough to be heard by me, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say a word and I shall be healed”

Then suddenly, a woman, went through the security personnel without being stopped, and approached the President herself. She the put a veil in Cory’s head.

And I was stunned. Why did no one from the security stopped the woman? The choir asked the same thing. And no one knew what happened to the woman after she put the veil into Cory’s head. I was really intrigued by the silence of the security so I asked one of them.

“Sir, why didn’t you stop the lady from approaching President Cory?”, I asked.

“Father, we didn’t see her”, said one of the men in the Presidential Security Group.

No one in the PSG saw the lady. Not one. There were around a hundred watching the chapel.

From then on, the people in Malacanang speculated that it was the Virgin mary who put the veil into Cory’s head.

I am one of the millions of Filipinos grieving for the death of our beloved leader, and I hope that every Filipino will embody what she tried to teach us, with her life and her advocacy. She was “just a plain housewife”, and yet, she made the biggest difference in our country. She taught us to trust God, and how that trust would greatly help us rebuild our nation. Our country is such a troubled one. If she was able and healthy, she could have called for unity and be the candle in the dark for all of us Filipinos. Tita Cory,we love you.