Cory-Ninoy P500 bill

BSP backs Cory-Ninoy P500 bill

By Michelle Remo, Christine Avendaño, Leila Salaverria
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:54:00 08/07/2009

Filed Under: Central Banks, Cory Aquino, Heroism, Legislation, Politics

MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Philippine central bank, is backing the proposal to have the P500 bill also bear a portrait of the late Corazon “Cory” Aquino.

The current P500 bill carries the portrait of the late Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., the husband of the former President, whose passing on Aug. 1 continues to be mourned nationwide.

The suggestion to include Cory Aquino’s portrait on the P500 bill was made to BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. by former Energy Secretary Vince Perez, according to an earlier report.



National hero

The call to declare Cory Aquino a national hero has gained wide ground, with Sen. Rodolfo Biazon saying he would file next week a joint resolution of Congress making the declaration.



High time

Sen. Pia Cayetano said she would back the move to declare Aquino a national hero because it was “well deserved.”

She said heroes tended to be viewed as “people from the past,” and that “it would be wonderful to have a present modern-day hero” in the former President.



Saint of People Power

As for the idea of petitioning the Vatican to declare Aquino a saint to serve as a model for politicians, Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles said he was all for it.

He said he believed that the former President deserved to be named a saint for leading an exemplary political life while relying on her Christian faith and values.

“If I were the Pope, I would have her declared a recognized saint... We can say she is a saint for her political life. She is a saint of People Power, as others say,” Arguelles said in an interview over the Church-run Radio Veritas.

He added: “When [Aquino] was thrust into the [political] limelight, she said ‘God has written my life’. She did not plan any of it. She was put into that position because of her surrender to God. That’s why people like her are God’s gift to humanity.”

‘In God’s own time’

Arguelles said the matter of Aquino’s sainthood should not be forced and that it would happen “In God’s own time, if God wants her to be a symbol for many people.”

The Philippines, the only predominantly Christian nation in Southeast Asia, has its sole saint in Lorenzo Ruiz, who did not renounce his faith under torture in 17th-century Japan.

Pope John Paul II canonized Ruiz as the first Filipino saint on Oct. 18, 1987, in Vatican City. With a report from Dona Z. Pazzibugan


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