Manila Cathedral (Where my parents got married btw. hehe)
My normal day would usually be in this order:
Wake up at 11 or 12 noon
Turn on the tv
Prepare lunch while hearing Willie sing Giling-giling on Wowowee
Watch the rest of Wowowee or switch to Cinema One, Star Movies or HBO
Do stuff on things-to-do list
Check emails
Prepare dinner
Watch teleserye
And finally, while watching tv, go online to catch up with friends and check Facebook
Last Saturday however, it wasn't Giling-giling that Willie was singing. It was a mellow song, the audience weren't grinding to the floor to be picked for BigaTen. Candles filled the studio, the Willie and the ASF dancers were all clad in yellow. I was confused. I switched the channel to ANC and there I saw the news- Tita Cory already left us.
I texted my mom saying "Wala na pala si Cory." because I was wondering why she didn't leave me a message about it on my phone. (She usually leaves me messages on important stuff so that I can read it when I take a peek at my phone before I get out of bed.) She said "Yes, kinuha na ni Ninoy." We exchanged texts until she finally said "Punta ka kay Cory." "Balak ko naman talaga pero paano naman ako pupunta dun, wala ako kasama", I replied. Mom messaged me again: "Sige lang, pag may chance ka lang. Baka ilipat naman siya."
Visiting Tita Cory's wake crossed my mind even before mom told me. "I visited Francis M.'s wake. Why not the former president's wake right?" I told myself. To make this possible, I made arrangements with my ABAM friends RC and Issa to join me to Manila Cathedral to pay our last respect. They agreed to come however, it was raining badly that Monday morning and I cannot imagine lining up under such weather conditions. We unanimously decided to cancel the visit. Later that day my Auntie Fely arrived and said to me "Sayang, andun na kami kanina sa Quiapo. Nalimutan ko lang, dapat bumisita na kami kay Cory." I told her what happened to my schedule and decided to ask my Auntie to accompany me to the Cathedral instead. She was happy with the idea. When I relayed to her the schedule of public viewing, she decided we go early in the morning, in time for the viewing to start.
We left the house at 6 AM of Tuesday- quite a sacrifice for me coz I just had 4 hours of sleep. I kept praying for strength to stay awake and to be able to endure the loooong line (according to the news, the public had to wait around 4 hours before they could enter the Cathedral).
Assembly outside the door
It was raining super hard while we were in the bus to Intramuros. But when we got to Plaza Roma (aka Plaza Mayor), the rain stopped and to our surprise, there was no line! We walked alongside other early birds, received free Absolute distilled water and finally we organized ourselves outside the side door of the Manila Cathedral. The bouncers were really genuinely polite. Upon the entrance they smile and say "good morning po". They didn't scold some of us who had SLR cameras with us. They said "Paalala lang po, bawal po mag picture ha?" That reminder didn't make me feel threatened or 'pahiya'. (besides, I'd never want to take photos of dead people. Hindi ko kaya.) And then on our way out they'd send us off with "ingat po, umuulan na ho eh." I felt it was their pure desire to be of service that they were so nice and respectful to everyone.
It was a quick encounter- probably less than 10 seconds. You aren't allowed to stop by the coffin. Probably 2 seconds max. You have to (slowly) walk beside it, take a peek and store it in your photographic memory and make your way to the exit. She looked so different- I cannot explain in what way. But it felt good to see her. It felt as if I did something right just by visiting her for the last time.
Outpour of love
It was very rewarding, touching, and fulfilling. It was one of those times that you'd really feel that you are one with the people. Seeing THE Icon of Democracy re-awakened something in me- the pride of being a Filipino.
Sa pagiging Ina ng bawat isang Pilipino, maraming salamat, Tita Cory.
