LA pays respect to tita cory

the whole world saw witness once again the power of a people united.

every filipino household from my home province of las navas northern samar in the philippines to my fil-am friends in los angeles had their television tuned in to the abs-cbn and the filipino channel's impressive round-the-clock coverage of one of the most momentous events philippines has seen in over twenty-five years.

i don't have tfc. poor me. there's a reason why basic cable is called such, i guess. sorry, the occasion is so somber and being funny seems uncalled for.

with tfc or not, i still didn't feel left out of this historival event. my friends filled me in every detail of the massive funeral, which had a little circus-like atmosphere during the wake, but turned into a dignified (my friends jessica and jeff's description) tribute to a woman who defined the people-powered democracy countries from europe to south america took inspiration from.

in los angeles, the archdiocese and the consulate office held a mass in honor of tita cory yesterday evening.

the mass was officiated by bishop rosales. it was a solemn celebration attended by a largely yellow-clad angelenos who filled st. basil church to capacity.

tita cory is gone. she now joins her husband ninoy in heaven. judging the pictures of the funeral yesterday, i couldn't help but marvel at the power of ninoy and cory to bring filipinos together in a united cause. i hope when the grieving is over, the philippines will be able to march on to the future without one of its greatest daughters at hand. we got no choice; we need to honor the selfless service this couple gave to the filipino people by championing their ideals and embracing our own.