PHILIPPINES: PRESIDENT MARCOS OBSERVES 68TH BIRTHDAY/CARDINAL SIN DELIVERS SERMON.

Record ID: 863570

  • Title: PHILIPPINES: PRESIDENT MARCOS OBSERVES 68TH BIRTHDAY/CARDINAL SIN DELIVERS SERMON.
  • Date: 12th September 1985
  • Summary: LUNETA PARK, MANILA, PHILIPPINES SEPTEMBER 11, 1985 ( REUTERS - MANUEL SILVA) GV & SVs Crowd with balloons and posters ("Happy Birthday, Sir") and singing. (4 SHOTS) 0.16
  • Embargoed: 27th September 1985 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Philippines, Philippines
  • City:
  • Country: Philippines
  • Topics: Politics,Religion,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVAD9ZFUNCV77BY283HVDU3OU5D7
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos, speaking at official observances of his 68th birthday at Manila's Luneta Park on September 11, called for a resurgence of national unity. The birthday celebrations were part of a religious mass of reconciliation at which Cardinal Jaime Sin, leader of the country's overwhelmingly Catholic population, officiated. An estimated fifty thousand government-organised supporters, drenched during a heavy downpour, cheered as Marcos and the Filipino prelate - his most severe ecclesiastical critic - embraced on the podium and spoke of a spirit of reconciliation. Marcos and his wife Imelda were greeted upon arrival at Luneta Park by clusters of coloured balloons and brass bands playing inside the stadium. The president, undisputed ruler of the island nation for some twenty years, later kneeled to receive holy communion, and was seen to wipe his eyes afterward. Following a sermon by Cardinal Sin, Marcos addressed the huge crowd, which frequently interrupted his speech with applause and cheers. He called for the active participation of all opposition factions and declared the he would remove himself from office if he found himself incapable "of maintaining the oath, of fulfilling the oath of office", of the nation's presidency. Hours after the Luneta Park ceremonies, thousands of young people, priests and nuns staged a torch-light parade through the capital, denouncing Marcos as "a dictator". Several hundred other protesters marched to the US Embassy to demonstrate against Washington's support for Marcos, while other young people and churchmen attempted to march to the president's Malacanang Palace - only to find riot police and barbed wire barricades blocking their advance. Although rumours about Marcos's supposed ill health have swirled around Manila for some months, the president gave no indication that he intends to relinquish the total control which he has wielded for two decades.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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