Press Release
August 1, 2009

Pia on Cory: "A role model for women and all Filipinos"

Senator Pia S. Cayetano today extended her condolences to the Aquino family and joined the entire nation in mourning the passing of former President Corazon Aquino.

"I condole with my colleague Noynoy and his family. They lost a mother and we lost a great leader today. She was an icon of strength and virtue," said Cayetano, who sent her statement via text message from Desaru, Malaysia, where she is one of the Filipino participants in the Desaru International Long Distance and Sprint Triathlon from August 1 and 2.

"She was a role model for Filipino women then and today. Her memory will live on in our hearts," added the lady senator, who credits the former president for paving the way for more women leaders to gain greater public respect and acceptance in the post-Marcos era.

In her twitter account http://twitter.com/piacayetano Cayetano also related how her fellow Filipino triathletes who were joining the event were saddened by the news of Aquino's death and have dedicated their race to honor the former president.

"The Filipinos racing here in Desaru Malaysia today race in honor and memory of President Cory," she tweeted through her mobile phone a few minutes before the triathlon started at around 9:00 am Saturday.

"God bless President Cory's family. While the nation mourns its loss, they lost a mother, which is a very painful thing to bear."

Cayetano is also one of 4,194 supporters (as of this writing) who have added a yellow "twibbon" http://twibbon.com/join/Yellow-Ribbon-for-Pres-Cory to her twitter avatar as a symbol of support for the late democracy icon.

Last Tuesday (July 28), Cayetano handed a scrapbook containing hand-written prayers and letters of encouragement for Pres. Aquino from 18 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Hong Kong stricken with cancer through her son Senator Benigno Aquino III. The OFWs belong to Buhay Ka!, a support group of cancer survivors employed as domestic workers in Hong Kong, whom the lady senator visited in July upon the invitation of the group's spiritual adviser, Father Robert Reyes.

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