Negros Occidental leaders called for prayers for former President Corazon Aquino after her children announced yesterday on national television that she has been diagnosed with colon cancer.

The Diocese of Bacolod is calling on Negrenses to pray for President Aquino, Fr. Anecito Buenafe, director of the Social Action Center of the Diocese of Bacolod, said.

Gov. Isidro Zayco and former Gov. Daniel Lacson Jr. also called for prayers for the ailing former president.

Zayco said Aquino had served the country as president and needed the prayers of the people now.

Lacson, who was governor of Negros Occidental during Aquino’s presidency, said “President Aquino has done so much for our country, let’s all pray for her quick recovery and also strength for her family to cope during these difficult times.”

Aquino’s children yesterday had also asked the country to pray for the speedy recovery of the 74-year-old former president.

“Our mother is suffering from cancer of the colon,” her daughter, movie actress and television host Kris Aquino, said in a televised statement, with her senator brother, Benigno, by her side.

“It’s a very difficult time for our family, most especially for our mother. We respectfully ask that she be accorded her privacy,” she said.

“We are praying that our mother be given a longer life, because we need her,” a teary-eyed Kris said.

“Our mother had suffered from an episode of high blood pressure and difficulty in breathing followed by fever during the week in between Christmas and New Year. Since that time, we became concerned because of her consistent cough, loss of appetite and noticeable weight loss,” she said.

“Our mom wanted to know what was wrong with her, and with her family by her side, she submitted herself to a check-up and several tests. The results showed that our mother is suffering cancer of the colon,” Kris said.

The Aquino family statement said it was the former president who wanted her condition made public because she “has always believed in being upfront. Over and above anything else, she's a woman who has lived her entire life entrusting everything to the Lord, and she has always been a woman of great faith.”

“We know that the life of our family is part of the history of our nation. Our mother has decided to have a statement released so that everyone will understand her present condition,” it added.

“We’re saddened to hear the news about the condition of former president Cory Aquino,” Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said in Malacañang. “We join her family and the rest of the Filipino nation in praying that God give her strength during this time of adversity and we pray for her speedy recovery.”

Aquino was swept into power by a popular 1986 revolt that toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos after his 20-year rule.

Aquino’s husband Benigno Aquino, the namesake of her senator son and the arch enemy of Marcos, was gunned down at Manila airport in 1983 after returning home from exile in the United States.

A devout church-goer, Aquino has remained a political force in this largely Roman Catholic country and her stand on critical issues often helps form public opinion.

In 2001, she openly campaigned against Joseph Estrada to be removed from the presidency over corruption.

Like Marcos in 1986, Estrada left the presidential palace in disgrace. He was condemned to life imprisonment but subsequently pardoned.

Aquino has recently challenged incumbent president Gloria Arroyo to step down after her family was linked to corruption surrounding a telecoms deal with a Chinese firm.*CPG/AFP

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