MANILA, Philippines?Ordinary citizens will get a day off on Wednesday, the funeral of former President Corazon Aquino, but senators and members of the House of Representatives have given themselves a one-week break.

Lawmakers Monday suspended their sessions for a week to join the nation in mourning the death of Aquino.

Members of the House also adopted a resolution commending the former President and declaring her birthday ?Corazon Aquino Day.?

Not to be outdone, senators unanimously adopted 10 resolutions honoring Aquino, including one that gave her the ?highest congressional honor.?

But the Senate deferred action on a resolution filed early Monday by Sen. Mar Roxas which sought the declaration of Jan. 25, the birthday of Aquino, as a ?Cory Aquino Day.?

In the resolution, Roxas said the former President deserved to be honored yearly for her crucial role in the revival of democracy in the country.

Roxas said the country should look up to Aquino as ?a symbol of the fight against corruption.?

?Former President Cory Aquino has demonstrated in the clearest terms that steep moral values and strength of character are what our nation need in times of unabated corruption and political and social decay,? he said.

Sen. Benigno ?Noynoy? Aquino III, the only son of Aquino, welcomed the Roxas resolution.

?My mother and father would never forgive me if I myself would initiate the move to make my mother?s birthday a holiday. So if there?s already a resolution for it, I would like to thank them for such honor,? he said.

Congressional medal

A resolution, introduced by Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, bestowed the congressional medal on Aquino for her ?democratic legacy, sterling public service and unparalleled contribution in Philippine history.?

?Cory showed us true leadership and statesmanship when she turned over the presidency to her successor in a solemn, peaceful and democratic transfer of power in 1992,? said the resolution adopted by the chamber as the truck carrying Aquino?s remains was passing by Rizal Park in Manila en route to Manila Cathedral.

In his tribute to the late leader, Zubiri, who had responded to the call of Aquino to join her on EDSA in 1986, said she had delivered on her promise to guide the nation toward a democratic path.

Spelling out what Aquino had achieved and stood for during her lifetime, the resolution noted that the ?country lost one of its national treasures.?

In the six years of her presidency, ?Cory courageously defended our freedom and democracy from various challenges and threats of military coups,? the resolution said.

Moral compass

Thus, the resolution said, ?Cory became a moral compass and a beacon of hope, democracy and freedom to the Filipino nation.?

In deference to Aquino?s wake and burial, the Senate opened its session to hear the prayers of all 17 senators in attendance, except for Sen. Gregorio Honasan, who did not offer a prayer for Aquino.

CARP extension

The senators also delivered separate eulogies for Aquino, and passed the extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program as a ?tribute? to Aquino, who signed the first Agrarian Reform Law in 1988, said Zubiri.

?We will suspend this session from Monday to Thursday to pay tribute and honor in this time of grief of the passing of a Great Leader, a person whose legacy of restoring the Philippine democracy shall never be forgotten,? he said.

The Senate did not lose time in passing resolutions after the prayers and eulogies, and the singing of the National Anthem and ?Bayan Ko? by the Senate choir.

In the House, Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Satur Ocampo said the lawmakers decided to forego discussions on bills to allow them to honor Aquino in their own way.

Other lawmakers chose to express their sadness and desire to honor the former President through resolutions.

The resolution filed by Liberal Party lawmakers said the ?nation?s pillar of strength and unity? deserved to be remembered on her birthday, Jan. 25, every year.

They said she remained valuable to the nation even after she had stepped down from power.

Beacon

?Even as a private citizen, she was the moral compass of the country, serving as a beacon to thwart attempts to curtail democracy and a leading figure in the fight for good governance,? the lawmakers said.

They also said that it was during Aquino?s presidency, a position she so reluctantly took, that the Philippines gained worldwide respect because of the peaceful transition to democracy.

The country also gained a Constitution that asserted the country?s sovereignty and pushed nationalist ideals under her, the resolution said.

The resolution also praised her for shuttering the ?highly questionable and overpriced? Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, and for putting in place the ?most radical? comprehensive agrarian reform program.

Palawan Rep. Abraham Mitra, in his own resolution, said the legacies that Aquino left behind remained the ?foundation of our democratic institutions and processes.?

Voice to millions of women

Akbayan party-list Representatives Risa Hontiveros and Walden Bello, in their separate resolutions, commended Aquino for giving a voice to millions of women ?to be looked at as a stakeholder and a participant in national development.?

House Majority Leader Arthur Defensor, who served several positions under the Aquino administration, said the country would never truly let go of her.

She will remain the eternal flame in the country?s fight to restore democracy, he said.

?Her noble deeds will never die. The memory of her courage and heroism will remain forever treasured in the deep recesses of the heart of a grateful people,? Defensor said in his sponsorship speech of the resolution, which was authored by all House members.

?We can never say goodbye to President Cory,? he added.

Audacity, grace

House Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora said the various resolutions commending Aquino would not be enough to express the grief at her passing. She represented what is great about Filipinos, he said.

?Even the resolution such as ours can only be a pale shadow of how we feel in our hearts at the passing of such a one as President Aquino, such a one who reminds us that in a time of need this country can still offer and has in fact produced giants who exceeded all in bravery, in audacity, in thoughtfulness and in grace,? Zamora said.

Rep. Joel Villanueva of the Citizens Battle Against Corruption said Aquino made all feel like they were part of her family.

?Every Filipino related with Tita Cory, as if personally and intimately she became part of us. She was our voice to the world. She brought all of us with her in her trips abroad. She brought our story to all parts of the globe and she made us proud to be Filipino,? Villanueva said.

House Resolution No. 1299 commended Aquino for leading the nation in showing the world ?that the indomitable spirit of the Filipino people, their solidarity with all freedom-loving peoples of the world and unwavering faith in God will advance and strengthen the cause of freedom and democracy.?

Heroine

In the upper chamber, Sen. Loren Legarda said Aquino was not only an icon of democracy, she was also a heroine.

?Her self-sacrifice even after retiring from the presidency with her honor and integrity intact, in which she continued to lend her services and prestige to the side of the people even while sick, had endeared her more to her people,? Legarda said.

Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Aquilino Pimentel, Jamby Madrigal and Manuel Villar thanked God for ?lending? Aquino to the Filipino nation.

Said Pimentel: ?What can we say in prayer to you, our first session since the demise on Aug. 1 of our beloved former President Cory Aquino? Our hearts are filled with the pangs of pain. Our tongues are tied by the thongs of sorrow. Our minds are weighed down by the misery of loss.?