MANILA, Philippines??I?m ashamed, i?m ashamed that those who stood up on the holy ground of EDSA could compromise with evil and waltz with criminals,? Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates ?Soc? Villegas said in his homily at one of three special Masses held Tuesday at the EDSA Shrine to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the EDSA Shrine dedicated to EDSA I or the People Power revolution that ousted the dictator Ferdinand Marcos in February 1986.

Villegas was apparently alluding to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?s long-time association with the Ampatuan warlords believed responsible for the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao.

?I feel sad that the beneficiary of EDSA II has betrayed the spirit that the shrine stands for,? he also said.

During EDSA I, in response to the appeal of the late Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin, masses of ordinary Filipinos defied 20 years of the Marcos dictatorship and converged on Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) to face military tanks and battle-ready soldiers.

With Marcos? ouster, Corazon Aquino became President.

The EDSA Shrine, with a giant statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary on top of it, was dedicated in 1989 as a memorial to EDSA I.

Ms Arroyo took office after then President Joseph Estrada was ousted in another military-backed civilian revolt in January 2001.

That revolt, which came to be known as EDSA II, also became possible when Sin and former President Aquino called on people to force Estrada out of office.

?I?m ashamed, I am hurt, but I am not angry because the EDSA Shrine has given me enough love and enough peace to look at the bigger picture,? said Villegas, who was a long-time aide of Sin?s.

?Tapos ka na?

Echoing his mentor?s strong political stance, Villegas pressed his apparent attack on Ms Arroyo.

?We remember two loved ones of the EDSA Shrine,? he said, referring to Sin and Aquino.

He paused for several minutes to regain his composure, his eyes brimmed with tears, and then he added: ?We would have loved to see both of them here. And when we are hurt, when we feel betrayed, when we feel lost, when we feel confused, don?t we sometimes say, ?Kung buhay lang si Cardinal Sin, tapos ka na (If Cardinal Sin were alive, you?re finished)? Don?t we sometimes say, ?Kung naririto lang si Tita Cory, nandidito din tayo (If Tita Cory were here, we?d also be here)?

?But the EDSA Shrine is not Cardinal Sin; the EDSA Shrine is not Tita Cory. The EDSA Shrine is you and, therefore, if we are here, the EDSA spirit must live on.

?People who believe in peace, in integrity, in the power of prayer, those who love the Philippines need not die with the death of Tita Cory and Cardinal Sin. They must live on, and they must live on through us.

?Do not look at the people we miss; look at the challenge ahead. The EDSA Shrine is not a building; [it] is you. The EDSA Shrine is people, and [it] can never, never be defeated because it stands for the spirit that can only come from God.?

EDSA I spirit betrayed

?When you look at the beneficiaries of the EDSA Revolution of 1986 or EDSA II, and you see how the spirit has been compromised and betrayed, all you need to do is look at the EDSA Shrine, because [it] will always stand as a monument of hope for those who believe in peace, for those who believe in integrity in public office, for those who believe in the power of love that can change the world,? he said.

Last year, Villegas and four other Catholic bishops denounced the ?systematic corruption? in the Arroyo administration.

Unfinished mission

Villegas said the EDSA Shrine was unique as a memorial because among all the memorials of the EDSA People Power revolution, ?it is only the EDSA Shrine that is a living monument.?

While the marker outside the shrine was dated Dec. 8, 1989, the actual Mass to celebrate its consecration and dedication was held on Dec. 15, 1989.

Villegas said the consecration was deferred for a week because the country had just survived a bloody coup attempt mounted on Nov. 30, 1989.

He said that back in 1989, the altar and other parts of the church were still unfinished.

?Twenty years later, the EDSA Shrine is still an unfinished mission because we can never complete the task of peacemaking while we are living here on earth. If the EDSA Shrine stands for peace, then peace is an ongoing task,? Villegas said.

He acknowledged Antipolo Bishop Gabriel Reyes for being the force behind the construction of the EDSA Shrine.

?It was Bishop Gabby who did all the work of conceptualizing, meeting the artists and negotiating with the contractors and so many things,? said Villegas, who was named the first rector of the shrine.