Mammoth crowd expected at Cardinal Vidal’s funeral

President Rodrigo Duterte pays his last respects to the late Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral on Oct. 23, 2017. RICHARD MADELO / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

CEBU CITY – More Cebuanos will be able to attend the funeral of beloved prelate, Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, on Thursday as President Duterte has announced plans to declare Oct. 26 a holiday.

Mr. Duterte, who visited the wake of Vidal at the Metropolitan Cathedral in downtown Cebu City past midnight on Monday, said he would sign the executive order declaring Oct. 26 a holiday once he was back in Manila.

He said he would have wanted to attend the wake of Vidal who died last week but he had so many things to do.

From Bacolod City in Negros Occidental where he graced the culmination of the 38th MassKara Festival on Sunday night, he flew to Cebu City before going back to Manila.

The President arrived at the cathedral at 12:05 a.m. and was welcomed by Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma and other Church officials.

In his speech, Mr. Duterte described Vidal as a “man of peace” who didn’t scold.

“(But) it is important for me to be here as your President,” he said.

He stayed for about 30 minutes and before leaving, he kissed the glass cover of the coffin and made an appeal to the people.

“If I die, also pray for me,” he said, leaving the crowd laughing.

In a news conference in Iloilo City on Monday, Presidential Assistant for Visayas Michael Diño said President Duterte’s declaration of holiday on Oct. 26 was an expression of his “high respect” for the prelate.

Diño said the holiday would cover the entire province and was in response to request to his office from the city and provincial officials.

“I think it will be a non-working holiday. I am still waiting for the executive order,” he said.

He said many Cebuanos wanted to attend Vidal’s funeral but could not do so because of work.

Diño said the President was also aware that Vidal is well-loved by Cebuanos.

“Cardinal Vidal is more than just a cardinal for the Cebuanos. He is in fact more Cebuano than most of the Cebuanos,” Diño, a Cebuano, said.

“He (Vidal) lived his life in Cebu. He died in Cebu and he wanted to be buried in Cebu,” he said.

Vidal was a native of Mogpog town in Marinduque province but served as archbishop of Cebu for 29 years until he retired in 2011. He spent his retirement years in Cebu and still presided over Masses and attended events in the archdiocese.

“He took good care of his flock. He became endeared to Cebuanos,” said Diño.

The President has repeatedly lambasted officials of the Catholic Church and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines several of whom have spoken out against extrajudicial killings in the government’s campaign against illegal drugs.

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, a close ally of the President, has recently blamed the bishops for the significant drop in the popularity ratings of the President.

But Diño said the President does not take this personally.

“He is not anti-Catholic. He is not anti-Church. He is also a Catholic,” Diño said.

He said he requested the holiday declaration also upon the request of the Cebu City Council and Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III.

In his speech during the MassKara Festival at the public plaza of Bacolod City in Negros Occidental, Mr. Duterte said that if there was one thing he didn’t care about, it was survey ratings.

“Ako trabaho lang, wala akong pakialam dyan sa rating rating (Me I’m just working, I don’t care about those ratings),” he said.

“My rating is finished. I got six million majority over the  next opponent (in the 2016 elections),” he said. “Whether I go up or I go down I really do not give a shit,” he said.

“Basta ako trabaho lang. Huwag mo lang lokohin ang Pilipino. Wag mong saktan ang Pilipino, mag-engkwentro talaga tayo, yan ang pangako ko sa yo (For me, I will just work. Don’t fool the Filipinos. Don’t hurt the Filipinos or there would be an encounter. That is my promise to you),” he said in his speech where he tackled his war on terrorism, the New People’s Army and drugs. With a report from Carla P. Gomez, Inquirer Visayas