Aquino to pray for ‘intense haters’ during Holy Week

MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III will have some “quiet time” in the next two days, and will use that to pray for his critics.

In a chance interview with reporters when he inspected the Batangas Port on Wednesday, April 1, Aquino said his spiritual adviser and some people he had spoken to in a religious community counseled him to “have what you call a ‘quiet time.’”

“So far, wala pa tayong quiet time,” he said. (So far, I haven’t set aside a quiet time.)

Asked what the focus of his reflection would be, the President said: “At the end of the day, siguro pagmumuni-munihan ko ‘yung, ‘di ba some quarters have this intense hate that they have continuously exhibited? Siguro I’ll concentrate in praying for them.”

(What I’ll reflect upon will be those quarters that have continuously exhibited. I’ll concentrate in praying for them.)

Aquino has always complained about critics, whom he said want to frustrate his administration’s policies and bring him down so they could go back to power and flourish in the old ways. He said these critics were craving attention and vowed to crush them.

Criticisms against him had intensified after his perceived mishandling of the Mamasapano incident of January 25, where 44 elite cops died in the hands of Muslim rebels.

In the wake of Mamasapano, the biggest crisis that his administration faced, Aquino’s approval and trust rating plummeted to their lowest since he assumed the presidency in 2010.

In his Holy Week video message aired on national television earlier this week, Aquino urged Filipinos to “reflect on God’s never-ending love…that prevailed over ridicule, temptation, and suffering to save mankind from sin.”

He said in Filipino: “Even with the absolute power to protect himself from danger, Jesus Christ chose to become man and to sacrifice his own life. He bore the tremendous calvary to become the spring of salvation, and bring us closer to the kingdom of God the Father. This serves as a guide in building a nation that is not only focused on the welfare of all Filipinos at this time, but also those in coming generations. We are called upon to do all we can to leave behind a society that prioritizes the interest of the majority before self.” – Rappler.com