Binay, Estrada to lead delegation for Calungsod canonization

VICE President Jejomar Binay and Senator Jinggoy Estrada are among the 5,000 Filipinos who will witness the canonization of Blessed Pedro Calungsod at the Vatican on Sunday.

The Vice President was designated by President Benigno Aquino III to head the delegation.

Calungsod, a young Visayan catechist who was killed by Guam natives in 1672, will be the second Filipino saint after San Lorenzo Ruiz, who was canonized in 1987. 

Binay, who is also the presidential adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers' (OFW) concerns, earlier expressed his hope for Calungsod to become the patron saint of OFWs, saying he could serve as a great inspiration to the millions of Filipino migrant workers abroad.

"The presence of the thousands of Filipinos here and the millions more around the world who are eagerly awaiting Blessed Calungsod's canonization as the second Filipino saint reaffirms our faith as a nation. I hope his dedication and sacrifice will serves as an example for the Filipino youth to emulate," he said.

Estrada will be joined by his mother, former senator Loi Estrada, wife Precy Ejercito and their children, and sister Jacqueline Lopez.

They are also set to attend along with Binay the Votive Mass of St. Pedro Calungsod in St. Peter's Basilica on Thanksgiving Day on October 22, to be presided by Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal.

From Rome, the Vice President will go to Israel to learn more about the country's technological advances in agriculture and food production and apply the same technologies in the Philippines. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)