Philippines Mourns Cardinal

The Philippines' spiritual leader-cum-political powerbroker extraordinaire, Cardinal Jamie Sin, died yesterday after a long fight against diabetes and a heart attack. He was 76.

The former archbishop of Manila, once dubbed the "divine commander in chief", was a crucial player in the peaceful People Power risings against the dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and Joseph Estrada 15 years later. He will also be remembered for his extremely conservative views on social issues such as birth control.

President Gloria Arroyo, a Catholic who came to office thanks in no small part to Cardinal Sin's backing for the anti-Estrada campaign, described him as "a great liberator of the Filipino people" and "a champion of God".

Several thousand people flocked to Manila's Catholic cathedral for a wake, including Corazon Aquino, who replaced Marcos as president after the popular uprising in 1986, when Cardinal Sin defied the Vatican and urged Filipinos on to the streets to support 300 military rebels opposing Marcos after a blatantly rigged election.

The late dictator's widow, Imelda Marcos, said yesterday she had prayed for the ethnic Chinese cardinal. His funeral is due next Tuesday.