-Caveat Lector-
No coincidence the Catholic prelate of the Philippines is named
"Cardinal Sin."
Philippine Cult Worships Marcos
By JIM GOMEZ
.c The Associated Press
ABRA, Philippines (AP) - A picture of the ``Sacred Heart of Jesus'' in a
Philippine chapel has the familiar features, including the heart ringed by a
crown of thorns. But there's one startling difference - the face is that of
the late Philippine strongman Ferdinand Marcos.
Although vilified by many as a ruthless dictator, Marcos is worshipped by
hundreds of cult followers in the mountains of Abra province, about 200 miles
north of Manila.
``We regard him as a saint,'' said cult leader Rodolfo Cabusao, a 51-year-old
former tailor.
Wearing white cassocks, cult members - mostly impoverished peasants - sing
prayers in a thatch-roofed chapel adorned with portraits of Marcos along with
traditional religious figures.
Their behavior is in sharp contrast to the thousands of people nationwide who
held pro-democracy rallies last week on the anniversary of Marcos' imposition
of martial rule 27 years ago. They burned an effigy of the late president's
widow, Imelda, near the presidential palace.
Cabusao says cult followers do not want to be dragged into the political
conflict surrounding Marcos. Instead, cult life is focused around a
self-sustaining mountain retreat where members grow rice and vegetables on a
sprawling farm and raise money by selling orchids.
The group began as one of several small nationalist cults, collectively
called the Rizalian Brotherhood, which have long venerated Philippine
national hero Jose Rizal as a reincarnation of Christ.
It began worshipping Marcos soon after the former dictator died in September
1989, when Cubasao says Marcos appeared to him in an apparition and
proclaimed himself God's disciple.
Cabusao maintains he has found Bible passages to support the claim and says
Marcos also fits the description of the government leader cult founders
prophesied would deliver God's promises of love and prosperity to millions of
Filipinos.
``We worship him. We believe the crimes he's been accused of were not really
committed by him, but by his men,'' said Saniata Guarin, Cabusao's sister and
head of an Abra elementary school.
Marcos was driven from power in 1986 by an army-backed ``people power''
revolt that ended his 20-year rule and sent him into exile in Hawaii, where
he died three years later.
Succeeding governments have accused the Marcoses and their associates of
human rights abuses and of plundering billions of dollars.
The Philippines is Asia's only predominantly Roman Catholic nation.
Philippine anthropologist Landa Jocano says the emergence of cults
worshipping Rizal, and now Marcos, are rooted in the Philippines' struggle
against Spain, which colonized the archipelago from 1565 to 1898.
As Filipino guerrillas revolted against Spanish colonial rule in the late
1800s, some nationalist Filipino priests broke off from the Spanish-led
Catholic church and established their own independent church, imbuing it with
nationalism.
Abra's Catholic bishop, Artemio Rillera, said he was unaware of the cult but
said he would look into its activities and try to persuade its followers ``to
practice the right manner of worshipping God.''
``If they claim that a human person is God, that's idolatry, that's false,''
Rillera said.
During worship services, cult members in Abra flank their altars with large
Philippine flags. When they pray, they raise their right hand to their chest
- a sign of respect for the flag - instead of making the sign of the cross.
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