Led by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the well-wishers were, among others, Speaker Jose de Venecia and his wife Gina, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Presidential Chief of Staff Secretary Mike Defensor, Supreme Court Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban, former Supreme Court Chief Justice now Presidential Adviser for Electoral Reforms Hilario G. Davide Jr.; Comelec Chairman Ben Abalos, Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) Chairman Camilo Sabio, Bangko Sentral Gov. Armando Tetangco, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Fe Barin, Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) Chief Agnes Devanadera, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Chairwoman Ma. Elena Bautista, Land Transportation (LTO) Director Ann Lontok; Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) General Manager Wregi Uriarte, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Jose Bunag, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) Chairman Efraim Genuino, and Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FFCCI) President Francis Chua.

Cardinal Vidal gave a brief but very powerful message during the occasion. It brought the President and all his well wishers on their feet.

"I am very much honored by your presence here this morning on the occasion of my extended birthday celebration. I suppose when you are turning seventy-five, one day is not enough to celebrate your birthday. I suppose when you are that old, you will have to celebrate life every day from hereon.

"I thank you, therefore, for your presence this morning, and I thank you for your good wishes on my birthday. I suppose as well that when you are turning seventy-five, there aren’t that many wishes that you can make.

"I would like, however, to express one wish before you, my dear honorable officials in government. It is said that one is entitled to make a wish on one’s birthday, and it will most probably come true, depending on how many good ears are listening. I suppose that there are many good and powerful ears listening this morning, and one old man is certainly entitled to have his wish come true.

"My wish, my dear sisters and brothers, is the same as every Filipino’s wish: That we can finally move on as a nation, attain peace and prosperity, live in unity and cooperation with each other and enjoy the fruits of development.

"Everybody seems to have the same wish, but without a corresponding concern for each other, we can only push each other aside and precipitate a stampede of catastrophic proportions.

"What happened last Saturday was a mirror-image of our struggle for survival – in the heart of every individual was the same dream, the same goal, but unregulated and unguided by due concerns for others, we can only end up hurting ourselves.

"One lifetime is not enough to make all dreams come true. But as long as we make one small step every day to make personal sacrifices, our nation’s destiny may yet be forged before our time is up."

Cardinal Vidal is the most senior active prelate of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. Jose Cardinal Sanchez is retired and is residing abroad. Jaime Cardinal Sin is dead. Therefore, his voice carries much weight among the genuine Catholics of our land.

The wish of Cardinal Vidal that we finally move on as a nation is very timely in view of renewed attacks by the opposition against the administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Only the other day, former President Cory Aquino, who also professes to be a devout Catholic, renewed her call for President Arroyo to resign.

Former President Cory made this renewed call after meeting with former President Joseph Estrada whom she helped oust in 2001.

The irony of it all is that President Cory lambasted President Arroyo for allegedly failing to solve the problem of grinding poverty in the country.

It is as if President Cory has done much about the poverty of the Filipinos during her time. Alas, records show that her economic performance was dismal and she is remembered by many as the "Queen of Darkness" because of frequent brownouts.

In more civilized countries, former presidents refrain from criticizing the incumbents as a matter of genuine delicadeza. They have had their time.

May President Cory and her kind grant Cardinal Vidal his birthday wish.