JAIME CARDINAL L. SIN birth anniversary
Congress okays bill on 2nd reading declaring August 31 as special non-working holiday
BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

KALIBO, Aklan – The 15th Congress of the Philippines has passed on second reading last week House Bill No. 3374 declaring August 31 of every year as a special non-working holiday in the whole province of Aklan to commemorate the birth anniversary of the late Jaime Cardinal L. Sin.

Authored by Ang Kasangga Party-List Representative Teodorico Haresco, Jr., the measure was filed in recognition of the role that Jaime Cardinal L. Sin played during his lifetime, as an icon of religion, a freedom fighter and a true blooded Aklanon.

Last year, Haresco filed House Bill No. 4863, which was substituted by HB 3374. It was referred to the Committee on Rules on July 27 of this year and was approved by the body on second reading on August 10 as contained in Committee Report No. 1243 and submitted by the Committee on Revision of Laws.
“Jaime Cardinal Sin led the Filipino people in fighting for their rights amidst oppression, and advocated the use of peaceful means following the Gospels' teachings, to change the political situation in the country during the tumultuous years of Marcos regime,” Haresco said in his explanatory note.
Haresco, vice chairperson of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, said Jaime Cardinal Sin from New Washington, Aklan became one of the prime movers of the Peoples' Power Movement, following the famous EDSA Revolution.
The Filipino populace, he stressed, continued to be under the spiritual guidance of this charismatic religious leader during the Aquino, Ramos and Estrada administrations, and in the early years of the Macapagal administration.
“Jaime Cardinal Sin, a revered Roman Catholic leader and former Archbishop of Iloilo and Manila, played an important role not only in the Catholic Church, but also in the country's political arena,” he added.
Sin was born on August 31, 1928 to a Chinese immigrant father and a Filipina mother. He entered St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary, was ordained to the presbyterium and became a priest of the Archdiocese of Jaro on April 3, 1954.

He was appointed its auxiliary bishop on February 10, 1967. On March 18 of that year, he was ordained as bishop of the titular see of Obba. On March 15, 1972, Sin was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Jaro, taking on administrative roles in the archdiocese, while holding the titular see of Massa Lubrense.

On October 8, 1972, Sin was appointed Archbishop of Jaro, taking full control of the archdiocese. He led the Archdiocese of Manila as its Archbishop on March 19, 1974, and was later made Cardinal by Pope Paul VI on May 24 of 1976.

He was only the third native Filipino Archbishop of Manila, following centuries of Spanish, American and Irish episcopacy.

On June 21, 2005, Jaime Cardinal Sin died at the age of 76, leaving behind a legacy that will be best remembered for his rallying the people to defend their rights and liberties.