JAIME Cardinal Sin, the hugely influential Roman Catholic spiritual leader who helped to topple two Philippine presidents, died in hospital Tuesday. He was 76.
Hundreds of mourners began streaming to Manila Cathedral at noon to pay their respects to Sin, who died of multiple organ failure after a lengthy struggle with kidney problems and diabetes.
Father Rufino Sescon, Sin's secretary, told GMA Network's "Unang Hirit" that the cardinal passed away at 6:15 a.m. at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan, Metro Manila.
Sin was brought to the hospital two days ago after his fever refused to subside, Sescon said.
Early mourners included former president Corazon Aquino, whom he helped catapult to power following a bloodless people power revolt that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.
As the most visible church leader in this mainly Catholic nation of 84 million, Sin was one of the few vocal critics of military rule after Marcos declared martial law in 1972.
He also helped rally the public for a military-backed, popular uprising that toppled scandal-ridden president Joseph Estrada in 2001.
Marcos and Estrada were replaced respectively by devout Catholics Aquino and incumbent Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, both of whom enjoyed Sin's staunch support.
The cardinal retired as archbishop of Manila in 2003 and had largely lived quietly in seclusion in his villa in a Manila suburb. He suffered a heart attack in October.
His body has arrived at Manila Cathedral where it will lie in state.
Aquino, a close friend of Sin, attended a mass for him along with hundreds of clergymen, citizens, and schoolchildren.
Sescon said the cardinal had been deeply affected by the death in April of his friend Pope John Paul II, possibly leading to a deterioration in his own condition.
"He truly was affected by the loss of our beloved holy father," Sescon said, recalling that Sin had wanted to attend the pope's funeral but had been too ill.
In a television interview one of Sin's brothers, Ramon Sin, remembered him as a man who was "deeply in love with the Filipino people" but was also full of good humor and laughter, even during tense moments.
Secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines Monsignor Hernando Coronel, said the organization was "in great mourning at the demise of Cardinal Sin. We feel a deep loss."
He recalled Sin's role in toppling Marcos, saying "Cardinal Sin has contributed to the growth and flourishing of the faith and the restoration of freedom and democracy to our nation."
Jaime Sin's role as one of the few who would openly criticize Marcos boosted both his popularity and that of the church.
He was an adviser to Aquino after she became president.
But when former military chief Fidel Ramos, a Protestant, was elected president in 1992, Sin openly criticized his administration for moves to amend the constitution and to promote birth control.
Although Sin was already ailing when Estrada was elected in 1998, he was a constant critic of Estrada's mismanagement and led influential clergymen in calling on the president to resign after a corruption scandal in November 2000.
Critics called Sin a "politician-priest," saying he interfered in political matters in which the church should have kept its distance.
But the cardinal defended his actions, saying in his retirement speech in 2003: "Politics without Christ is the greatest scourge of our nation."
Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales, who succeeded Sin, said the burial was tentatively scheduled for next Tuesday.
Sin retired as archbishop of Manila in 2003 and suffered a heart attack in October.