Filipinos bid farewell to former president Benigno Aquino

27 June, 2021
Filipinos bid farewell to former president Benigno Aquino
Philippine former president Benigno Aquino was laid to rest in a Manila cemetery on Saturday (Jun 26) beside his parents, two of the country's democracy icons.

A huge selection of mourners in black and white, some also wearing yellow ribbons and face masks - the colour linked to the Aquino family and a 1986 revolution that toppled a dictator - attended a funeral mass and burial ceremony.

Aquino, president from 2010 to 2016, died at age 61 in a Manila hospital on Thursday of kidney failure therefore of diabetes.

"To the person we were so blessed to have as our brother, we will forever be pleased with you, thank you, long for you and love you," Maria Elena Aquino-Cruz, a mature sister of Aquino, said at the funeral mass. "To all or any of you, the bosses of Noy, many thanks."

Aquino's remains were cremated on Thursday. Thousands queued for the public viewing in a church in his alma mater on Friday.

Filipinos lined up along roads to pay respect through the one-hour convoy of dozens of vehicles from his alma mater, Ateneo de Manila University, to the cemetery south of the administrative centre.

The military gave a 21-gun salute and a helicopter rained down yellow flowers. At the Aquino residence at the heart of the capital, supporters left chrysanthemums, yellow bells and sunflowers for the late leader.

Among those paying respects to Aquino was vice president and political ally Leni Robredo, and good friends. Most supporters were blocked at the access of the cemetery to avoid mass gathering and the spread of COVID-19.

"I pay respect to a leader that's humble and gave real love for the country, people and God," Thelma Chua, 64, clad in a yellow shirt at the funeral, told Reuters.
"I pray for another family with the attitude like Noy and his parents that may fight for truth, justice, loyalty, love for God and country."

Known popularly as Noynoy, Aquino rode a wave of public support to the presidency after the 2009 death of his mother, the revered "People Power" leader Corazon Aquino, who was president from 1986 to 1992.

His namesake father, a staunch critic of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, was assassinated when he returned from political exile in 1983, planting the seeds for the 1986 People Power revolution that booted the strongman from office.

As president, the younger Aquino led the Philippines in shedding its perennial "sick man of Asia" image through better governance and robust economic growth. He challenged Beijing's sweeping claims of the South China Sea prior to the arbitration court in The Hague in 2013.

President Rodrigo Duterte didn't attend the funeral. He declared a 10-day amount of mourning, with national flags in government buildings flying at half-mast.

Aquino, who led an exclusive life after stepping down, is survived by four sisters.
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