MANILA (SE): Former Philippine president, Benigno S. Aquino III, was cremated several hours after his death in the early hours of June 24 at the age of 61, as confirmed by his youngest sister, Kris Aquino, who said the family decided on a quick cremation to avoid a large event that could spread the Covid-19 coronavirus, UCAN reported on June 25.
Aquino served as the country’s 15th president from 2010 to 2016.
“It is with profound grief that on behalf of our family, I am confirming that our brother Benigno ‘Noynoy’ S. Aquino III died peacefully in his sleep,” a family statement read by his sister, Pinky Aquino-Abellada, said.
“His death certificate pronounced his death at 6:30am due to renal disease secondary to diabetes,” she added.
Following his installation Mass on the morning of June 24, Jose Cardinal Advincula, the newly installed archbishop of Manila, and other bishops offered their prayers for the former president, CBCPNews reported.
‘Eulogies have been written and spoken and shared. But the best eulogy tribute we can pay our dear President Noy (Aquino) is to bring back, recover, preserve, safeguard and never to compromise again our dignity as a people and the decency of our leaders as servants, not bosses’
Archbishop Socrates Villegas
Cardinal Advincula told the faithful, “We were informed of the sad news of the passing away of our former president, Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III. Let us entrust him to the mercy of our loving Father and let us pray for the eternal repose of his soul.”
Ateneo de Manila University, the former president’s alma mater, agreed to hold a public viewing in the university’s Church of Gesu for supporters and friends to pay their last respects to the former president, according to UCAN.
A livestreamed Mass was later celebrated at the university later for the former president.
Cardinal Advincula and Archbishop Brown also visited the Church of Gesu to offer prayers CBCPNews reported.
Jesuit Father Danny Huang, a former Philippine provincial, recalled serving with Aquino on the university student council.
“He wasn’t perfect but he was a good president: honest, without personal ambition, seeking to serve,” UCAN reported him as saying in a social media post.
File photo: CNS /Paul Haring
Aquino was interred at Manila Memorial Park, Sucat, Parañaque, on June 26 beside his parents, the late senator, Benigno Aquino, Jr., and the 1986 People Power icon, former president, Corazon Aquino
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The funeral Mass was concelbrated by Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan, and Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan, together with several Jesuits and priests who were friends of the Aquino family.
“Eulogies have been written and spoken and shared. But the best eulogy tribute we can pay our dear President Noy (Aquino) is to bring back, recover, preserve, safeguard and never to compromise again our dignity as a people and the decency of our leaders as servants, not bosses,” Archbishop Villegas said in his homily.
The Manila Bulletin reported that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) accorded full military honours to the former president.
De La Salle Brother Armin Luistro, the Philippine’s former education secretary, said in a message texted to UCAN, “In your charity, please pray for the eternal repose of President Benigno Aquino III who passed away this morning. May he rest now in God’s peace. May God have mercy on the Philippines.”
John Cardinal Tong Hon, the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Hong Kong, offered his condolences and sympathies to the Aquino family and to the Filipino people, particularly those in Hong Kong.
“There is a saying: ‘The eyes of the people discern clearly’. He (Aquino) was a simple, decent man of integrity. I pray for his eternal peace and repose,” he told the Sunday Examiner on June 25.
Divine Word Father Jay Flandez, chaplain to Filipinos in Hong Kong, wrote in the Sunday Examiner (see page 9): “PNoy (Aquino) was promoting a kind of governance: Tayo na sa daang matuwid (let’s take the road of righteousness). It was a difficult vision but he tried to live that motto, leading people to the right way. Because only in righteousness we can bring change to our nation. But that change must start in us, as citizens of our country.”
In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said: “During his term as the 15th President of the Philippine Republic, President Aquino elevated the country’s conduct of foreign relations, steered foreign policy towards a principled direction that earned international respect and esteem, and invigorated the foreign service with a collective sense of patriotism, commitment to service, and professionalism. He has left a remarkable legacy on our country’s foreign policy and national history.”
