Filipinos bid farewell to former President Aquino
Philippine flags were lowered to half-mast on government buildings Friday as persons prearranged at Manila's Church of the Gesu to pay their last respects to former President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino, who has died aged 61. He led the Philippines from 2010 to 2016 and was the only son of former President Corazon C. Aquino and assassinated opposition leader Benigno S. Aquino Jr. Aquino died in his sleep on Thursday morning, his family told the media.
A 10-day national mourning period, lasting until July 3, was declared by President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday evening to pay tribute to Aquino's "lasting legacy" to the Filipino people."His memory and his family's legacy of offering their lives for the reason for democracy will forever remain etched inside our hearts," Duterte said, as he called on Filipinos to "unite in prayer and set aside our differences" through the mourning period.
Vice President Leni Robredo, accompanied by her two daughters, attended Aquino's wake at the Church of Gesu at the Ateneo de Manila University's Loyola Heights campus in Quezon City."He showed the kind of leadership our country needs. His passing is like the end of a time," she told reporters. "The challenge is upon each one of us to continue what he fought for."
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said his department joined the country in mourning for Aquino, who had strengthened the country's military."As commander-in-chief, he recognized the value of equipping our military to raised respond to the evolving domestic and regional security challenges," Lorenzana said in a statement.The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) held an eight-gun salute at military camps on Friday to honor their former commander-in-chief.
