Former Philippine president Corazon Aquino, whose “People Power” revolution toppled Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy to the nation, died yesterday after a battle with colon cancer.
“Cory” Aquino was propelled into the political spotlight in 1986, leading millions of Filipinos in protests against the corrupt regime of Marcos, who jailed thousands of dissidents during his brutal 20-year regime.
As people across the Catholic nation woke to the news, Philippine President Gloria Macagapal Arroyo declared a 10-day period of mourning for Aquino, whom she praised as a “national treasure.”
PHOTO: AP
Aquino’s family announced her death early yesterday.
“Our mother peacefully passed away at 3:18am, August 1, 2009, of cardio-respiratory arrest,” Senator Benigno Aquino Jr said in a statement outside the Makati Medical Center in Manila, where his mother had been hospitalized.
“She would have wanted us to thank each and every one of you for all the prayers and the continuous love and support,” he said.
“It was her wish for all of us to pray for one another and for the country,” the senator said.
Arroyo, in the US on an official visit, said: “Aquino led a revolution that restored democracy and the rule of law to our nation at a time of great peril.”
Former aide and press secretary Teodoro Locsin, who is also a close family friend, wept on TV.
“The purity, the nobility, never failed. She never asked for anything,” in return, Locsin said.
He said more than anything else, Aquino removed the “center of corruption in government, because she would not be corrupt.”
US President Barack Obama “was deeply saddened” by Aquino’s death, read a statement from White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
“Her courage, determination, and moral leadership are an inspiration to us all and exemplify the best in the Filipino nation,” the statement said.
Tributes also came from the governments of fellow southeast Asian countries Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, as well as from Japan and the EU representative in Manila.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday expressed its condolences.
“The Foreign Ministry will send a telegram to offer our condolences on the passing of president Aquino, who made great contributions to democracy in the Philippines,” ministry spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) said, adding that Aquino would be remembered fondly for her courage and convictions.
Aquino’s five children have opted to bury their mother in a private ceremony next week and said they have not talked with any representatives from Arroyo’s office.
In a solemn ceremony, her casket draped in the national colors was received by a military honor guard at a Catholic school where the public will be allowed to pay their last respects later in the day.
Weeping family members and close friends showered her coffin with yellow confetti.
She will be laid to rest beside her husband, Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino at a private cemetery on Wednesday next week, the family said.
In Manila’s Makati financial district, huge posters of Aquino were displayed while neighbors left flowers at the family home. Requiem masses were held in Catholic churches nationwide.
Former first lady Imelda Marcos said her family joined the nation in mourning and praying for Aquino. She had earlier said she didn’t bear Aquino any grudges and would have visited her in hospital if she had been allowed.
A former housewife who reluctantly became president, the soft-spoken Aquino rewrote the country’s Constitution, freed all political dissidents jailed by Marcos and initiated peace talks with insurgent groups.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA AND JENNY W. HSU
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