MANILA – Former Philippine President Benigno Aquino died June 24 at a Manila hospital. He was 61.
Aquino served as president from 2010 to 2016. He was the only son of the late Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. and former President Corazon Aquino. Aquino’s family said he died of renal failure as a result of diabetes.
He was best known for his anti-corruption stance and for opposing China by filing a case in the Court of Arbitration at The Hague over a territorial dispute in the South China Sea. The court ruled in the Philippines’ favor a month after Aquino left office in 2016, reported ucanews.com.
The Catholic president also advocated for the “need to revise, refocus and educate Filipino couples and provide them with all available information regarding natural and artificial methods of family planning, and for them to consult with the individual religious entities they belong to.” He said he was willing to risk excommunication from the Catholic Church rather than scrap the so-called Responsible Parenthood Bill, a watered-down version of which was enacted as law in 2014, after court challenges.
In 2014, his government negotiated the “Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro” to create a self-governing region in predominantly Muslim Mindanao. But in 2015, Aquino faced accusations that he was responsible for the deaths of 44 police troops in a violent encounter with Muslim rebels, also on Mindanao.
Catholics extended their condolences and prayers for the former president.
Cardinal José Advíncula, installed as archbishop of Manila the day of Aquino’s death, offered prayers in the cathedral after his installation Mass.
“Let us entrust him to the mercy of our loving father and let us pray for the eternal repose of his soul,” he said.
Lawyer Michelle Lapuz told ucanews.com: “In 2010, I joined the Youth Volunteers for (Aquino’s) campaign. We toured the whole country rallying for change … encouraging citizen activism. Eleven years later, eyes a little wider, the idealism and hope for a better country still burns.
De La Salle Brother Armin Luistro, former education secretary under Aquino, and asked Catholics for prayers.
“May he rest now in God’s peace. May God have mercy on the Philippines,” Brother Luistro said in a text message to ucanews.com.
Mike Tiu, a law professor at the University of the Philippines, said Aquino’s presidency was a time of democracy, when free speech was honored as a guaranteed constitutional right.
“I didn’t worry about the repercussions when airing my views. I miss that,” he told ucanews.com.