MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE) Twenty-five years after the death of former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, the country's situation has not gotten any better than when it was under martial law, a bishop has said.

Bishop Socrates Villegas, during his homily Thursday at a mass commemorating the death anniversary of Aquino at the St. John Bosco Parish in Makati City, said the absence of faithfulness, honesty, and strength has made peace unattainable for the country.

“Peace in Mindanao? There will be no peace without honesty. We need to restore faithfulness, truthfulness, and strength,” he said.

Aquino's widow, former president Corazon Aquino, was present during the mass.

Clad in her usual yellow blouse and skirt, Mrs. Aquino was teary eyed during the mass, her hair streaked with white and her body thin.

The former leader was accompanied by her children Kris and Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

The mass was attended by families and friends of the Aquinos, including former presidents Fidel Ramos and Joseph Estrada and former Speaker Jose de Venecia and his wife Gina.

Villegas said that the late senator, his wife Mrs. Aquino, and the late Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin were the “triumvirate” of patriotism.

Villegas said the Aquino administration embodied “truthfulness.”

“When she told us she would not run for president, we believed her. We must learn to live with the truth without hiding behind the cloak of executive privilege,” he said.