MANILA, Philippines ? (UPDATE) The youngest daughter of the late President Corazon Aquino thanked former president Joseph Estrada for reaching out to her mother when she was fighting colon cancer.

Television host Kris Aquino recalled how Estrada would regularly send food to Aquino?s hospital room.

And when he was allowed to visit the former leader, Estrada did not make a fuss out of it and even told the media that she only saw the Aquino children, when in fact, he saw Mrs. Aquino in her hospital bed, the young Aquino said.

?He wanted to give our family that privacy,? Kris said in a television interview Sunday afternoon.

Mrs. Aquino was among the prime movers of an uprising in 2001 that unseated Estrada on corruption charges.

But recently, she and Estrada found themselves on the same side of the political fence, against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her allies who were allegedly plotting her extended stay in power through constitutional reform.

Estrada was among the thousands who attended Aquino?s wake at the La Salle Greenhills gymnasium on Sunday.

?She is courageous and sincere in her presidency. Her term is not tainted with any scandal,? Estrada said, adding, ?She is a great woman with a great heart and great love for
democracy.?

Estrada praised Aquino for taking on the reins of leadership in the opposition following the assassination of her husband, Senator Benigno ?Ninoy? Aquino Jr., in 1983.

?She could have just let it go and let somebody take over the presidency. But she has the courage to continue what Ninoy has been fighting for and from that time, I began admiring her,? Estrada said.

Estrada came to the wake with his, wife former Senator Loi Estrada, his son, Senator Jose ?Jinggoy? Estrada, his daughter, Jackie Ejercito-Lopez, and his former cabinet secretaries.

Estrada, who rose to the presidency in 1998 by styling himself as a man of the masses, said Aquino had the distinction of being the ?most loved? president.

?She?s the most-loved President of our country,? Estrada described Aquino when he visited her wake at the La Salle in Greenhills gymnasium on Sunday night.

Estrada hailed Aquino as the ?mother of democracy,? who had shown courage for leading the nation in fighting a dictator.