MANILA, Philippines?It was far better than a state funeral.

The presence of tens of thousands of people who lined the streets Monday to meet the cortege of former President Corazon Aquino was the ?greatest honor? given to her, Sen. Richard Gordon said Monday.

?To my mind, that beats any state funeral,? Gordon told Senate reporters as he marveled at the huge crowds that gathered to watch the cortege make its way from La Salle Green Hills in Mandaluyong City to Manila Cathedral in Intramuros, Manila.

?The greatest honor you see is on the streets right now,? Gordon said.

Aquino deserved a state funeral for being a former President and not an ordinary one at that, according to the senator. He said people should respect the decision of Aquino?s family to hold a private funeral for her.

Like Gordon, Balanga Bishop Socrates Villegas said the spontaneous show of public sympathy for the former President was ?more heartwarming? than any state honors.

?The greater honor does not come from somebody who is in authority, but the greater honor is when people who have no power and no authority honor you or according to the manner that they want to express it. They give out of their hearts. That is the greater honor,? Villegas said.

Villegas, who served as aide to the late Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin, said people should not be surprised that ?the crowd is reminiscent of 1983 because the icon is the same.?

The assassination of the former President?s husband, Sen. Benigno ?Ninoy? Aquino Jr., in 1983 upon his return from exile transformed him into a rallying symbol against the Marcos dictatorship.

His widow soon stood as the opposition standard-bearer who inspired the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution that toppled the Marcos dictatorship.

Sen. Joker Arroyo, who served as Aquino?s executive secretary, said the crowds Monday did not equal the size of the people who went to the funeral march of her husband in 1983.

?Grabe kay Ninoy (The crowds were massive during Ninoy?s funeral march),? Arroyo repeatedly said.

Arroyo said the crowds Monday were there ?all for Cory.?

?They just want to condole with her,? he said.

Looking at the huge crowds that gathered Monday, Sen. Gregorio ?Gringo? Honasan said that was ?the call of the Filipino people.?

He said Aquino ?will be judged by God, history and the Filipino people.?

Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, who once served as Aquino?s Armed Forces chief of staff, said people were out on the streets out of ?admiration and love? for her.

?It was also for the memory of Cory,? Biazon said.

?We may have lost a gift, the physical gift of Corazon Aquino. But I think what will linger on will be the legacy of Cory which is love of freedom, determination to fight for keeping this freedom and truthfulness in governance,? he said.

Biazon noted that the people who went out on the streets during the first people power uprising in 1986 did so because of a ?common political objective??to regain freedom from the Marcos dictatorship.

Monday?s massive crowds were ?more (out of) love, respect, deference for the personality of Cory and what she symbolizes for the Filipino people,? Biazon said.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan said the massive outpouring of sympathy for Aquino was ?a glaring proof that a vacuum of leadership exists in the country.?