Aquinos OK transfer of Ninoy statue, but Kris, ‘Noy differ on new site

MANILA, Philippines—The Aquino family had given consent to the transfer of a statue of the late Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., which had been damaged in road-clearing operations, but two of his most prominent children have different ideas about where, according to the Quezon City government.

Mayor Joy Belmonte said one thing is for sure—the statue has to be moved elsewhere after it was damaged by an ongoing project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Belmonte said the city’s Department of Public Order and Safety will remove the statue on Friday, Sept. 13, for safekeeping at a temporary storage facility where it would stay until a new site for it had been found.

The base of the statue, said Belmonte, had been damaged by DPWH workers who had been conducting road-clearing operations at the corner of Timog and Quezon Avenues, where the statue stood.

Belmonte said that the local government reached out to the late senator’s children for permission to relocate the statue.

“The Aquino family has given its consent to transfer the statue to a better and more ideal location that is perfect for his stature as national hero,” the Quezon City mayor said in a statement.

Belmonte said that Aquino’s children have no problem with the transfer, as they believed it will be “for the greater good of everyone who are affected by the heavy traffic in the area.”

The city government is currently looking at other sites where the statue could be transferred, including the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife and the Manila Seedling Bank.

Belmonte said that Aquino’s son, former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, preferred to have the statue transferred to the park since it was named after the late senator.

Aquino’s daughter, actress and host Kris, wanted the statue at the Manila Seedling Bank, according to Belmonte.

The mayor said she had written the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, overseer of the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife, asking Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu for permission to bring the statue to the park, which would fulfill the wish of the former President.

But if Cimatu declines, the statue would be moved to the Manila Seedling Bank instead, the wish of Kris./TSB