MANILA, Philippines — Over a week after his death, tributes still pour in for former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino from close allies and once political foes who remember him as the “bravest of the brave.”
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. posted on Twitter an image of his office with a portrait of Aquino portrait adorned with flowers.
“Honoring the bravest of the brave,” Locsin, who was a speechwriter and legal counsel of Aquino’s mother former president Corazon Aquino, said Friday.
“What else would you call someone who wouldn’t think of let alone consider taking an organ or anything else for from someone to save himself; he just faced the end without flinching, crying or accepting sympathy in the last and therefore losing battle of man and his end,” he added.
Honoring the bravest of the brave. pic.twitter.com/DeD8Immxq2
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) July 2, 2021
What else would you call someone who wouldn't think of let alone consider taking an organ or anything else for from someone to save himself; he just faced the end without flinching, crying or accepting sympathy in the last and therefore losing battle of man and his end. https://t.co/tiocItNlKR
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) July 2, 2021
On Friday, Senator Francis Pangilinan — one of Aquino’s closest allies — posted another video in tribute to the former president, while vowing to continue the programs he had started during his term.
Pangilinan then defended Aquino from perceptions that he lazy, or what his critics have dubbed as “noynoying,” adding that the former president was actually meticulous during Cabinet meetings.
Pangilinan served as Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization — a Cabinet-level post.
“Ang isa sa hindi ko makakalimutan ay yung meeting for NEDA approval on big-ticket projects. Hinanda ko na ang sarili ko. Colleagues in the Cabinet already warned me that PNoy, contrary to the ‘noynoying’ tag, was very meticulous especially when it was about spending people’s money,” the senator said in his Facebook page.
“I was one of the first to present. PNoy asked the type of dam to be constructed, whether it ought to be a high dam or a series of cascading dams that would be the more appropriate design, etc. Pero hindi siya kumbinsido sa aking presentation. Thumbed-down ang proposal ko, sabi niya until his questions had been thoroughly clarified,” he added.
It came to a point that Pangilinan wanted to resign out of embarrassment, but he observed that Aquino was treating the other Cabinet members the same — requiring high standards for everyone.
“Akala ko aprubado na ‘yung project. Feeling ko napahiya ako, at sa harap ng mga kapwa ko Cabinet members. E ‘yung iba pa sa kanila, pinapatawag ko sa Senado nung senador pa ako. Kaya sa isip-isip ko, mag-re-resign na lang ako dahil sa kahihiyan,” Pangilinan noted.
“But then as the meeting progressed, I realized that PNoy was equally exacting and demanding of everyone else,” he added.
Last June 24, Aquino’s sister Pinky Aquino-Abellada confirmed that the former president died peacefully in his sleep, before being rushed to the Capitol Medical Center.
Aquino-Abellada said the former president died at 6:30 a.m. due to renal disease, secondary to diabetes, as stated on his death certificate.
After his death, close friends and former Cabinet officials like former then-energy secretary Rene Almendras confirmed that Aquino was already facing several health issues — which the former president chose to keep secret.
Last September 2020, Almendras admitted that Aquino had a near-death experience, saying the former chief executive actually flatlined for a few seconds during a minor medical procedure.
READ: Ex-president Noynoy Aquino died ‘peacefully in his sleep’ – family
READ: Aquino flatlined in 2020, says close pal Almendras