Priest recalls ‘talks about the country’ with the late ex-Pres. Noynoy Aquino

MANILA, Philippines — If former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III were alive, there would be no chatting about the heart, but rather about the state of the nation as a whole.

Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin had this to say Friday during the Holy Mass to commemorate the first death anniversary of Aquino. The former president’s death anniversary coincided with the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

“Sa kapistahang ito ng Banal na Puso ni Hesus, ipinagdiriwang din natin ang unang taon ng pag alala kay Noynoy. Kung kapiling pa natin si Noy, hula ko ah, hindi puso ang ating pag-uusapan,” Villarin said in his homily.

(In this Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we also commemorate the first year of remembering Noynoy. If he were still with us, I bet we would not be talking about matters of the heart.)

“Magku-kwentuhan muna tayo ng kung anu-ano. Kalaunan, seseryoso ang usapan, dadako sa Inang Bayan. Matters of the state muna bago matters of the heart,” he added.

(We will chat about anything, then it will become serious and discuss matters of the country. Matters of the state first, before matters of the heart.)

Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin. Image from Neil Arwin Mercado

Among the attendees of the mass were Aquino’s sister, Ballsy Cruz, and some of Aquino’s closest friends and allies, including Vice President Leni Robredo and Liberal Party stalwarts Senator Francis Pangilinan, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, and former running mate Mar Roxas.

The former president died “peacefully in his sleep” on June 24 last year. His death certificate showed that the cause of his death was renal disease secondary to diabetes.

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