(FILE) Former President Noynoy Aquino.
MANILA, Philippines — Former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III will be remembered throughout history as a leader who represented the country with “honor and dignity,” Fr. Bobby Yap, president of the Ateneo de Manila University said Friday.
Yap made the remark during a Mass at the Church of Gesú to commemorate Aquino’s first death anniversary.
“Despite the ups and downs of his term, he will be remembered as a president who showed our nation and the world how leadership with competence, conscience, compassion, and commitment can bring about a difference in the lives of millions of people,” Yap said.
“He will also be remembered for representing the Philippines with honor and dignity, elevating our country’s status on the world stage,” he added.
Yap added that Aquino’s love for the country and Filipinos, particularly the poor and marginalized, is “unquestionable.”
“In the face of a planet in emergency mode, a chaotic political environment, wars in different places, disinformation and misinformation, and a heavily fractured society, we ask for President Noy’s prayers that Ateneo and Ateneans become true beacons of God’s light and love our world,” Yap said.
“And that we would be steadfast in our commitment to walk with the excluded, to journey with the youth in creating a hope-filled future and to care for creation, our common home,” he added.
Aquino finished his grade school studies at the Ateneo in 1973, his high school in 1977 at the Ateneo, and his bachelor’s degree in economics in 1981, also at the Ateneo.
Noynoy Aquino, popularly known as PNoy, 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. – Xander Dave Ceballos, trainee