Aquino on Magsanoc: ‘She always spoke to me frankly’

Fast friends and co-founders Letty JImenez Magsanoc and Eggie Duran Apostol at a Laban rally. PHOTO Mandy Navasero

President Aquino issued a statement a little past 12 midnight on December 25, expressing his shock at “the sudden passing” of the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s editor in chief, Letty Jimenez Magsanoc. The President called her “a source of strength” for “all Filipinos of goodwill.”

Magsanoc died on Christmas Eve, at St. Luke’s Medical Center Global City.

The President’s statement was released by Secretary Edwin Lacierda, his spokesperson. It reads in full:

“I am shocked by the sudden passing of Letty Jimenez Magsanoc. My thoughts and prayers are with her family and all her colleagues in the Philippine Daily Inquirer at this time of profound sadness and loss. She was, to me, and all Filipinos of goodwill who love freedom, democracy, and good governance, a source of strength. One always knew that with her, the truth was the benchmark of a journalist’s efforts; and that in all that she did, there was no higher cause than the country’s welfare and that of our people. She always spoke to me frankly, and yet with deep understanding. To her loved ones and colleagues, you are not alone: we are all called to living up to her courageous example, one that will continue to inspire all of us to fight for freedom by ensuring we have a discerning and informed public. May she rest in peace and her example lend us strength in continuing to ensure we have a nation that is always free to speak its mind.” JN