Noynoy Aquino remembered: ‘Continue the fight, share the hope’
Relatives, former Cabinet members, and supporters attend a memorial Mass to commemorate the fourth death anniversary of former President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City. — Photo by Mary Joy Salcedo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — The Aquino family, their friends, and supporters commemorated the fourth death anniversary of former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III on Tuesday, June 24, urging Filipinos to share the hope and continue the fight he has started.
Aquino, who served as the Philippines’ 15th president from 2010 to 2016, passed away “peacefully in his sleep” on June 24, 2021, at the age of 61.
His death certificate showed that the cause of his death was renal disease secondary to diabetes.
READ: Ex-president Noynoy Aquino died ‘peacefully in his sleep’ – family
‘Share the hope’
At 10 a.m. on Tuesday, a memorial Mass was held in front of Aquino’s tomb at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City, which was attended by his relatives, supporters, and former Cabinet members.
Among Aquino’s Cabinet members who attended the mass were former executive secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., former deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte, former agriculture secretary Proceso Alcala, former defense secretary Voltaire Gazmin, and former interior secretary Mar Roxas.
In a brief speech, Aquino’s nephew, Kiko Aquino Dee, paid tribute to the late president, who he calls “Tito Noy.”
According to Dee, his Tito Noy had been familiar throughout his life with the struggles of the Filipino people and the disappointment toward the government, especially as he “spent the majority of his legislative career in opposition.”
“But he never lost hope. How could he after seeing the millions that grieved for Lolo Ninoy, that fought with Lola Cory, and ultimately delivered him to the presidency? And for six years under his leadership, we saw the fruit of that hope,” Dee said.
“Today, for the first time in a long time, many of us are hopeful again. May we find ways to share that hope with our fellow Filipinos who still see only darkness in the horizon,” he told their supporters.
“And as one nation, may we, as we did with Tito Noy, make that hope bear fruit once more,” Dee further said.
READ: Former President Noynoy Aquino laid to rest beside Ninoy, Cory
Relatives, former Cabinet members, and supporters attend a memorial Mass to commemorate the fourth death anniversary of former President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City. — Photo by Mary Joy Salcedo/INQUIRER.net
‘Continue the fight’
In an interview with the media after the memorial Mass, August Twenty One Movement (ATOM) president Volt Bohol, remembered how Aquino had been a supporter of their organization since its launching in the 1980s.
“Please continue to remember him, not only the good governance that a lot of people have not forgotten in the past several years,” Bohol said.
He also said that all members of ATOM still embody the quote of the late president, “The Filipino is worth fighting for.”
“With all that is happening right now in our country, we continue to be vigilant. We continue to be faithful to the 1987 Constitution, which is a legacy of pretty much the Aquino family — Ninoy Aquino and most especially Cory Aquino,” Bohol said.
“Tuloy ang laban (Continue the fight). The Filipino is worth fighting for, like what President Pnoy said,” he added.
Aquino was laid to rest next to his parents, former Senator Ninoy Aquino and former President Corazon Aquino, at the Manila Memorial Park. /das
