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dpa
Manila
Former Philippine president Benigno Aquino, who pushed for anti-corruption reforms and scored a landmark ruling against China’s sweeping claims in the disputed South China Sea, died on Thursday at the age of 61.
Aquino, the 15th president of the Philippines, passed away due to “renal disease, secondary to diabetes,” his family said.
“It is with profound grief that on behalf of our family, I am confirming that our brother, Benigno ‘Noynoy’ S. Aquino III, died peacefully in his sleep,” said Aurora Corazon Abellada, one of his four sisters.
“No words can express how broken our hearts are and how long it will take for us to accept the reality that he is gone,” she added.
The family thanked the millions of Filipinos who voted for Aquino as a member of Congress, a senator and eventually as president of the Philippines.
Flags in the country were flown at half mast to honour the bachelor president popularly known as Noynoy.
He was the only son of two of the country’s democracy icons.
His father, senator Benigno Aquino Junior, was a staunch critic of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was assassinated in 1983 upon return to the Philippines from exile in the United States. His mother, the late president Corazon Aquino, was propelled to power by an uprising that toppled the Marcos dictatorship in 1983.
Noynoy Aquino was elected president in 2010, one year after his mother died, on a platform of good governance and a promise to end corruption.
The former president was known for calling Filipinos his “bosses” during his term that ended in 2016. He shunned special treatment for himself and government officials, and kept his simple lifestyle.
“My hope is that when I leave office, everyone can say that we have travelled far on the right path,” Aquino said in his official biography.
Manila
Former Philippine president Benigno Aquino, who pushed for anti-corruption reforms and scored a landmark ruling against China’s sweeping claims in the disputed South China Sea, died on Thursday at the age of 61.
Aquino, the 15th president of the Philippines, passed away due to “renal disease, secondary to diabetes,” his family said.
“It is with profound grief that on behalf of our family, I am confirming that our brother, Benigno ‘Noynoy’ S. Aquino III, died peacefully in his sleep,” said Aurora Corazon Abellada, one of his four sisters.
“No words can express how broken our hearts are and how long it will take for us to accept the reality that he is gone,” she added.
The family thanked the millions of Filipinos who voted for Aquino as a member of Congress, a senator and eventually as president of the Philippines.
Flags in the country were flown at half mast to honour the bachelor president popularly known as Noynoy.
He was the only son of two of the country’s democracy icons.
His father, senator Benigno Aquino Junior, was a staunch critic of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was assassinated in 1983 upon return to the Philippines from exile in the United States. His mother, the late president Corazon Aquino, was propelled to power by an uprising that toppled the Marcos dictatorship in 1983.
Noynoy Aquino was elected president in 2010, one year after his mother died, on a platform of good governance and a promise to end corruption.
The former president was known for calling Filipinos his “bosses” during his term that ended in 2016. He shunned special treatment for himself and government officials, and kept his simple lifestyle.
“My hope is that when I leave office, everyone can say that we have travelled far on the right path,” Aquino said in his official biography.
