(Eagle News) – Former President Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III was laid to rest beside his parents’ tombs at the Manila Memorial Park on Saturday, June 26, with full military honors and a 21-gun salute, two days after his death that surprised the nation.
It was at around 1:40 p.m. that the urn containing his ashes was put inside the tomb beside the resting place of his mother, former President Corazon Aquino, and his father, former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.
His youngest sister, Kris, put Noynoy’s urn inside his tomb, after siblings Maria Elena (Ballsy), Aurora Corazon (Pinky), Victoria Elisa (Viel) each embraced the urn containing their brother’s ashes.
Before this, the Philippine national flag was carefully held by the pallbearers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) over Aquino’s urn as the 21-gun salute was done followed by the playing of the military taps to honor the former Philippine president.
AFP chief of staff General Cirilito Sobejana then handed over the carefully folded Philippine flag to the eldest of the Aquino siblings, Ballsy Aquino Cruz.
During the sealing of Aquino’s tomb, the songs “Bayan Ko” and the “Impossible Dream” were played, tunes which were also used by both his parents, democracy icons Ninoy and Cory Aquino.
The venue was decked with yellow flowers, and the trees that lined up the roads leading to Aquino’s final resting place had yellow ribbons tied around each of them.
Aquino, the 15th Philippine president, died at 6:30 a.m. in his sleep due to renal disease secondary to diabetes on June 24.
President Rodrigo Duterte has declared a period of national mourning for 10 days, from June 24 until July 3. Expressions of condolences poured from all over the world for the former President who had also served as congressman and senator before being elected as President in 2010.
(Eagle News Service)