President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the Manila City government offered flowers for former Presidents Cory and Noynoy Aquino, and Sen. Ninoy Aquino at their graves at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City.
Couple Ninoy and Cory Aquino were both key figures in the revolt that ended the decades-long rule of Marcos Jr.’s father and namesake, dictator President Ferdinand Marcos Sr, in 1986.
Ninoy was an opposition senator during the Marcos Sr. regime; imprisoned after martial law was declared in 1972; allowed to receive medical treatment in the United States following a heart attack in 1980; and was assassinated upon returning to the Philippines in 1983.
Taking the lead in the opposition after her husband’s assassination, Cory ran against Marcos Sr. in the 1986 snap elections. After the polls were marred with allegations of fraud, she was sworn in to the presidency and she restored Philippine democracy. She died of cancer in 2009.
Their only son, Noynoy Aquino, served as president from 2010 to 2016. He died of renal failure in 2021.
Some supporters of the Aquinos dropped by to pay their respects to the former leaders.
Couple Michael and Laisa Obligacion took their son to the Aquinos’ grave markers on Friday, saying their relatives were also buried in the vicinity of the cemetery.
‘Especially now, with the many issues of corruption, sometimes, you’ll get mad at us Filipinos, be ashamed of us Filipinos. But, Ninoy said, the Filipino is worth dying for,’ Obligacion told the Inquirer.
Meanwhile, volunteer Ramia Quinlat took a quick break from her group’s duties at the cemetery to take a photo and light a candle at the Aquinos’ grave markers.
‘They feel like they’re part of my loved ones now because I’ve followed them since they were still living and serving our country,’ Quinlat told the Inquirer.
Marcos and the Manila government also sent flowers to the graves of former Philippine presidents Manuel Roxas and Sergio Osmeña at the Manila North Cemetery