MANILA, Philippines - President Benigno Aquino III paid respects to his late parents days before the nation commemorates All Saints' Day.
The president visited the graves of his parents at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City at 4 p.m. on Thursday.
Aquino prayed the rosary with his sisters, Ballsy Aquino-Cruz, Pinky Aquino-Abellada and Viel Aquino-Dee, according to radio reports.
His father, former Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr., was assassinated on August 21, 1983 at the tarmac of the Manila International Airport as he was stepping off the plane.
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The elder Aquino's death sparked a chain of events that led to the ouster of the Marcos dictatorship in 1986 and the election of his widow, Corazon Aquino, as president.
Mrs. Aquino died of colon cancer on August 1, 2009, after months of battling the disease.
Aquino visited her parents' tomb ahead of All Saints' Day, when Filipino Catholics flock to cemeteries to pay respects to their departed loved ones.
The president has tasked concerned government officials and agencies to ensure a "safe and hassle-free" commemoration of the All Saints' Day this year, Malacañang said.
"Patuloy na tinututukan ng Pangulo ang kondisyon sa ating mga paliparan at pantalan upang tiyakin na ang ating mga mamamayan at lahat ng mga maglalakbay para sa Undas ay magkaroon ng ligtas at kombinyenteng paglalakbay," Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a press briefing. - Louis Bacani
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