MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo mourned the death of former President Noynoy Aquino, remembering him as a good friend and an honest leader.
“He tried to do what was right, even when it was not popular. Tahimik at walang pagod siyang nagtrabaho para makatulong sa marami. (He quietly and tirelessly worked to help a lot of people),” Robredo said in a tweet hours after it was reported that Aquino died.
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Robredo was the Aquino administration’s anointed vice presidential candidate in the 2016 elections, where she ran alongside then Interior Secretary Mar Roxas.
Roxas went on to lose his bid for the presidency to then Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, but Robredo won with a slim margin over then Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
Sources confirmed Thursday morning that Aquino had died at the age of 61. He was rushed to the Capitol Medical Center in Quezon City.
In a chance interview with reporters outside the hospital, lawyer Abigail Valte, Aquino’s representative and his former deputy spokesperson, refused to give details but said the family will issue an official statement later.
Aquino is survived by his sisters, Kris Aquino, Victoria Elisa Aquino-Dee, Ballsy Aquino-Cruz and Pinky Aquino-Abellada.