Thousands brave rains to bid Philippines' Aquino goodbye (Roundup)

Aug 5, 2009, 12:20 GMT

   Manila - More than 200,000 people Wednesday braved heavy rains to bid farewell to late Philippine democracy icon Corazon Aquino, vowing to continue her fight against abuse of power by the government and dictatorial rule.

   About 20,000 of the mourners crowded outside Manila Memorial Park, where Aquino was laid to rest beside her husband, opposition senator Benigno Aquino, whose 1983 assassination galvanized opposition against late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

   In a funeral mass before Aquino was buried, the former leader, fondly called 'Tita Cory' (Aunt Cory) by Filipinos, was extolled for her strong character and moral integrity.

   'She was the only true queen the people ever had,' Father Catalino Arevalo said during his homily at the mass. 'She made this world so much safer and less cruel for all of us. Thank you, Tita Cory. We love you very much.'

   Aquino's flag-draped casket was brought to the memorial park by a 10-wheeler truck adorned with white and yellow flowers along a 20-kilometre route from Manila Cathedral.

   The funeral procession took eight hours as mourners - mostly clad in yellow shirts and carrying balloons and ribbons in Aquino's campaign colour - packed the roads along the route.

   People chanted 'Cory, Cory, Cory' as the cortege passed by, while firetrucks and vehicles that joined the two-kilometre-long convoy blew their horns in a final salute to the former leader. Buildings along the route unfurled yellow banners with messages of thanks and love for Aquino.

   'We will miss you Tita Cory,' shouted a man carrying his daughter on his shoulder, while others lining the road flashed the 'L' hand sign, which was Aquino's symbol during his fight against Ferdinand Marcos.

   'Even heaven is crying,' a woman said as driving rains drenched the mourners, many weeping openly.

   Others who joined the funeral march vowed, 'We will continue your fight, Tita Cory!'

   'It is our hope that the tremendous display of national solidarity of the past few days will carry on even after today,' said Renato Reyes, secretary general of the leftist group Bayan. 'May Mrs Aquino's life continue to inspire our people to fight tyranny and abuse whenever and wherever these are present.'

   Aquino - who became president after leading mass protests in 1986 dubbed the 'people power revolution,' which toppled the 20-year dictatorship of Marcos - died Saturday at 76 from cardiorespiratory arrest after battling colon cancer for more than a year.

   East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta was among the dignitaries who attended Aquino's funeral.

   'I was always, always inspired by her courage,' Ramos-Horta said. 'I'm very touched, impressed by the affection, the respect the Philippines is showing to their mother, to their leader Cory Aquino.'

   Before dawn on Wednesday, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo paid her last respects to Aquino despite political differences with the former leader, who had called for Arroyo's resignation.

   Arroyo, accompanied by top government officials, went straight to Manila Cathedral from the airport after arriving from an official visit to the United States.

   The former president's only son, Senator Benigno 'Noynoy' Aquino III, greeted Arroyo at the wake. His four sisters, who have expressed reluctance to welcome her, were not at the church during Arroyo's visit.

   The tension between the Aquino family and Arroyo was obvious as she stayed for only seven minutes. Arroyo also did not attend the funeral and instead offered mass at the Malacanang presidential palace.

   In 2005, Aquino had a falling-out with Arroyo when she joined calls for Arroyo's resignation over allegations the current president cheated in the 2004 presidential elections. From that time on, Aquino was a vocal critic of the administration.

   In an emotional thank you to those who attended the funeral, the former leader's youngest daughter, Kris Aquino, recalled her mother's last words.

   'The last words Mom expressed to each of us were 'Take care of each other,'' she said. 'I know that those words weren't meant just for our family, but for all of us as a nation.'