The remains of former president Corazon “Cory” Aquino drew a sea of mourners on Sunday as tens of thousands of Filipinos lined up to view her casket inside a university gymnasium to pay their last respects to the Philippines' icon of democracy. Amid an outpouring of grief from Filipinos the world over and condolences from foreign leaders, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced that she is cutting short her visit to the United States so she can visit the wake of Aquino whose funeral is scheduled on Aug. 5. Arroyo also declared that day a non-working special holiday to give Filipinos the opportunity to join the funeral procession and burial of the former president beside the grave of her martyred husband former Senator Ninoy Aquino at the Manila Memorial Park. Mrs. Aquino died early Saturday after battling colon cancer for more than a year. However, Arroyo's plan to visit Mrs. Aquino's wake drew a lukewarm response from the Aquino family. In a television interview, Mrs. Aquino's son Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III said he was not keen on having Arroyo at his mother's wake. “If she comes here, if she wants to pray, we'll be thankful. But if the point is, if I'm looking forward to it, I'm not,” Noynoy said. Noynoy said his lack of interest in seeing Arroyo at the wake was because of the controversies hounding the Arroyo administration. “We have all these issues that remain unresolved starting with ‘Hello, Garci' and NBN-ZTE controversy to the fertilizer scam. I don't want to go through this list, which is quite extensive,” he said. Mrs. Aquino's daughter, TV host Kris Aquino later revealed during a television interview on Sunday that the Arroyo administration withdrew the two military aides assigned to her mother when the former president was already on her death bed at the Makati Medical Center. Kris lamented the move, saying the two military aides had been helping her mother cope with her hospital confinement and that their sudden recall hurt the family. Mrs. Aquino had been in conflict with Arroyo ever since the former called for the latter's resignation in 2005 due to election fraud and corruption scandals. Earlier, the Aquino family declined the government's offer to arrange a state funeral for Mrs. Aquino, which would mean bringing the former president's remains to Malacanang presidential palace. Instead, the Aquino family opted for a public wake at the La Salle gymnasium and the Manila cathedral where Mrs. Aquino's remains will be transferred on Monday. Meanwhile, world leaders continued to offer their condolences over Aquino's death. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in a statement, paid tribute to Mrs. Aquino for her “exceptional courage and pivotal role in the restoration and consolidation of democracy in the Philippines.” “Mrs. Aquino will be remembered as a beacon of democracy not only in the Philippines but also around the world,” Ban said. The leaders of the European Commission, the United Kingdom and China also sent letters of condolences to the people of the Philippines as well as to the Aquino family. Chinese President Hu Jintao cited Mrs. Aquino's contributions in the development of diplomatic relations between China and the Philippines. Pope Benedict XVI also extended his condolences. In his message, the Pope recalled Mrs. Aquino's “courageous commitment to the freedom of the Filipino people, her firm rejection of violence and intolerance, and her contribution to the rebuilding of a just and cohesive political order in her beloved homeland.” Other world leaders and diplomats who had also offered their condolences included US President Barack Obama, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, US Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney, and head of Delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines Ambassador Alistair MacDonald. Meanwhile, to give Filipinos abroad as well as foreign friends the opportunity to express their condolences and sympathies on Mrs. Aquino's death, the Department of Foreign Affairs said it will be opening books of condolences in all Philippine embassies and consulates.
