Corazon Aquino dies

Former Philippines president Corazon Aquino, whose ‘People Power’ revolution toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy to the nation, died Saturday after a battle with colon cancer.
‘Cory’ Aquino was propelled into the political spotlight in 1986, leading millions of Filipinos in protests against the corrupt regime of Marcos, who jailed thousands of dissidents during his brutal 20-year regime.
As people across the Catholic nation woke to the news, the president, Gloria Arroyo, declared a 10-day period of mourning for Aquino, whom she praised as a ‘national treasure.’
Aquino’s family announced her death early Saturday.
‘Our mother peacefully passed away at 3:18am, August 1, 2009 of cardio-respiratory arrest,’ senator Benigno Aquino Jr, said in a statement outside the Makati Medical Centre in Manila, where his mother had been hospitalised.
‘She would have wanted us to thank each and every one of you for all the prayers and the continuous love and support,’ he said.
‘It was her wish for all of us to pray for one another and for the country,’ Aquino said.
Arroyo, in the United States on an official visit, said: ‘Aquino led a revolution that restored democracy and the rule of law to our nation at a time of great peril.’
Former aide and press secretary Teodoro Locsin, who is also a close family friend, openly wept on television.
‘The purity, the nobility, never failed. She never asked for anything,’ in return, Locsin said.
He said more than anything else, Aquino removed the ‘centre of corruption in government, because she would not be corrupt.’
The US president, Barack Obama, ‘was deeply saddened’ by Aquino’s death, read a statement from White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.
‘Her courage, determination, and moral leadership are an inspiration to us all and exemplify the best in the Filipino nation,’ the statement said.
Tributes also came from the governments of fellow Southeast Asian countries Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, as well as from Japan and the European Union representative in Manila.

Courtesy of Agence France-Presse . Manila