PNoy stopped dating during his presidency due to media interest in his lovelife —GMA reporter

Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III was the first president of the Philippines who was a bachelor when he came into power.

Because of this, there was a lot of interest in the women in his life during his campaign and the years of his administration.

In an episode of "The Howie Severino Podcast," GMA News reporters Tina Panganiban-Perez, Sandra Aguinaldo, and Lei Alviz shared some stories on how the late president handled his lovelife.

"He was sort of an open book, he did not hide. He didn't deny when something would get written [about his relationships]," said Panganiban-Perez in Filipino.

The veteran reporter, who covered Aquino back when he was still a representative in Congress, shared that he even asked her to help him set up a date with one of her acquaintances.

"I did set up the date, but my reporter friends in the House [beat] said we will join them. So there were many of us during their first date, we were on a long table and we were with them," she said.

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Aguinaldo said that Aquino still went on dates during his presidency, but these eventually fizzled out.

"One of his staff said he stopped [dating] because he noticed his lovelife took up newspaper space and airtime on television. He didn't like that," she said in Filipino.

She said the late president did not want his lovelife to get discussed over his policies.

"He also mentioned to staff once that he feels bad [for the women he would date] because they become the center of attention and get chased by the media," Aguinaldo said.

Alviz, meanwhile, said she thought that Aquino would no longer marry and start a family when he became the president.

"But he was still interested to meet new people," she said in a mix of English and Filipino. "We couldn't really say because we never know, maybe [it would have happened] if he met someone whom he felt was The One for him."

Panganiban-Perez, however, said she had the impression that Aquino would remain a bachelor throughout his life.

"He was so focused on his governance so that's what I saw as his priority—the work, the public service—instead of his personal lovelife."

Aquino, the 15th President of the Philippines, passed away on June 24 at the age of 61 due to renal disease secondary to diabetes.

He was laid to rest on June 26 at Manila Memorial Park beside his parents, former President Corazon "Cory" Aquino and Sen. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr.

—MGP, GMA News