PNoy on critics who called him 'abnoy', other names: I prayed for them

In an exclusive interview with GMA News a month before the end of his term in 2016, then-President Benigno Aquino III reflected on the ups and downs of the job, including being called names by his critics.

One of the offensive terms thrown at Aquino was "abnoy," while the word "noynoying" came to mean inaction.

The outgoing chief executive told GMA News anchor Vicky Morales, however, that he prayed for those who called him various names and made fun of him.

"At the end of the day, we have to make a choice. The time is limited and we cannot spend it on people who have close minds," Aquino said.

"'Pag na-bo-bother 'yong mga kasamahan ko, sinasabi ko na bakit nila kailangang pakinggan at tsaka ba't obligado. Dapat magtrabaho lang tayo nang magtrabaho."

[Whenever some of my colleagues are bothered by it, I tell them to not mind those who call me names. We should just continue to work.]

"Lalo na 'pag 'yong name ko, 'yon talaga 'yong absence of any substance eh. To be honest, baka pinagdasal ko pa sila," he added.

[Especially when the insult is based on my name, that's absence of any substance. To be honest, I might have prayed for them.]

Aquino died on Thursday morning. He was 61 years old.

According to a statement read by his sister Pinky Aquino-Abellada on Thursday afternoon at Heritage Park, Aquino was pronounced dead at 6:30 a.m. due to renal disease secondary to diabetes.

Before holding the highest position in the Philippines in 2010, Aquino served in the Legislative department. He represented Tarlac’s second district in the House of Representatives from 1998 to 2007, after which he ran for senator and served in the Upper House from 2007 to 2010.

Aquino announced his candidacy for president in the 2010 elections in September 2009, a month after his mother Cory—a democracy icon who was catapulted to Malacañang following the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution—died.

Aquino's administration was known for its “Daang Matuwid” tagline, an advocacy for good governance. The “No Wang-Wang” order was one of the first policies that he implemented after assuming the country’s top post. — Ma. Angelica Garcia/BM, GMA News