Aquino family thanks all who showed PNoy is loved, missed

Friends and loved ones of Benigno Aquino III on Friday night honored the former president with testimony and song.

According to Vonne Aquino's report on Saksi, among those who gave their respective eulogies were members of his official family former secretaries Jojo Ochoa, Julia Abad, Brother Armin Luistro, Dinky Soliman, Joel Rocamora, Edwin Lacierda, Rene Almendras and Mar Roxas.

Singer Jaya sang what was said to be Aquino's favorite song.

It was past 11 p.m. when the ceremony was finished and honor guards marched to bring out Aquino's urn from the Church of Gesu to a waiting car of one of his sisters. 

"Pasasalamat dun sa lahat na pinakita nilang mahal nila si Noy," Ballsy Aquino-Cruz said.

[Thanks to all those who showed that they love Noy.]

She recalled the time in 2009 when Aquino announced that he was running for president and someone asked how he would want to be remembered.

"Naalala ko sinabi niya, 'Sana ma-miss ako ng mga tao'," Ballsy said.

[I remember he said, 'I wish I would be missed'.]

"'Yung mga pinapadalang bulaklak, mga alaala, parang pinapahiwatig na mami-miss ka namin 'Noy," she added.

[The flowers, the memories, they seem to show that we miss you Noy.]

Aquino's youngest sister, TV personality Kris, thanked the Ateneo and the Jesuits.

"Now I understand why kahit nag-away kayo sa RH... talagang you were there with him when it mattered most," Kris said.

She apologized to Aquino's constituents in Tarlac because the family would no longer bring his remains to their homeprovince.

Kris said she would be in Tarlac on Tuesday to be with them because they had something prepared for Aquino.

"He was part of our history as a country and he also helped a lot our people," Manila Archbishop  Jose Cardinal Advincula said.

The funeral mass on Saturday will be held on Saturday morning also the Church of the Gesu at the Ateneo De Manila University.

According to a statement, the mass will be held at 10 a.m. and presided by Archbishop Socrates Villegas.

Afterward, the urn of the former president will be brought to the Manila Memorial Park in Sucat, Parañaque for burial.

The convoy of Aquino will traverse C5 to SLEX on its way to Manila Memorial.

Individuals who wish to pay their final respects along the route were advised to observe health protocols against the coronavirus disease 2019. —NB, GMA News