3rd update: July6, 2021, 7:55 P.M.
2nd update: July 6, 2021, 5:30 P.M.
Updated: July 6, 2021, 3:50 P.M.
Vancouver, B.C.
Filipinos plan tribute for former Philippine President Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino 3rd.
A memorial for former president Noynoy Aquino is being planned for Sunday, July 11, 2021 at the Vancouver Art Gallery at 4 PM.
The 61-year-old Aquino died on June 24, 2021 of renal failure. The 15th president of the Republic, Noynoy (PNoy) reluctantly run for president after her mother, president Corazon Aquino died in August 2009, continuing the legacy started by his father Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino. Ninoy wanted to run against the dictator Ferdinand Marcos but was assassinated on August 21,1983.
Lead organizer Treenee Lopez of the group Global Pinoy Diaspora says the tribute is not only a celebration of life for Aquino but also to remind Filipinos that it was PNoy who fought for the West Philippine Sea. It was on July 12, 2016 that the Philippines won against China in The Hague Ruling, a ruling that China did not honour.
“ I hope you will all join us and invite those who still believe in freedom and democracy and good governance that embodied President PNoy’s administration in stark contrast in what the country is now under Duterte,” Lopez says in a statement.
The Filipino Music and Arts Foundation is co-hosting the event, the only memorial for PNoy Aquino in Canada. The group, through its spokesperson, visual artist Lenore S.Lim, issued the following statement.
” We, in the Filipino Music and Art Foundation of B.C., are saddened and deeply mourn the passing of true servant-leader, Former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino. In President Aquino’s own words, ‘ Our Constitution views culture and the arts not as a luxury but a necessity if we are to have a vibrant national life. It is through education, research, and the arts that we can achieve total liberation and development as a democratic society.’ For his immense contribution to the culture and the arts of our nation, in thought, words and deeds, we pay tribute to President Noynoy Aquino. We enjoin everyone to join us in paying final respects to this great man.”