“Mabuti siyang kaibigan at tapat na pangulo (He was a good friend and a loyal president),” Robredo said in a tweet. “He tried to do what was right, even when it was not popular.”
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 24) — Vice President Leni Robredo mourned the death of former President Benigno Aquino III, who helped her during the 2016 national elections.
“Tahimik at walang pagod siyang nagtrabaho para makatulong sa marami (He worked for the Filipinos quietly and tirelessly to be able to help more people),” she also said. “He will be missed.”
She said on Thursday she is heartbroken after learning about Aquino’s passing, whom she treats as a friend. She also underscored how he pursued his reforms even if they weren’t a popular choice with the public.
The Vice President also reminisced how Aquino offered solace when the plane carrying her husband, Aquino’s late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, crashed in 2012.
She shared that he continued to show his care to her family years later.
Nakakadurog ng puso ang balitang wala na si PNoy. Mabuti siyang kaibigan at tapat na Pangulo. He tried to do what was right, even when it was not popular. Tahimik at walang pagod siyang nagtrabaho para makatulong sa marami. He will be missed. Nakikiramay ako sa kanyang pamilya. pic.twitter.com/mqzrPKA6dr
— Leni Robredo (@lenirobredo) June 24, 2021
“PNoy was just there, standing a few steps behind, not saying anything and just letting me be,” Robredo shared in a separate post.
“Since then, he had always looked after me and the children,” she also said. “He would always ask how each of the three was doing.
She added: “Even after he stepped down, he would send over food that he thought the girls would enjoy,”
Aquino attended several campaign rallies of Robredo, with Liberal Party standard bearer Mar Roxas.
The former president, who kept a low profile after his term in 2016, was one of those who defended Robredo when she was removed by President Rodrigo Duterte as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs.
