Maria Elena “Ballsy” Aquino-Cruz, the eldest sister of the late former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, thanked her brother’s supporters for loving him.

Attendees at the funeral mass at the Church of Gesu at the Ateneo de Manila University gave a standing ovation that lasted for nearly three minutes after Cruz’s speech.

“Nagpapasalamat kami sa mga nagmahal kay Noy kahit di ‘nyo siya kamag-anak o kadugo (We thank everyone who loved Noy even if he’s not your relative),” she said.

Aquino will be buried at the Manila Memorial Park, beside his parents, democracy icons former president Corazon Aquino and former senator Ninoy Aquino.

“President Noy joined the pantheon of the great, and has entered into eternity. He is where sickness can no longer threaten, where fake news has no more place, and where trolls are dead,” says Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Soc Villegas.

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