MANILA, Philippines – Former President Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III passed away at the age of 61 on Thursday, June 24 after being hospitalized at Capitol Medical Center at Quezon City.
SEE ALSO: PNoy's cause of death
SEE ALSO: PNoy's cause of death
The only son of democracy icons Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino and former President Corazon Aquino, he served as the country’s 15th president from 2010 to 2016.
Prior to entering the world of politics in 1998, Aquino was an economist and worked in the family sugar business. He was a member of the Congress representing Tarlac from 1998 until 2007 and became a Deputy Speaker in 2004. In 2007, he was elected to the Senate of the Philippines until he assumed the country’s top post in 2010.
A month after Corazon Aquino’s death in 2009, Aquino suddenly announced his plan to run for president saying that his mother’s supporters had convinced him to continue the fight started by his parents to promote democracy in the country. He won the 2010 elections by a landslide.
Here are Aquino’s key legacies during his six-year term:
‘Daang Matuwid’
During his campaign, Aquino promised to give Filipinos “Daang Matuwid’ or clean governance. His administration prioritized fighting corruption that haunted all sectors of the society. Aside from making government budgeting more transparent, Aquino also went after high-profile corrupts and had his predecessor former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo jailed and former-Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona impeached.
Impressive Economic Growth
During Aquino’s term, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by an average of 6.2 percent annually and even reached 7.2 percent in 2013. These figures, considered to be the highest since the 1970s, attracted both local and foreign investors. The Philippine economy was considered the second fastest growing in Asia after China during his administration.
Groundbreaking RH Law
Despite years of opposition by the Catholic Church, Aquino signed into law the Reproductive Health Act of 2012 which guarantees free access to contraceptives as well as teach sex education in school. The landmark law was shown to be essential in slowing the fast population growth in the Philippines.
K-12 Reform
In 2013, the Aquino administration implemented the K-12 Basic Education program which aims to equip Filipino students better education to be competitive in a global context. Moreover, the use of local mother tongues as mode of instruction for some subjects were introduced during his term.
Going against China
Bringing China to court was one of the lasting legacies of the Aquino administration. Aquino initiated the filing of the arbitration on West Philippine Sea before the international tribunal. This decision was publicly supported by three of the Philippine’s most important security partners- US, Japan and Australia. On July 12, 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in favor of the Philippines.
— Mini, The Summit Express
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| PHOTO CREDIT: Facebook/Nonoy Aquino |
Prior to entering the world of politics in 1998, Aquino was an economist and worked in the family sugar business. He was a member of the Congress representing Tarlac from 1998 until 2007 and became a Deputy Speaker in 2004. In 2007, he was elected to the Senate of the Philippines until he assumed the country’s top post in 2010.
A month after Corazon Aquino’s death in 2009, Aquino suddenly announced his plan to run for president saying that his mother’s supporters had convinced him to continue the fight started by his parents to promote democracy in the country. He won the 2010 elections by a landslide.
Here are Aquino’s key legacies during his six-year term:
‘Daang Matuwid’
During his campaign, Aquino promised to give Filipinos “Daang Matuwid’ or clean governance. His administration prioritized fighting corruption that haunted all sectors of the society. Aside from making government budgeting more transparent, Aquino also went after high-profile corrupts and had his predecessor former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo jailed and former-Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona impeached.
Impressive Economic Growth
During Aquino’s term, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by an average of 6.2 percent annually and even reached 7.2 percent in 2013. These figures, considered to be the highest since the 1970s, attracted both local and foreign investors. The Philippine economy was considered the second fastest growing in Asia after China during his administration.
Groundbreaking RH Law
Despite years of opposition by the Catholic Church, Aquino signed into law the Reproductive Health Act of 2012 which guarantees free access to contraceptives as well as teach sex education in school. The landmark law was shown to be essential in slowing the fast population growth in the Philippines.
K-12 Reform
In 2013, the Aquino administration implemented the K-12 Basic Education program which aims to equip Filipino students better education to be competitive in a global context. Moreover, the use of local mother tongues as mode of instruction for some subjects were introduced during his term.
Going against China
Bringing China to court was one of the lasting legacies of the Aquino administration. Aquino initiated the filing of the arbitration on West Philippine Sea before the international tribunal. This decision was publicly supported by three of the Philippine’s most important security partners- US, Japan and Australia. On July 12, 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in favor of the Philippines.
— Mini, The Summit Express
