Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino, the 11th president of the Philippines, died on August 1, 2009, at the Makati Medical Center in Makati of cardiorespiratory arrest after being in hospital since June 2009, and was first diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2008.

The Aquino family declined an invitation by government to grant the former president a state funeral. Her funeral was held on August 5, 2009, and her body was buried at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque. She is the first woman and the second President and layman after Carlos P. Garcia to have their wake at the Manila Cathedral.

Health

Diagnosis In December 2007, Aquino experienced periodic fluctuations of blood pressure, difficulty in breathing, hair loss, loss of appetite and a remarkable drop in weight. Some days after, her physician informed the Aquino family that she had colon cancer, and by mid-March 2008, she confided the nature of her disease to a close friend, Rev Catalino Arévalo.

On March 24, 2008, her youngest daughter, television presenter and actress Kris Aquino, disclosed that her mother began to experience cancer symptoms before 2008, difficulty in breathing, persistent cough and loss of appetite. Her only brother, then-senator Benigno Aquino III, was at her side as she made the announcement. Kris also said that the March 19 result of her mother's ultrasound revealed the disease was primarily due to adenocarcinoma, where the cancer started on colon glands. Her spokesperson, Deedee Sytangco, said that her colon cancer was at stage four prior to discovery. While she had initially been informed by physicians that she had only three months to live. Aquino pursued chemotherapy.

Following the announcement, Malacañan Palace was saddened at the disclosure, while Senators Francis Escudero and Aquilino Pimentel Jr. also expressed their deepest sympathies.

Citizens were shocked because some days before, Aquino had made a public appearance at protests against the Arroyo government. She was known before her confinement to be an avid supporter of NBN-ZTE scandal primary witness Rodolfo Lozada Jr., and actively attended Masses and rallies for him. This included the "Mass for Truth and Accountability" novena that she helped organize, the first of which began on February 25–exactly 22 years after her accession as president at the height of the People Power Revolution. On March 23, 2008, during the sixth "Mass for Truth and Accountability" and the day before Kris' announcement, she was seen attending Easter Sunday Mass in Saint Joseph's College, Quezon City, where she thanked Lozada for "his courage and sacrifices for the campaign of truth."

On March 25 at approximately 6 PM PHT, Aquino was brought to Makati Medical Center, where she was prepared for chemotherapy. Her son, Benigno S. Aquino III, said that his mother would undergo such unspecified set of procedures before taking chemotherapy. Some sources at the hospital said that the former president would undergo colectomy, cardiopulmonary clearance and blood transfusion as prerequisites for the treatment.

Aquino had made some progress in April and her appetite returned. In public remarks made on May 13, 2008, Aquino herself announced that blood tests indicated that she was responding positively to the medical treatment.

By July 2009, however, she was reported to be in a very severe condition and kept in hospital due to loss of appetite and chronic baldness. It was announced that Aquino and her family had decided to discontinue the chemotherapy sessions and other medical intervention.

Death Aquino died in the Makati Medical Center, at the age of 76 on August 1, 2009, at 03:18 PHT due to cardiorespiratory arrest after complications of colorectal cancer.

Her son, Senator Benigno Aquino III, announced her death to the media at 5 AM. The Aquino family was then reported to have declined the government's invitation for a state funeral.Kris Aquino explains why family chose not to have state funeral for former President Corazon Aquino

Wake and funeral

Wake Aquino's casket initially lay in state at the St. Benilde Gymnasium of La Salle Green Hills in Mandaluyong, before it was transferred to Manila Cathedral on August 3 on a red Isuzu 810 flatbed truck with a handwriting in front saying "MAHAL KA NAMIN CORY (WE LOVE YOU CORY)". A crowd estimated at 120,000 witnessed the transfer of her remains from La Salle Green Hills to Manila Cathedral. Most mourners were concentrated at the Benigno Aquino Jr. memorial along Ayala Avenue, Makati, where the funeral procession paused briefly while the crowds sang "Bayan Ko".

The Church in the Philippines permitted Aquino to lie in state under the cathedral's crossing, making her the first woman and only the second layman after former President Carlos P. García to be given the honour, which is often reserved for a deceased Archbishop of Manila.

In a surprising gesture of civility, Representative Bongbong, his wife Liza and his sister former Representative Imee Marcos (the children of the Aquinos' bitter political rival, the late President and dictator Ferdinand Marcos) paid their last respects at the Cathedral on August 4. President Arroyo cut short her visit to the United States, and attended the wake in the early hours of Wednesday, August 5, where she spoke with Senator Aquino for about seven minutes. The Requiem Mass and interment were scheduled for later that day, which was declared as a special, non-working holiday by President Arroyo.

President José Ramos Horta of Timor-Leste – a personal friend of Aquino – was at the funeral. Also attending the wake was another of the late President's friends, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the wife of former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister and oppositionist Anwar Ibrahim, who wore a yellow tudung for the occasion.

Roman Catholic dioceses across the country held their own Requiem Masses for Aquino, which replaced the initial "healing masses" intended for her recovery. Meanwhile, the government declared a week of national mourning for her death. As much as 7,000 mourners waited in line at the Manila Cathedral on August 4.

Requiem Mass and funeral

The Requiem Mass for Aquino was held on August 5, and was officiated by then-Balanga Bishop Socrates Villegas with then-Manila Archbishop Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, along with more than a dozen other bishops and priests. Jesuit priest Catalino Arevalo, Aquino's personal friend and spiritual adviser delivered the homily.

José Mari Chan sang the poem Ninoy wrote for Cory, "I Have Fallen In Love," as Aquino's casket was borne up the nave of the cathedral. Other songs and hymns performed in tribute were "Sa 'Yo Lamang" (For You Alone) by Piolo Pascual; "The Lord's Prayer" by Erik Santos; "The Impossible Dream" by Jed Madela; and "Pangako" (Promise) by Ogie Alcasid. Martin Nievera and Regine Velasquez performed a duet of "The Prayer", while Sarah Geronimo sang the People Power Revolution anthem "Magkaisa" ("Unite"); "Your Heart Today" by Filipina singer Maria Teresa Abellare Llamedo Cruzata aka Dulce; "Hindi Kita Malilimutan" ("I Will Never Forget You") by Zsa Zsa Padilla; and "Bayan Ko" ("My Country") by Lea Salonga. The artists later joined the APO Hiking Society in singing another song from the 1986 People Power Revolution, "Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo" ("The Gift of Filipinos to the World"). The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra provided musical accompaniment for the service.

Aquino's flag-draped casket paused at the steps of Manila Cathedral for departure honours, after which a brass band performed four ruffles and flourishes and the national anthem. It was then mounted onto a red Isuzu 810 flatbed truck – similar to the one used for her husband's funeral a quarter century before – that was decked in white and yellow flowers arranged in an eight-rayed sunburst evoking the national flag, while the military band was playing "Bayan Ko". An honor guard of servicemen from the three branches of the Armed Forces — Army, Navy, Air Force — and the Philippine National Police stood vigil as the truck-hearse made its way around Plaza Roma fronting the cathedral, escorted by throngs of mourners.

The funeral process then exited Intramuros at Anda Circle and travelled along Bonifacio Drive and Roxas Boulevard, with the flag flying from Independence Flagpole at Luneta lowered to half staff in imitation of her husband's own funeral procession. The hearse made its way down Quirino Avenue, Osmeña Highway and the South Luzon Expressway, pausing briefly before the Ninoy Aquino Monument in Makati where crowds sang Bayan Ko and scattered yellow confetti, which was also done during anti-Marcos protests and her 1986 presidential campaign.

Aquino's casket arrived at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque, eight hours after leaving the cathedral. Her immediate family and close associates rode in a caravan of 13 coaches, while mourners and supporters in black and yellow marched beside the hearse and lined the route, chanting her name and flashing the Laban sign ("fight" made by holding the thumb and forefinger at right angles to form an "L"). The crowd that lined the funeral route that passed through Manila, Makati, Pasay, and Parañaque was estimated to be between 100,000 and 500,000 people.

When the cortege reached Manila Memorial, Aquino was given full military honors, with a two-star general acting as military host and eight, one-star generals as pallbearers. As is customary for a former Commander-in-Chief of the forces, her casket was transferred to a horse-drawn gun carriage for the short trip to the family's mausoleum where her husband Ninoy is interred.

Attendance at the burial were originally restricted to Aquino's family and close friends, but the crowd broke through the security barriers after the last of the convoy's buses entered the gates of Manila Memorial. Though the crowd was inside the memorial park, they maintained a respectful distance from the mausoleum.

Bishop Socrates Villegas and Catalino Arévalo gave the final blessing, and as per the family's request, the casket was opened one last time. The plate glass was removed, and after the priests and the Aquino siblings sprinkled the former president's body with holy water, family members queued to give her a parting kiss. The casket was then sealed, the flag was removed, and a final military salute given, with the folded flag presented to Senator Aquino. The pallbearers then pushed the casket into the tomb to the applause of the crowd, after which mourners placed white and yellow flowers inside. As the tomb was being sealed, the congregation sang Bayan Ko again, followed by several Catholic hymns.

Aquino's grave marker is in the same style as her husband's: a simple, gray marble plaque with her name, nickname, and the dates of birth and death inscribed in black.

Reaction

Domestic President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who was on a state visit in Washington, D.C. when she was informed about the President Aquino's death, called Aquino a "national treasure". She cut her trip short to return to Manila for Aquino's wake. Arroyo also announced a 10-day mourning period for the former president, and issued Administrative Order No. 269 authorizing "official acts and observances" to help in the funeral.