In somber but stately cadence.

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Still grieving after the initial disbelief and numbing news that former president Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III has died. Noynoy, as he was fondly called in the old days, before the Noynoy phenomenon that catapulted him to become the 15th President of the Philippines, was just the unassuming figure beside Cory, his mother, reluctant leader who overthrew a dictator and widow of a martyr, his father, Benigno Aquino, Jr, slain upon his arrival at the Manila International Airport in 1983, a gruesome murder that brought out the bravery of the ordinary Filipino repressed by Martial Law. The father quipped, with his decision to come back and challenge a dictator, that 'the Filipino is worth dying for.' The mother, an ordinary housewife, carried on the torch and inflamed the ruptured hearts of the people with her slogan 'the Filipino is worth living for.' The story would have ended with the demise of husband and wife icons of democracy. Till self-aggrandizing demagogues attempted to rob the people of freedom once again. And the son rose to the occasion, adding his own resolve - 'the Filipino is worth fighting for.' He was installed as the 15th president. It was a presidency that built roads and bridges even in the most far-flung barrios where students walk and swim four or five kilometers to get to a makeshift school with only a single teacher improvising materials for education. Noynoy thereby saw to it education was accessible. Not only were roads and bridges constructed, 84 classrooms were built each day of his presidency, and in every classroom, a teacher with books and school supplies. At the end of his term, the country has averaged a 6.8 economic growth, recognized internationally a new tiger of Asia, and the people respected and recognized as 'the Filipino.' But Noynoy is gone now. An ailment has finally caught up with him as years of attending to the people's needs ravished his own. He was entombed yesterday, in full military honors. I watched the ceremonies in real time on television - reporters scampering for words to describe the somber but stately final rites for a man deserving the 21 gun salute, the water salute, the yellow flower confetti, the dirge of the marching band, and the solemn cadence of an armed forces marching to honor a great man as he was inurned beside his parents' resting place.. I, of course, marveled at how quickly they put up a grand ceremonial funeral rites. PNoy died but just two days ago. PNoy was probably smiling down upon the spectacle. He would have wanted it simple. It was simple but elegant. Exactly what he wanted for the Filipino. A Benigno Simeon Aquino III trademark. Here, watch.