MANILA - Former Philippine President Corazon Aquino, heroine of the 1986 people power movement, was laid to rest on Wednesday after an eight-hour funeral procession that had to inch its way past hundreds of thousands of mourners.
Holding umbrellas against the pouring rain and chanting "Cory, Cory," the crowds waited patiently along a 20-km (12-mile) route through the city from Manila Cathedral to the memorial park where she was buried with military honors. The funeral procession took over 8 hours.
As the cortege passed, many waved, scrambled to touch the flat-bed truck on which her coffin was laid, or made the "L" sign, her trademark during the fairytale revolution that ended the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos and captivated the world.
Masses in Aquino's memory were celebrated in Catholic churches throughout the country, with 2,000 officials, diplomats and business figures attending the largest in Manila's 400-year-old cathedral.
Aquino's youngest daughter, Kristina Bernadette Yap, a film and television star more popularly known as Kris Aquino, thanked those attending.
"The last words Mom expressed to each of us were 'Take care of each other,'" she said.
"I know that those words weren't meant just for our family, but for all of us as a nation. In the way that all of you have been thanking us for sharing Mom with you, our Mom never failed to thank each of us."
The military gave a 21-gun salute and buglers played "Taps" as Aquino was buried next to her husband, Benigno, whose assassination in 1983 catapulted her to the national stage.
Three years later, over a million people poured into the streets to support troops who were backed by Aquino and had revolted against Marcos. Marcos and his family fled into exile and Aquino held the presidency until 1992.
World leaders
Among those paying respect to Aquino was East Timor leader Jose Ramos-Horta. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo came straight to the cathedral from the airport on her return from a visit to the United States. She only stayed briefly.
On Tuesday, Marcos's son, Ferdinand Jr., and daughter, Imee, joined the wake. Their mother, Imelda Marcos, has also expressed her sorrow at Aquino's death.
World leaders, including the Pope, U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao sent messages of sympathy.
The government had announced a 10-day period of mourning, financial markets were closed and a public holiday was declared on Wednesday.
In the cathedral grounds, mourners clad in yellow -- the color associated with Aquino and the 1986 revolution -- watched a live broadcast of the Mass on two giant screens. Thousands waved yellow balloons or banners.
Police said a procession extending over two km (one mile) -- more than 100,000 people -- later filed slowly behind Aquino's cortege as it wound its way to the cemetery. Some walked barefoot from the church, radio reported.
Posh and humble vehicles alike bore a strip of yellow ribbon tied to a door handle or rear-view mirror.
People's responses
Many of those present were too young to have experienced the revolution that propelled Aquino to power.
"I only knew Cory from my history class in school and from my parents who were at the revolution. I came here to show my gratitude to her," Andrea Corpuz, 16, said while standing outside the cathedral with a group of friends.
Lani Daguro, a 32-year-old woman who was following the cortege, said: "This is the moment for us to show others that this generation can step up to the challenge, others have done it before, now it's our turn."
People from all walks of life showed their love and affection for Aquino.
Rachelle Singson De Mesa, 55, took a ten-hour bus ride from Laoag City in Northern Luzon just to be in Manila Cathedral.
"I love President Cory. I want to see her the last time. My relative just died, too. But I'm here. We'll bury him on Sunday," she told abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak.
She had not slept, but de Mesa's spirits remained high despite the rains. When the sun came out, she screamed, "Thank you, Lord!" Others clapped with her.
But even when it rained again, people hardly complained.
Like People Power in 1986
Elvis Rodolfo, 47, employee of the University of Sto. Tomas, looked at the bright side. "At least, it's not so hot," he said. Being a volunteer firefighter for the funeral cortege, he followed the procession until the Manila Memorial Park.
The event made him nostalgic for his younger years when he joined the first people power in 1986.
"I was a volunteer of the National Movement for Free Elections. My friends and I were in EDSA," he recalled.
Like she did in 1986, University of the Philippines professor Sarah Raymundo, 32, waved the "Laban" sign.
"I was only 9 years old when I joined my first big mass demonstration. I was making the Laban sign because everbody was doing it. Today, 23 years later, I see many children doing the same. They, too, I'm certain, will never forget. This is who we are as a people," she told abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak.
Many people wore yellow shirts, headbands, and ribbons. Some brought yellow roses. Some trucks played the People Power song, Magkaisa, over and over again.
The crowd grew thicker toward the Manila Memorial Park, which prolonged the funeral procession by several hours.
"We love you forever"
Many citizens expressed their feelings through cartolina banners saying, "Thank You, Cory" or "We Love You Forever, Cory." At Quirino Avenue, a group of ten men climbed the roof of a building to wave a cartolina banner.
At the Bicutan service road, the number of spectators occupied half of the road up to the end of the convoy and looked like a sea of humanity.
All throughout the parade, people never got tired raising their hands to show the "Laban" sign, and they were always ready to wave as the convoy passed by them.
At the Sucat exit, a choir serenaded the convoy with People Power songs.
Employees of the Bicutan Caltex station also caught people's attention when they posed in salute.
Max's Restaurant at the Sucat Exit displayed a yellow tarpaulin that reads: "Max's joins the nation in morning the death of former President Corazon Aquino."
'We will miss you, Tita Cory'
Cristina Alba, battling to get nearer to the truck bearing the flag-draped coffin, fell several times, losing the slipper from her arthritic left foot.
But the crowd -- many in tears over the death of their beloved "Tita" (Aunt) Cory -- lent the 64-year-old a helping hand, lifting her up again and again within inches of the truck so she could say a final farewell.
"This is not the end, Cory, we will miss you," Alba said, flashing the 'L' sign with her fingers.
"She was our hope, the source of our strength," said Alba, a retired government employee who joined the former president's army of supporters 23 years ago. "Do you see how even in death she can unite Filipinos?"
Military helicopters circled overhead, showering the crowd of tens of thousands with confetti.
People in buildings lining Manila's streets opened their windows, hung yellow banners and also dropped confetti onto the sea of mourners. Many cried -- some silently, others openly wailing their anguish.
A crowd of nuns, their blue habits wet from the rain, released white doves and yellow balloons.
Ships docked along Manila Bay sounded mournful horns.
'Cory, you are not alone'
As the funeral cortege slowly passed by a poor section of Manila, crowds of children with yellow ribbons tied to their heads rushed to the truck, overwhelming security personnel who had to push them back.
Navy personnel and policemen stood erect along the route and saluted their late commander-in-chief, whose coffin was guarded by four members of the armed forces.
A crowd precariously standing on the edge of a condemned port-side building lofted a banner that read: "We love you. Thank you and goodbye President Cory."
A mob of barefoot men circled the red bus carrying Aquino's five children and other relatives. "Mabuhay kayo ("long live the Aquinos"), they shouted while gently tapping on the lightly-tinted windows.
University students clad in yellow -- Aquino's trademark color -- were among the mourners, carrying placards that read: "Cory, you are not alone, we love you."
Millions, including from the 8.7-million-strong overseas Filipino community, monitored the slow progress of the cortege on television and Internet sites with streaming video.
Proud to be Pinoy
"Thank you very much to the Filipino people," said an emotional Rapa Lopa, an Aquino nephew. "It is really very heart-warming and very overwhelming."
He said the huge turnout showed that Aquino was dearly loved by the public.
"This is really so reminiscent of 1983, when Ninoy was taken to his grave," he said, referring to the former president's assassinated husband, opposition leader Benigno 'Ninoy' Aquino.
"She made me proud again to be a Filipino," said Father Catalino Arevalo, recalling Aquino's bloodless triumph against the 20-year dictatorship of Marcos in 1986.
"The outpouring of sympathy and national solidarity is just tremendous. We hope that Cory's life would continue to inspire Filipinos to fight tyranny whenever and wherever it is present," said Renato Reyes Jr. of the militant group Bayan. -- with a report from Carmela Fonbuena, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak; Manny Mogato, Reuters; AFP; ABS-CBN News
