Benigno Aquino III, Who Led Philippine Growth Spurt, Dies at 61
- Son of the country’s first female leader also became president
- Oversaw highest GDP growth in decades, stood up to China
Aquino, second left, with Rodrigo Duterte, second right, at the Malacanan Palace Grounds in Manila in 2016.
Photographer: Joseph Vidal/Malacanang Photo Bureau/Getty Images
Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, the former Philippine president who oversaw the fastest period of growth since the 1970s and challenged China’s expansive territorial claims before a United Nations-backed tribunal, has died. He was 61.
Aquino, who served as the nation’s leader from 2010 to 2016, died peacefully in his sleep, his sister Pinky Aquino-Abellada said, adding that he was pronounced dead in a hospital in Quezon City due to renal disease secondary to diabetes. “No words can express how broken our hearts are and how long it will take for us to accept the reality that he is gone. Mission accomplished, Noy.”