Birthday boy Noy: I’ll be home soon

MANILA, Philippines - The birthday boy is eager to go home – and not to an official residence, no matter how exalted, but to the real thing.

President Aquino had a no-frills 56th birthday yesterday, spending it with loved ones and Cabinet members in Bahay Pangarap, his official residence.

The bachelor President’s birthday coincided with Chinese New Year, a non-working holiday.

The Palace did not make any statement about the President’s day but an official said a birthday dinner with his family, close friends and Cabinet members was all that was on schedule for the country’s Chief Executive.

On Instagram, a collage of his photos with celebrity sister Kris and her two sons, Joshua and James Yap Jr., generated 16,900 likes and a lot of birthday greetings.

The post came with the hashtag #MyBrotherIsAWESOME.

In an interview with The STAR columnist Elfren Cruz, who wrote the book “The Aquino Legacy: An Enduring Narrative,” Aquino said he would like to relax a bit and move to other areas after his presidency.

“A lot of times, at the end of the day, I just have the thought that I’ll be going home soon. So I guess that’s the whole point, getting back to some normalcy,” Aquino said, referring to their house on Times Street in Quezon City.

The President said he would like to help build the entrepreneurial skills of the Filipino after stepping down from office on June 30.

“I’m not really sure yet,” he said. “Perhaps in public service, you affect others’ lives in a general manner.”

But he conceded that “my body is saying that I should take a break first.”