Noy remembers parents as Christmas nears

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino turned sentimental as he remembered past Christmases with his family, especially his late mother, Corazon.

Being a bachelor, he had been spending Christmas alone, although there are family reunions to attend, he said.

“Before in Times (Street, their home in Quezon City), especially during (New Year’s Eve), my mother would really make it a point to try and sleep as early as possible, maybe around 10 p.m. or so, to avoid the New Year greeting because it was really like a war zone in Times,” he said, apparently referring to firecrackers and merrymaking to greet the coming year. 

When his mother passed away in 2009, they could not go to the places they used to go as a family, Aquino said.

Being “Kapampangan” from Tarlac, every meal with family was important, he added.

For the media noche or New Year’s Eve meal, his mother wanted to go to a lot of places, Aquino said. 

“I think we only went back to one of them around last year or the year before that, it really took a while,” he told reporters during a Christmas dinner on Friday night, his last as president. 

Some of his most treasured memories were the times they had together as a family, especially when they were in Boston or the time his father, the late senator Benigno Aquino Jr. was in exile, Aquino said in  a media forum on Friday morning.

His youngest sister Kris quipped that they were like “John and Marsha” or the television sitcom about a family because they were always together, he added.

The importance of family togetherness this season   should be extended to people in need, Aquino said during the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.’s gift-giving event in Quezon City yesterday.