At Noynoy Aquino’s funeral mass, Villegas pleads for return of decency in gov’t

MANILA, Philippines — The funeral mass for former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III took a political turn with Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas calling for a return of decency in government.

“The best eulogy tribute that we can pay to our President Noy is to bring back, recover, preserve, safeguard, and never again to compromise our dignity as a people and the decency of our leaders as servants, not bosses,” Villegas said in his homily during the mass celebrated at the Church of the Gesú inside the Ateneo de Manila University campus.

He said that he hopes Aquino’s death will “spark another fire” among Filipinos “to resurrect his example of decency and integrity.”

“His mortal remains are now ashes, but his integrity and decency must resurrect through us and in the leaders we choose,” the prelate said.

Villegas also quipped that the flags at half-mast are not just for Aquino’s passing, but also for decent governance, which he said is “dying.”

Unlike Aquino, who was sometimes described as bland and stiff, his successor, President Rodrigo Duterte is brash and crass, often peppering his long-winding speeches with insults and profanities.

Aquino and Duterte had sparred before on the latter’s drug war, which according to government data has claimed the lives of over 6,000 drug suspects.

But in a statement following Aquino’s death, Duterte called on Filipinos to “set aside … differences as we pay respects to a leader who has given his best to serve the Filipino people.”