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Chel Diokno on PNoy’s style of leadership: ‘Always the people and the country’

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MANILA - He was not perfect, but former President Benigno &quot;Noynoy&quot; Aquino III always put the interest of the Filipino and the country first when he was chief executive, human rights defender Chel Diokno said Saturday. “Wala namang perfect leader kahit saang bansa. Human beings lang tayo at saka based on judgement din ng mga desisyon ng isang pangulo. Kung titingnan natin &#x27;yung kabuuang pagiging leader ni President Noynoy, masasabi natin pinauna niya interes ng bayan,” Diokno said on TeleRadyo. (There is no perfect leader. We&#x27;re just human beings and that is based on the judgement of the decision of a president. But if we look at President Noynoy’s leadership, we could say that he put the interest of the nation first.)<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/26/21/ex-president-aquino-to-be-laid-to-rest-next-to-parents">Ex-president Aquino to be laid to rest next to parents</a></li></ul>Aquino was the country&#x27;s 15th president and served in Malacañang until 2016. On Thursday, just 5 years later, he passed away of renal failure due to diabetes, a demise that shocked the nation. He had kept his illness private and was away from public light since the end of his term. Among milestones Aquino is hailed for as president is his push for Philippine sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea in the face of Chinese incursions. “Halimbawa &#x27;yung kaso ng West Philippine Sea, he was really the driving force behind that. &#x27;Yung paglago ng ating ekonomiya, sa panahon din niya nangyari &#x27;yun,” he said.(For example the case of the West Philippine Sea, he was really the driving force behind it. The economy grew under his term.) Aquino will be laid to rest at the Manila Memorial Park in Sucat, Parañaque later Saturday beside his parents, democracy icons Ninoy and Corazon Aquino.Diokno said that love for the country was the common thread that Noynoy shared with his parents, who were both pivotal figures in Philippine history. His father Ninoy Aquino fought the Marcos dictatorship and was killed in 1983 upon return to the Philippines from exile. His mother Corazon was swept to power three years later via a popular revolt, leading to the collapse of the Marcos regime. When his mother died in 2009, Aquino was prompted to seek the presidency the following year because of public clamor, and won. “We really have to honor that dahil bihira sa atin ngayon ang ganung klaseng liderato. Iba ang style ng leadership nila, more in the vein of what they would call a servant leader, &#x27;yun bang ang interest ay maisulong ang interes ng lahat, hindi &#x27;yung kung ilan lang ang nandyan sa pwesto,” he said.(We really have to honor that because that is rare in today’s leaders. They have a different style of leadership, more in the vein of what they would call a servant leader, where they pursue the interest of all and not of the few in power.)<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/24/21/benigno-aquino-iii-noynoy-aquino-death">Former President Noynoy Aquino dies</a></li></ul><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1714457" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>For Diokno, Aquino’s humility was the most striking quality that he would remember of the former president.“For someone who occupies that position ni minsan wala akong nakitang any kind of thinking about the position itself. It was always the people and the country na nauuna sa kanya,” he said.(For someone who occupies that position I never saw any kind of thinking about the position itself. It was always the people and the country that he put first.)Political rivals had used the term “dilawan&quot;- for yellow, the color associated with the people power revolt that swept his mother to power and has since stuck with the Aquino name- in a derogatory manner to vilify him even after he had stepped down from office.“Syempre palagay ko naririnig din niya mga ganun—dilawan, that kind of derogatory use of the term that to him was very highly revered actually,” he said.But Diokno believes that Aquino’s good image will be restored.“I think his good image will be restored. I think it will happen very quickly kasi, malungkot man sabihin, the way that his name was vilified, &#x27;yung sinasabing dilawan, highly unfair to him and his family, palagay ko naramdaman niya &#x27;yun, na feel niya &#x27;yun. I think we will, especially over time, see him as a very good leader for our country,” he said.

MANILA - Human rights defender Chel Diokno said former president Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III was not perfect but had alway put the interest of the Filipino and the country first during his term in office.

MANILA - Human rights defender Chel Diokno said former president Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III was not perfect but had alway put the interest of the Filipino and the country first during his term in office.