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Benigno Aquino
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Benigno Aquino

Benigno Aquino
Benigno Aquino
Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III was the 15th President of the Philippines, and the chairman of the Liberal Party. He is the son of the late Benigno S. Aquino, Jr., a Philippines senator and prominent opposition leader to President Ferdinand Marcos, who was assassinated on August 21, 1983. Aquino began his political career in 1998 when he was elected to the House of Representatives as Representative of the 2nd district of Tarlac province. He was elected president on June 9, 2010.
Born
8 Feb 1960
Industry
Politics
Job Title
Former President of the Philippines
A security guard guides students as they enter an elementary school, a day after a school shooting in the city of Tacloban southeast ​of Manila, in Quezon City, Philippines, on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters
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Philippine Navy personnel aboard BRP Miguel Malvar during a naval exercise in the South China Sea in August 2025. Photo: Armed Forces of the Philippines, Public Affairs Office via AP
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Carrier says it is cooperating with local authorities in probe into incident, which led to delays for two incoming planes.

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The Philippines

Why is Mary Jane Veloso still in prison a year after Indonesia let her go?

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Mary Jane Veloso is reunited with her family at the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong, Philippines, on December 18, 2024. Photo: AP
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Opinion | Benigno Aquino’s lost liberal ‘yellow’ legacy in the Philippines

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Obituaries

Former Philippine president Benigno Aquino dies aged 61

The former president, and son of two of the Philippines’ democracy icons, died of kidney failure as a result of diabetes, his family said.

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Former Philippine President Benigno Aquino pictured in Malaysia in 2015. Photo: Reuters
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Protesters hold mock hammers with the words “No Hero” in front of a portrait of the late president Ferdinand Marcos as they denounce his burial at the Heroes' Cemetery in Manila in November 2016. Photo: Reuters
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Philippine President Benigno Aquino attacks China for breaking deal on South China Sea

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Presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte. Photo: Reuters

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Outgoing Philippine President Benigno Aquino. Photo: Reuters
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Philippine President Benigno Aquino urges candidates to join forces against Rodrigo Duterte

Philippines president says Abyu Sayyaf terrorists had plotted to kidnap boxing star Manny Pacquiao

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‘Glad we are back to the supersonic age’: Philippines gets first fighter jets in a decade amid sea feud with China

The newly-acquired FA-50PH fighter jets were welcomed with a water cannon salute at Clark Air Base. Photo: AP

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Philippine President Benigno Aquino endorses interior minister Manuel Roxas as next leader, despite poor polling numbers

Aquino said he interviewed three potential candidates ahead of Friday’s endorsement, but in the end chose Roxas.

Popular or not? Philippines president Benigno Aquino aims to secure his legacy with final State of the Nation address

Philippine President Benigno Aquino delivers his 5th annual State of the Nation address before the annual joint session of 16th Congress in Manila on July 28, 2014. On Monday, Aquino will deliver his final State of the Nation address. Photo: AFP

Update | Philippine president likens China's territorial rise to Nazi Germany's during speech in Japan

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Philippine President Benigno Aquino delivers a speech at the "Future of Asia" forum in Tokyo. Photo: AFP

Raissa Robles: Two and a half hours with Aquino that were five years in the making

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All the president's women: Why Benigno Aquino is still a bachelor

All the president's women: Why Benigno Aquino is still a bachelor

Smiling Aquino ‘ridiculous’ and ‘lacking empathy’, Manila hostage crisis survivors say

Philippine President Benigno Aquino’s reason for smiling after the 2010 Manila hostage crisis in which eight Hongkongers died was “ridiculous”, survivors said, accusing him of lacking empathy.

Aquino caused outrage in Hong Kong for smiling at a press conference on August 24, 2010, after the Manila hostage crisis that left eight Hongkongers dead.

Exclusive | ‘I smile when I’m fed up’: Philippine president Benigno Aquino defends ‘inappropriate’ grins that sparked international outrage

Philippine President Benigno Aquino has explained why he sometimes appears to break into a broad grin at inappropriate moments, such as during a wake for 44 comandos killed during an anti-terror operation (pictured). 'I have various smiles for various purposes,' he said.  

Apec summit 2015

Exclusive | Xi did not talk down to me like ‘elder brother’, Aquino says of Apec chat

President Xi Jinping did not talk like he was an “elder brother” and seemed “very sincere” during a meeting in Beijing in November, Philippine President Benigno Aquino has said.

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