Ateneo Scholarship Named After P-Noy Raises P15 Million; Family, Friends Remember Late President

The college scholarship fund established in honor of late former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III has now reached P15 million, the president of the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) announced Friday, June 24.

“I would like to share that a few days after President Noynoy’s burial, the friends of Noynoy started a fund campaign for the Benigno Simeon Aquino scholarship endowment fund. I am very happy to announce that after one year, P15 million has been raised,” ADMU president Fr. Roberto “Bobby” Yap announced during a mass held at the Church of the Gesu inside the Ateneo campus.

The mass was in commemoration of Aquino’s first death anniversary. 

The funds raised, Yap added, “will allow many scholars from outside NCR (National Capital Region) to study for their college here in Ateneo de Manila.” 

It was the late president’s Ateneo high school and college batchmates who launched the scholarship fund in honor of their classmate, which was first formally launched on what would’ve been Aquino’s 62nd birthday last February. 

Read more: P-Noy’s Quiet Kindness Remembered; Ateneo Scholarship Fund Put Up In His Honor

Yap further remembered Aquino, who was fondly called “P-Noy” during his term as president, as a true blue Atenean who considered ADMU as his “safe haven.” The former Chief Executive completed his elementary, high school and college education in the university.

“Despite the ups and downs of his term, he will be remembered as a president who showed our nation and the world how leadership with competence, conscience, compassion and commitment can bring about a mark difference in the lives of millions of people,” Yap said during the mass. 

“He will also be remembered for representing the Philippines with honor and dignity, elevating our country’s status on the world stage,” he added. 

Fr. Jose Ramon “Jett” Villarin, former Ateneo president, also paid tribute to his close friend, noting that Aquino’s death anniversary coincided with the Feast of the Sacred Heart. 

But Villarin imagined that if ever Aquino — who remained a bachelor in his lifetime– was still alive, he would rather discuss pressing issues that the country face rather than his own problems. 

“Kung kapiling pa natin si Noy, hula ko lang, hindi puso ang ating pagu-usapan. Magkwe-kwentuhan muna tayo ng kung anu-ano. Kalaunan, seseryoso ang usapan, dadako sa inang bayan (If Noy is still with us, I am guessing, he won’t talk about matters of his heart. We will first talk about trivial matters, then the conversation will turn serious, it will then shift to our motherland). Matters of state muna bago (first before) matters of the heart,” he said. 

‘Simple, honest, self-effacing, decent Filipino’

At the end of the mass, Aquino’s eldest sister, Maria Elena “Ballsy” Aquino-Cruz, thanked the public for joining them in remembering her brother. 

She also expressed her gratitude to the “genuine friends” who stayed until the very end. 

Aquino-Cruz said that their family has been known to have a “roller coaster ride” as they experienced highs and lows in life. 

“Our highs would be comparable to yours, but our lows were extraordinary. There were times when we felt like we were a deadly virus, worse than COVID. Our mother bore the brunt of that and later, Noynoy did,” Aquino-Cruz stressed. 

She then added that in the times of experiencing low points in life, that’s where genuine friends stay.

“We learned the hard way that anyone can show up and celebrate with you when you’re up there. But the ones who stay by your side when things are not going your way, they are your genuine friends,” the eldest of the Aquino siblings said. 

“Kayong mga minsa’y pinagsilbihan ni Noynoy na naririto ngayon para gunitain ang anibersaryo ng kanyang pagsakabilang buhay, kayo ang tunay na mga kaibigan. Wala pang naiimbentong pang-uri para maisalarawan sa inyo ang galak ng aming mga puso sa pakikiisa niyo sa amin (To those who Noynoy served who are here today to commemorate the anniversary of his death, you are the genuine friends. There is no word to describe the joy in our hearts as you join us today),” she added.

She also described how their “hearts were broken” on the day her brother died, whom she described as a “simple, honest, self-effacing, and decent Filipino.”

Aside from Aquino-Cruz, the late former president’s other sisters, Aurora Corazon “Pinky” Aquino-Abellada and Victoria Elisa “Viel” Aquino-Dee were present during the mass. 

Their youngest sister, Kristina Bernadette “Kris” Aquino, is currently seeking treatment in the United States for her medical condition.

Other personalities who attended the mass were Vice President Leni Robredo, Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan and Sen. Franklin Drilon, as well as former Cabinet members of the Aquino administration. 

Before the Mass was celebrated, Aquino’s longtime staffers Yolanda “Yolly” Yebes and Aireen “Ivy” Bermudo Reanzares were spotted distributing souvenirs to the public who personally attended at the Ateneo. 

Aquino, the Philippines’ 15th president and son of democracy icons Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. and Corazon “Cory” Aquino, died at the age of 61 on June 24, 2021 due to renal disease secondary to diabetes.