AQUINO’S INAUGURATION
Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales administered the oath of office to Aquino amidst celebration at the Quirino grandstand, which was adorned with yellow decorations. The swearing-in took place just before noon, in accordance with the Constitutional requirement. Following the oath, a 21-cannon salute was fired, and two helicopters showered the crowd below with yellow rose petals.
Fr. Catalino Arevalo, the family’s spiritual adviser, held the bible during the oath-taking ceremony. Aquino placed his hand on the bible to deliver his oath while Morales administered the same oath to Vice President Jejomar Binay. In a significant gesture, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo officially transferred her position to President-elect Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino.
FIRSTS’ AND AMUSING FACTS ABOUT NOYNOY AQUINO
President-elect Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III is not only the first chief executive elected in an automated election but also holds several other firsts, as mentioned in a document released by historian and Aquino’s inauguration spokesman Manuel Quezon III. Aquino is notably the first unmarried president in the history of the country.
Aquino breaks several precedents as the first president without children, unlike Elpidio Quirino and Corazon Aquino who were unmarried during their terms but had children. Additionally, he differs from Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, both of whom served as vice presidents before becoming presidents, whereas Aquino did not hold this position previously. Moreover, Aquino distinguishes himself as the first president born in February with the suffix -III in his name and as a graduate of Ateneo.
Aquino, now 50 years old, became the youngest president to have become chief executive in their 50s. In contrast, Ferdinand Marcos, his family’s adversary, became president at 51. Interestingly, Aquino is also the same age at which his father, Benigno S. Aquino Jr., was assassinated. It is noteworthy that Aquino shares the Liberal Party with Diosdado Macapagal, who happens to be Arroyo’s father. Additionally, Aquino holds the distinction of being the first president elected from LP since Macapagal.
Interestingly, Aquino became the president-elect on June 9, 2010, nine months after he announced his candidacy on September 9, 2009. Despite being shot in the neck during a failed assassination attempt while his mother was president, Aquino still has a bullet lodged in his neck from that incident. He sustained five gunshot wounds and three of his bodyguards lost their lives. This is Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Cojuangco Aquino III’s Inaugural Address.
