Ex-Philippines president Benigno Aquino dies of heart failure at 61

Manila

FORMER Philippine president Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino, the reserved scion of one of Asia's most famous political families, died on Thursday. He was 61.

Mr Aquino, who was in office from 2010 to 2016, was the only son of the late former president Corazon Aquino and her assassinated husband, senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, both revered for leading the struggle to restore democracy in the archipelago nation.

President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesperson announced Mr Aquino's death hours after local media reported the former leader had been rushed to a Manila hospital.

The cause of death was heart failure, the Manila Bulletin reported on Thursday, citing his family.

"We commiserate and condole with the family and loved ones of former president Benigno Simeon 'Noynoy' Aquino III as we extend our condolences on his untimely demise," Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said.

"We are grateful to the former president for his contributions and services to the country and we ask our people to offer a prayer for the eternal repose of the former chief executive."

Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin tweeted his "grief over the death of a sea-green incorruptible".

He said Mr Aquino was "brave under armed attack, wounded in crossfire, indifferent to power and its trappings, and ruled our country with a puzzling coldness but only because he hid his feelings so well it was thought he had none".

Supreme Court Justice Marvic Leonen, who was Mr Aquino's former peace negotiator with Muslim rebels, expressed "profound sadness" over the former leader's death.

Mr Aquino, who was succeeded by Mr Duterte, waged an anti-corruption campaign during a term that ushered in key economic reforms.

Unusually for the conservative Catholic country, Mr Aquino remained a bachelor throughout his life, though had relationships with a number of women.

Mr Aquino was born on Feb 8, 1960 to one of the country's wealthiest land-owning political families.

A latecomer to the presidential race in 2010, he declared his candidacy only after his mother's death from cancer the previous year had plunged the country into mourning, and demonstrated the power of the family name.

He made fighting corruption his mantra, capitalising on his family's clean reputation, and vowed to reduce the poverty afflicting a third of the population.

His administration delivered average annual economic growth of just over 6 per cent, the highest since the 1970s, handing the country investment-grade status - but poverty remained endemic.

Mr Aquino, who earned an economics degree from the elite Ateneo de Manila University, was long mocked by opponents as a fortunately surnamed under-achiever with no administrative or business experience.

They also said he had little to show for the more than a decade he spent as a congressman and senator.

But the chain-smoking Mr Aquino blossomed during the election campaign into a confident public speaker and the nation's leading critic of his predecessor, Gloria Arroyo, who was arrested for corruption after she left office. AFP