Benigno Aquino III sworn in as Philippines’ 15th president

June 30, 2010 10:01 am | Updated November 28, 2021 08:54 pm IST - Manila

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III gestures as he announces the members of his cabinet in a news conference on the eve of his inauguration. Photo: AP

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III gestures as he announces the members of his cabinet in a news conference on the eve of his inauguration. Photo: AP

Benigno Aquino III was sworn in Wednesday as the Philippines’ 15th president before hundreds of thousands of cheering supporters.

Mr. Aquino, 50, took his oath of office shortly before noon (0400 GMT) at Rizal Park in central Manila after leading Filipinos in bidding farewell to his predecessor Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

He is to serve the Philippines as president for a term of six years during which he has vowed to fight corruption and poverty.

Hundreds of thousands of people Wednesday flocked to a park in the Philippine capital. Security was tight at the Rizal Park in central Manila, where the spectators were entertained by local artists while they waited for Mr. Aquino’s inauguration.

The spectators were mostly clad in yellow, Mr. Aquino’s trademark colour, with some carrying yellow streamers, balloons or ribbons.

Manolo Quezon, a spokesman for the inauguration, said Aquino finalized his speech Tuesday evening after nine revisions.

“He really wanted to keep it short and straight to the point,” he said as foreign dignitaries and other guests arrived at the grandstand in Rizal Park.

“He would call for the people’s support because the work cannot be done by him alone,” Mr. Quezon added.

Mr. Aquino is the son of late democracy icons president Corazon Aquino and senator Benigno Aquino Junior, who was assassinated.

Vowing radical change in government, he clinched a landslide victory in presidential elections in May.

On the eve of his oath-taking, Mr. Aquino presented members of his cabinet, a mix of old and new faces that he said would help him fulfill his promises to fight corruption and poverty.

A graduate of economics at the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University, Mr. Aquino once worked for a company selling sports shoes and ran the family businesses while serving as an aide to his mother.

In 1987, just 18 months into his mother’s presidency, he was badly injured in an ambush by rebellious soldiers during an attempted coup d’etat.

Mr. Aquino entered politics after his mother’s term ended in 1992, scoring his first victory as a congressman in his home province of Tarlac in 1998. He served three terms before being elected senator in 2007.

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