#ThankYouPNoy: Pinoys bid President farewell

MANILA, Philippines – People from all walks of life have turned to social media to express their gratitude and bid goodbye to President Aquino, the country’s 15th chief executive.

Aquino said he read the messages that were mostly heartwarming.

Asked how he was doing on his last day in office, Aquino said, “I am OK. I am at the office still working.”

Twitter user Chelsea Pangilinan (@chelzP15), using the hashtag, #ThankYouPNoy wrote: “Love you PNoy! What a worthy crush!” She posted photos of Aquino and ended her tweet with a yellow heart and a yellow ribbon.

While there were also negative posts both on Facebook and Twitter, the President’s FB account, Noynoy Aquino (P-Noy or short for President Noy) was swarmed with posts that were generally appreciative of him as the country’s leader for the past six years.  

One of them, posted by Muriel Origenes, read: “We may not be satisfied of the things that you have done in our country because of too much issues, but surely you are one of the strongest because you are able to finish the race as a president of the Philippines...your journey was not easy…thank you for taking care of our country.”

As Aquino’s officials emptied their offices to give way to members of the incoming Duterte administration, they also took to FB to share their feelings about leaving the Palace.

Aquino’s longtime staff and appointments secretary Rochelle Ahorro said on FB that the last six years of the Aquino administration had been a “personal journey for those of us who have been with the President for a good portion of our respective careers.”

“As the term comes to end, as I look back at the journey I undertook with the President and his close-in staff, the same staff that I call family, I am filled with gratitude and pride. I am grateful to those who have stood by the President. Thanks to everyone who showed their love, support and affection; thanks to those who until the end, marched on with us and contributed in making our country a better place,” Ahorro wrote on her FB account, Rochelle Ravago.

“I am proud to have served a leader who defied the odds to fight for what is the best interest of this country. A leader who believed and showed that indeed Filipinos are worth fighting for,” she added.

A photo of Aquino with his quotes from a STAR article also made the rounds online.

The lines went: “I’ll be working till the last hour of my presidency. I have to lead by example, and we have six years to do everything we can do. My term ends June 30, noon. We have to be able to face the mirror each day and say, ‘We did the maximum’.”

Later in the afternoon, Aquino said he already finished working and was set to visit his home along Times street in Quezon City.