Maria Corazon "Cory" Cojuangco Aquino (born Sumulong; January 25, 1933 - August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that office. She is widely accredited as the Mother of Asian Democracy. The first female president in the Philippines, Aquino was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled the 21-year authoritarian rule of President Ferdinand E. Marcos and restored democracy to the Philippines.

Upon learning of Aquino's death, then incumbent President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who was then on a state visit to the United States, announced a 10-day mourning period for the former President and issued Administrative Order No. 269 detailing the necessary arrangements for a state funeral. Aquino's children, however, declined the government's offer of a state funeral for their mother. All churches in the Philippines celebrated requiem masses simultaneously throughout the country and all government offices flew the Philippine flag at half mast. Hours after her death, Aquino's body lay in repose for public viewing at the La Salle Green Hills campus in Mandaluyong City. On August 3, 2009, Aquino's body was transferred from La Salle Greenhills to Manila Cathedral in Intramuros, during which hundreds of thousands of Filipinos lined the streets to view and escort the former leader's body. On the way to the Cathedral, Aquino's funeral cortege passed along Ayala Avenue in Makati, stopping in front of the monument to her husband Ninoy, where throngs of mourners gathered and sang the patriotic protest anthem "Bayan Ko". Aquino's casket was solemnly brought inside the Cathedral by mid-afternoon that day. Following her death, all Roman Catholic dioceses in the country held requiem Masses. On August 4, 2009, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr., and Imee Marcos--children of the late former President Ferdinand Marcos--paid their last respects to Aquino despite the two family's fierce political rivalry; the Aquinos have been blaming the late dictator for the assassination of Ninoy Aquino Jr. in 1983. The Marcos siblings were received by Aquino's daughters Maria Elena, Aurora Corazon, and Victoria Elisa. Early the next day, President Arroyo, who had cut short her trip in the United States, briefly paid her last respects to her erstwhile ally President Aquino. A final requiem Mass was held on the morning of August 5, 2009, with then-Archbishop of Manila Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, then-Bishop of Balanga Socrates B. Villegas, and other high-ranking clergymen concelebrating. Aquino's daughter Kris spoke on behalf of her family towards the end of the Mass. Aquino's flag-draped casket was escorted from the Cathedral to Manila Memorial Park in Paranaque, where she was interred beside her husband in the family mausoleum. Aquino's funeral procession took more than eight hours to reach the burial site, as tens of thousands of civilians lined the route to pay their respects. Philippine Air Force UH-1 helicopters showered the procession with yellow confetti and ships docked at Manila's harbour blared their sirens, all to salute the late President, . CANNOTANSWER

What happened during the Final Mass?

then-Bishop of Balanga Socrates B. Villegas, and other high-ranking clergymen concelebrating. Aquino's daughter Kris spoke on behalf