Hundreds of thousands of people Wednesday flocked to a park in the Philippine capital where Benigno Aquino III was to take his oath of office as the country's 15th president.
Security was tight at the Rizal Park in central Manila, where the spectators were entertained by local artists while they waited for Aquino's inauguration at noon (0400 GMT).
The spectators were mostly clad in yellow, 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, 50, 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.
News From: http://www.7StarNews.com
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
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