Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Cojuangco Aquino III is a Filipino politician who served as the 15th President of the Philippines from 2010 until 2016. Aquino is a fourth-generation politician and is the chairman of the Liberal Party from 2010 to 2016.
Noynoy was born on February 8, 1960. He is the third of the of five children of Benigno Aquino, Jr., who was then Vice Governor of Tarlac province, and Corazon Aquino. He has three sisters, Maria Elena ("Ballsy"), Aurora Corazon ("Pinky"), Victoria Eliza ("Viel"), and Kristina Bernadette ("Kris").
Aquino studied in Ateneo de Manila University for his elementary, high school, and college education, graduating in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. After college, he joined his family in Boston in exile.
In 1983, shortly after the murder of his father, Noynoy had a short tenure as a member of the Philippine Business for Social Progress. From 1985 to 1986, he was retail sales supervisor and youth promotions assistant for Nike Philippines and later an assistant for advertising and promotion for Mondragon Philippines. In 1986, he joined Intra-Strata Assurance Corp. as vice-president of the family-owned corporation.
He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1998, representing the 2nd District of Tarlac. He won re-election in 2001 and 2004, and served until 2007.
Barred by term limits from seeking a fourth term as the Representative for the second district of Tarlac province, Aquino was elected to the Senate in the May 14, 2007 midterm elections under the banner of the Genuine Opposition, a coalition comprising a number of parties, including his own Liberal Party, seeking to curb attempts by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to amend the Constitution. In his political ads, he was endorsed by younger sister, TV host Kris Aquino, and mother, the late former President Corazon Aquino. Although a devout Roman Catholic, he was endorsed by one of the largest Protestant churches in the Philippines, the Jesus is Lord.
After the death of President Corazon Aquino, calls for him to run for higher office reached its highest and he has decided after the retreat that he would run as a candidate for the Presidency in the 2010 National Elections. In the last weekend of August, Senator Aquino and his fellow partymate in the Liberal Party, Senator Mar Roxas and an unnamed presidential aspirant commenced days of talks to decide what to do for next year's elections. On September 1, 2009, in a press conference at the Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan City, Senator Roxas, a leading candidate for the Liberal Party nomination announced his withdrawal in the presidential race and expressed his support for Aquino's candidacy. On September 9, 2009, 40 days after the death of his mother, Aquino officially announced his bid for the Presidency in a press conference at the Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan City, which also served as the site of his mother's Presidential Inauguration in February 1986.
Aquino is a shooting and billiards enthusiast. He is also an audiophile, and enjoys listening to jazz, bossa nova, and OPM (Original Pilipino Music). One of Noynoy's favorite Filipino artists is singer/composer Noel Cabangon.
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