Filipinos bid goodbye to Aquino

Filipinos ignored heavy rain to gather in the tens of thousands in Manila today for the funeral of revered former president Corazon Aquino, the heroine of the 1986 people power movement who died last week of cancer.

Songs and prayers were offered at the Mass attended by more than 1,000 government officials, diplomats, business and civil society leaders and priests and nuns at the 400-year-old Manila Cathedral.

East Timor leader Jose Ramos-Horta paid his respects before the Mass began while Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo came straight to the church from the airport on her return from a visit to the United States.

Outside the church, it was a sea of yellow shirts as rich and poor, young and old crowded the cathedral grounds as they watched the proceedings televised on two giant screens.

Yellow is the colour associated with Aquino and her 1986 revolution. Many vehicles on the street, from the humble jeepney to high-end BMWs, had a strip of yellow ribbon tied to the door handle or rear-view mirror.

Police estimated that as many as 10,000 people gathered outside the church while tens of thousands waited near a public park and at other points where the funeral cortege was expected to pass.

Many were too young to have experienced the fairytale revolution for which Aquino is famous.

"I only knew Cory from my history class in school and from my parents who were at the revolution. I came here to show my gratitude to her," Andrea Corpuz, 16, who was standing outside the cathedral with a group of friends, told Reuters.

Aquino is to be buried next to her husband, Benigno, whose assassination in 1983 catapulted her to the national stage. Three years later, over a million people came out on the streets to support Aquino-backed troops who had revolted against dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Marcos and his family fled into exile and Aquino held the presidency until 1992.

On Tuesday, Marcos's son, Ferdinand Jr., and daughter, Imee, joined the wake. Their mother, Imelda Marcos, has also expressed her sorrow at Aquino's death.

World leaders, including the Pope, U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao have sent messages of sympathy and condolences to Aquino's family.

The government has announced a 10-day period of national mourning, financial markets were closed and a public holiday was declared on Wednesday to allow Filipinos to pay their respects.