Former President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III was supposed to get his Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in Quezon City before he died, Mayor Joy Belmonte disclosed Tuesday.
That was the reason why Belmonte was surprised when she learned of the leader's passing as the local government even prepared the vaccine for him.
"We had prepared Pfizer for him because that's what's ideal for people with comorbities like him," Belmonte said in an interview with Politiko TV.
"And then I learned that his doctors said that he was not strong enough to accept a vaccine anymore, and from there, I was alarmed as I realized that maybe his health condition was already deteriorating," she added.

Belmonte said that Aquino's passing "is a great loss." She said the former president "was a great example" to her as a leader because "of his strong advocacy towards good governance".
"The honest leadership. That's what I learned from him," she said.
Belmonte also said even her father, Feliciano Belmonte Jr., who served as House speaker during Aquino's presidency, cried when he learned of his death.
The older Belmonte, now 85 years old, still went to Aquino's wake at Heritage Memorial Park "because he felt that he really had to pay his respects to his boss," the mayor added.