The movement was organized by the group Heightened Ethics League of the Philippines (HELP) led by one Mario Reyes, a lawyer. Reyes said he is willing to spend his own money in case Sen. Aquino, the only son of the late President Corazon “Cory” Aquino, “agrees to run for the highest position in the land in the May 2010 polls. Noynoy had previously been also mentioned as a possible contender for the vice presidency.

His political stock had risen with his stately conduct during the wake and funeral of his mother, when hundreds of thousands paid their respects and millions of Filipinos around the world became part of a wave of emotion and nostalgia.

Sen. Aquino, meanwhile, has not made it clear whether or not he would seek a higher post next year - a hesitancy Reyes attributed to “humility”.

“I would like to think that this hesitancy here is mainly due to the factor of humility. Certainly, it would make him look like an eager beaver... to be one who’s trying to take advantage of his mother’s popularity and death,” he said.

The calls for Sen. Aquino to run for president came after his sister, television personality Kris Aquino, said in a Mass during Mrs. Aquino’s wake that she and her only brother would continue what their mother and father, slain Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., started.

Kris added that she promised her mother that she would support her brother in whatever political plans he has.

Days after Mrs. Aquino’s burial, someone in Mabalacat, Pampanga put up streamers urging Sen. Aquino to run for president.

But Aquino said that he is not yet keen on seeking any higher position as he would rather focus on the current problems of the country. *(GMA7)