President Aquino plants an araucaria araucana tree near the tree planted by his mother in 1988. Photo grab from TV Patrol

MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III received a festive welcome from the people of Hongjian Village in Fujian Province.
 
Fireworks and lion dances marked his arrival as the villagers of Hongjian claimed the President as one of their own.
 
The President lighted incense at the Co family's ancestral temple, where a portrait of his mother, former President Corazon Aquino, is displayed.
 
The President planted an araucaria araucana tree near the tree planted by President Cory when she visited Hongjian in 1988.
 
What is unique about the 23-year-old tree is that the trunk bore 2 branches in 2002.
 
Residents thought then that it was a sign that someone will follow in the footsteps of the late president.
 
Their prediction came true in 2010.
 
"Nature has its own laws and surely this natural phenomenon was not a prophecy for I never aspired to reach the same heights and achieve the same success as my mother. And yet, by the will of my people, I stand here in the same position she occupied as President of the Philippines bearing the same responsibility she had, to change people’s lives for the better," said Aquino.

The people of Hongjian are proud that the Philippines' first woman president and her son trace their roots in this village.
 
"In my country we have a saying: that if one is to move forward, one must know how to look back. So I would like to thank the people of Hongjian—all my distant cousins, aunts, and uncles—for their warm welcome and for being among the many who give me the strength to carry on and succeed,” said Aquino.

The family name Cojuangco is derivative of the name of Co Yu Hwan in the Hokkien dialect.
 
Co left Hongjian and went to Manila in 1861. He is President Aquino's great-great-grandfather.