Citizen Noynoy now in Aquino family home on Times Street 

Having completed his six-year term of office, former President Benigno Simeon Aquino III has gone back to their family home in Quezon City.

PNoy now at Times Street pic.twitter.com/SaJKYQ4TlA

— Jessica Bartolome (@jacbartolome) June 30, 2016

Aquino shut the gates of 25 Times Street in Quezon City moments before President Rodrigo Duterte took his oath of office in Malacañan Palace at noon on Thursday.

Upon arriving on Times Street, Aquino spent the first few minutes greeting his supporters and allies before heading straight to a lunch gathering there.

Supporters, Cabinet Secretaries wave yellow flags, posters as they wait for Aquino to arrive at Times Street pic.twitter.com/tUOgdh4f1U

— Jessica Bartolome (@jacbartolome) June 30, 2016

The homecoming event was hosted by singer Leah Navarro, and supported by various alliances.

Among the groups present were People Power Volunteers for Reform, Quezon City Alliance, Samahan ng Tuwid na Daan Laban sa Katiwalaan, and Silent Majority for PNoy.

A priest led prayers for Aquino after song performances by Navarro, Jim Paredes, and Noel Cabangon, the featured singer during Aquino's inauguration rites at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila in 2010.

Aquino expressed gratitude for the warm welcome he received although he said he had discouraged such an event as his neighbors had already received enough harassment and stress during his presidency.

"Naalala ko rin, maraming times na ginulo tayo sa dito sa Times ng mga walang-kakuntentuhang mga kababayan nating iba. Alam naman nila na hindi ako nakatira dito noon, dito sila nagprotesta," Aquino said.

"Yung mga nabatuhan ng pintura noon...sana naman po ako ngayon balik na sa normal life, kayo ho sana babalik na rin yung normal life niyo. Humihingi ako ng paumanhin na namolesta kayo sa mga panahong to," he added.

Aquino mentioned that despite the countless memorable experiences he has had in different places, he never thought of living anywhere other than his family home.

"I really don't think it would have made any sense for me to move anywhere else. This is where the roots are, this is where the friends are," he said.

Aquino inherited the house from his mother, the late President Corazon Aquino following her death in 2009.

Aquino said his first agenda will be to fix the house, and make it "a little bit more presentable."

He was accompanied home by his neighbors, who shielded him from the swarming crowd. — VVP, GMA News