MANILA — Thousands of Filipinos lined up outside a Catholic school here on Sunday for a last glimpse of Corazon C. Aquino, the woman they credited with ushering in democracy nearly a quarter-century ago, ending two decades of dictatorial rule.

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The same reverence for Mrs. Aquino, who was president for six years after leading the movement to oust Ferdinand E. Marcos in 1986, had been evident across the archipelago since Saturday morning, when it was announced that she had died of colon cancer at 76. Yellow ribbons, Mrs. Aquino’s symbol of defiance against Mr. Marcos’s rule, were on trees, lampposts, car antennas and people’s arms. Masses were scheduled across the country.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced that she would shorten her visit to the United States to attend Mrs. Aquino’s funeral on Wednesday. Mrs. Arroyo had decreed that Wednesday would be a nonworking holiday and had declared a 10-day period of mourning.

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In a statement on Saturday, Mrs. Arroyo paid tribute to Mrs. Aquino — who in recent years had taken a role in street demonstrations against Mrs. Arroyo — calling her a “national treasure” who had “helped lead our nation to a brighter day.”

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At La Salle Green Hills, the Catholic school in Manila where Mrs. Aquino’s body had been brought for public viewing, mourners stood in a line stretching more than a half-mile since Saturday evening in heavy rain. On Sunday, the line grew longer, with mourners wearing yellow shirts, caps, buttons and ribbons.

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A soft-spoken homemaker who became a global icon of democracy, Mrs. Aquino was regarded in the Philippines with an affection that bordered on spiritual. Her preference for the company of nuns and priests, and the familiar presence of a rosary in her hand — and in her coffin on Sunday — only deepened her appeal in this deeply Roman Catholic country.