But he departed the stage with a wave of affection and sympathy, his reputation for dignity and courage intact.
He was swept to power in 2010, partly on a wave of affection for his late mother, Corazon Aquino, the first president after the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.
Forced by illness to miss three consecutive events, he returned in June for a final appearance, and was greeted by a wave of affection.
Whether Big Brother producer Endemol will ever prompt the wave of nostalgic affection generated by its neighbouring west London site, closed after 53 years, remains to be seen.
A German-language, heavy metal version of Waterloo is top-drawer filler to have in reserve, and it's greeted by a wave of audience affection that Bailey surfs back to safety.
His best films are 20-plus years in the past but he continues to ride a wave of critical affection based on fond memories of movies seen long ago.
I experienced a wave of nostalgic affection when I sighted the familiar features of Beaker, Animal and Sam the Eagle, and there are some solid jokes and gags scattered throughout the first two episodes.
But he also senses other waves — of grief, beauty, affection, and love — and is moved by them, too.
Wherever he went, he drew large crowds of church members waving white handkerchiefs, a sign of affection that began in Chile and spread.
This is the quiet voice inside of us that pleads, "Don't make waves, don't make others uncomfortable with our displays of affection.
