Ninoy is still an inspiring hero

Angel Thoughts

A minute of heroism is better than decades of useless life.

—Ninoy Aquino

The 37^th anniversary of the assassination of  Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino was quietly remembered by his family, friends and followers on Friday, Aug. 21.

The murder of the returning senator woke up the nation to the horrors and brutality of Martial Law. It was the spark that triggered the peaceful People Power uprising three years later. While it was no longer commemorated in wreath-laying ceremonies in various places in the NCR, like the NAIA terminal 1, the Rizal Park, there were  Zoom masses and activities at the Ateneo de  Manila, including mass in the morning, a symposium, and a noise barrage. In Tarlac, the LGUs honored him appropriately.

I remember the afternoon Ninoy was assassinated. It was a quiet Sunday afternoon and my family and I were at the Army & Navy club celebratng the sixth birthday of our youngest son AJ with clowns and balloons. Then we heard the news over the radio. Sketchy and then silence. I was enraged. Up to that time, I was apolitical. I covered lifestyle, education, religion. Politics bored me. I had met Senator Ninoy before, He was wedding sponsor of my best friend's daughter who married his nephew. I thought him big, bold, and brash. Like any other politician.

But this was different. Assassination? In front of the world's media? My first thought was, if “they” could do this to a known person, what more to us little ones? I rushed to the Bulletin offices to talk to Pat Gonzales, then our editor for more details..

Later, Louie Perez, our airport photographer, rushed in, practically in tears. He and the other media at the airport had been awaiting Ninoy but they waited on the bridge as soldiers led Ninoy down the little steel stairs down to the tarmac. They  heard the single shot followed by other shots and the words “Pusila! Pusila!” and (“Ako na” in  tagalog and in English, “Me, me!”) they had raised their cameras over the heads of Ninoy's escorts and those left behind to bar anyone from following them down the stairs but they clicked away.

Right behind him were PSG soldiers and one officer talked to him and pulled out the film in his camera. Goodbye evidence. After that, Pat told me, “You are a reporter. Follow the story!” 

So I rushed to the home of the Aquinos on Times Street and awaited the body of the martyred senator. I was there when they brought him home from the army hospital, as he was, bloodied and dirtied face, and white shirt. And Doña Aurora stoically saying, “Don't touch him. I want them to see what they did to my son!”

And Ninoy remains an inspiring hero to me to this day.

The rest is history. The daily kilometric queues to view his body, the 12-hour-long funeral procession, then cover ups, the Agrava Commission, the flight of vital witnesses (like one PAL mechanic who saw Ninoy being shot and was told by the Avsecom to leave the country. He did. He is in North America, still reluctant to talk out of fear.)           

This week, we asked the grandson of Ninoy and Cory, Jonty Cruz, second son of Ballsy (Aquino)  and Eldon Cruz, what his thoughts were on his lolo's death anniversary, and if the Filipino is still worth dying for. Jonty is a writer . 

“The Philippines was not in its golden age when Ninoy Aquino said, 'The Filipino is worth dying for. In fact, the country was facing the darkest years under the dictator. He said that when life didn't come easy and when hope seemed hardest. So there is no doubt that he would say it again  today – perhaps more so. As we see his statement live on in our brave healthcare workers and frontliners who struggle every day to keep us safe in spite of the dangers they face. It is important to know that while remembering Ninoy Aquino and his words are welcome, to honor and defend those in society who live it out is needed more than ever!”

Publicist and former NAIA general manager Reli German still thinks that the slogan of their ATOM group is very relevant today - “Ituloyang laban ni Ninoy!”

This was the battle cry of ATOM, the August Twenty-One Movement that was formed shortly after Ninoy Aquino's assassination on the tarmac of the Manila International Airport on Aug. 21, 1983.

Founder Reli German feels that “With the situation in our country today, there is an urgent need for that cry to be raised again all over the land. It is obvious that what the people strove to achieve with the non-violent revolution that ousted the dictator Ferdinand Marcos has gotten nowhere.”

He rues that “Quite the contrary, Marcos has been regarded by the present dispensation as a hero, fit for his remains to lie alongside authentic heroes at the Libingan ng mga Bayani! And with backing from the palace, immediate members of his family have managed to squeeze their way into positions in politics, his wife receiving soft and ultra friendly treatment on the cases filed against her. All these in the light of obvious moves to diminish or even take away Ninoy's role in our nation's history.“

Reli feels very strongly that with so many ugly things happening in the country today, “kailangan nating muling isigaw at isa gawa ang "Tama na, sobra na! Ituloy pa rin ang laban ni Ninoy! ( We need to shout once more, engough! Too much! Continue Ninoy's fight!)”

From former vice-president  Jojo Binay: “Former Senator Ninoy Aquino’s legacy of selfless sacrifice resonates in these times of uncertainty and anxiety, where forces determined to erode our democracy persist in pursuing their sinister agenda rather than provide our people with care and compassion. We must, therefore, keep his legacy alive!”