ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro (left), former president Rodrigo Duterte (PPAB)

The Duterte family should be ashamed for making comparisons between former president Rodrigo Duterte and democracy icon, the late Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr.

Thus, said senatorial candidate ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro, who slammed Vice President Sara Duterte in particular for drawing parallels from the two.

Only, there are no real parallels, according to Castro.

"The comparison is not only historically inaccurate but a grave insult to the memory of Ninoy Aquino and all victims of martial law," Castro said in a statement Tuesday, March 25.

"Ninoy fought against the Marcos dictatorship that killed thousands of Filipinos, while Duterte himself has the blood of thousands on his hands through his brutal drug war," said the Makabayan solon.

"Mahiya naman sila! Si Ninoy ay nakipaglaban laban sa diktadura ni Marcos Sr. noon na pumatay ng napakaraming Filipino at si Digong naman ay nagpapatay din ng napakarami nating mamamayan," Castro added. 

(They should be ashamed! Ninoy fought against Marcos Sr.'s dictatorship that killed many Filipinos while Digong himself ordered the killing of a lot of our countrymen.)

"Si Duterte ay isang berdugo at diktador tulad ni Hitler at ng matandang Marcos. Di hamak na napakalayo niya kay Senator Aquino (Duterte is an executioner and dictator like Hitler and Marcos Sr. He is far from the likes of Senator Aquino)," she further said.

Castro also pointed out that Duterte himself never claimed any resemblance to Ninoy but instead once proudly compared himself to Adolf Hitler. "In 2016, the former president boasted about his willingness to slaughter three million drug addicts, explicitly drawing parallels between himself and Hitler who murdered millions of Jews."

Former ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio agreed with Castro that the comparison was simply insulting to a many Filipinos.

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https://mb.com.ph/2025/3/24/gabriela-slams-digong-ninoy-comparison

"Nakakainsulto sa mga pamilya ng mga biktima ng martial law at ng drug war ang paghahambing na ito. Ito ay desperadong pagtatangka ng mga Duterte na baguhin ang naratibo ng kasaysayan at linlangin ang mga Pilipino," he said.

(This comparison is an insult to the families of the victims of martial law and the drug war. This is a desperate attempt from the Dutertes to change the historical narrative and fool Filipinos.)

"Ninoy Aquino was imprisoned for his principled opposition to dictatorship and ultimately gave his life for democracy. Duterte, on the other hand, is facing charges before the International Criminal Court precisely because of his authoritarian tendencies and the thousands of extrajudicial killings under his administration," added Tinio, a nominee of the party-list in the upcoming mid-term polls.