Ninoy: The catalyst of Philippine freedom

CEBU, Philippines - Today is the 29th death anniversary of Benigno “Ninoy” S. Aquino Jr., whose assassination last Aug. 21, 1983 became the rallying cry of Filipinos seeking liberation from the Marcos dictatorship.

His death can always be recalled through a video shot in 1983, that shows army personnel boarding a plane then ordering Ninoy, then the opposition leader, to disembark. He smiled, but his eyes looked wary. Aquino walked out onto the tarmac of the Manila International Airport while uniformed men prevent his companions from following.

The silence is interrupted by a gunshot and Aquino’s traveling companions begin to wail as more shots follow. The cameraman filming the event captures the image of two bodies lying on the ground, shot in the head. Soldiers then carry the bodies into a mail van.

Ninoy died at the age of 50 alleged by the hand of Rolando Galman.

Aquino will always be remembered for his bravery and for his heroism. According to him: “There will be no tyrants if there are no slaves.”

A friend recalls

“His assassination wounded the Filipino soul, and focused the world’s attention on our nation’s agonizing drama. Today we no longer feel shock and grief of that hideous moment which we shall never forget all the days of our lives,” said former congressman Antonio “Tony” Cuenco, a friend of Ninoy.

“Yet the memory of his heroism still pervades our land. His sacrificial offering is etched imperishably on the soul of this nation.”

On Aug. 18, 2009, when he was still the congressman in the south district, Cuenco had a privilege speech in congress as his tribute to Ninoy Aquino.

 “His name is forever stamped upon our hearts and our collective memory. For he was a giant among Lilliputians – the warrior-in-residence of our political formations – the battleship among tugboats – both the spearhead and the beacon light – whom our people lionized in life and revered in death,” he said.

He narrated that before he got elected to Congress in 1965, at the age of 29, he had already been honored by the friendship he established with Aquino, who used to come to his home in Cebu City.

After Aquino’s election to the senate in 1967 – against formidable odds, since he was primary target of Ferdinand Marcos – he gathered around him the Liberal Party’s “Young Turks”.

On Sept. 21, 1972, Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law in the Philippines. Among the people swept up and jailed on fabricated charges was Ninoy. Ninoy faced charges for murder, subversion and weapons possession and was tried in a military court.

On Nov. 25, 1977 the military commission found him guilty on all counts and sentenced him to death by firing squad.

In March 1980 Ninoy suffered a heart attack in his prison cell. A second heart attack at the Philippine Heart Center showed that he had a blocked artery.

Imelda Marcos made a surprise visit to Ninoy’s hospital room on May 8, 1980, offering him a medical furlough to the US for surgery.

She had two stipulations, however, Ninoy had to promise to return to the Philippines, and he had to swear not to denounce the Marcos regime while in the US. That same night, Ninoy Aquino and his family got on a plane bound for Dallas, Texas.

Throughout his stay in the US Ninoy was highly critical of the Marcos regime.

Before Aquino left the US for that final journey, Cuenco was able to talk to him by phone for the benefit of Cebu’s radio and television audiences.

In their telephone conversation, Ninoy said that he was determined to return. He saw it as his duty to his people, which he intended to carry out regardless of the consequences.

“While some of us doubted the wisdom of his move, not a single one doubted his courage. He was the bravest man we ever met. And his bravery was founded not on recklessness, not on ulterior motives, not on plain indifference to fate but on the resolve to carry out the duty the patriot owed his country,” Cuenco said.

Lessons from Aquino’s heroism

Cuenco said that the lessons that the Filipinos have learned from Ninoy’s heroism can be measured only in astronomical proportions.

“Such is the magnitude and meaning of his sacrifice that it set off a succession of events leading to the liberation of our people. Surely, he was no ordinary man and his assassination was no ordinary murder. He was a hero undeniable and complete —deserving of the highest honor within the gift of our people,” he said.  

Letter from Ninoy to Cuenco

June 27, 1983

Mr. Antonio Cuenco personal/confidential

Dear Tony:

Enclosed are the statements I promised you. Please have at least the Oral statement printed in full and have it circulated among our friends. If you can have the prepared statement printed so much the better because it gives the clear perspective to our problems. While you will note I toned down the rhetoric - I was addressing an American audience - the substance is the same. I wanted to sound scholarly and at least objective.

Doy will flash the exact date of my arrival in Manila to you but for purposes of security we are reserving three dates (to confuse the enemy, so to speak). Doy will also brief you on our proposed preparations and I’ll appreciate your feedback.

Re the LP, I intend to call the national directorate to a meeting upon my return to authorize the calling of a national convention. I need your maximum support here and in so far as I am concerned, you are still a key LP in the Visayas. Once we have called a convention and have elected a new set of officers we can proceed to consider your previous proposal of merging the LP, PDP and LABAN. I’ll be doing this for you younger leaders because as I have told you, I intend to retire once democracy has been restored. Physically and financially, I am broken and I’ve had it. I merely want to leave you people a proper vehicle with which to lead our people to peace and prosperity.

If you think PDP-LABAN is the proper vehicle, I’ll have no objection but we must go through the motion of reconvening the national directorate and then call a national convention so that no one will complain with whatever decision the majority takes. I think we owe it to our colleagues in the LP to give them the final say.

I’ve taken your advice very seriously and you convinced me that the time has come for me to return. I only hope your instincts are good because spending another seven years and seven months in solitary isn’t really truly attractive a prospect. I’m sorry to hear about Nene P. but I suppose when I return I’ll be able to take away some of the heat from him. Meanwhile, my warmest regards to your family and my prayers for the speedy recovery of your father-in-law.

Sincerely (signed)

The following is a copy of the late Sen. Ninoy Aquino’s arrival statement sent to former congressman Antonio Cuenco. The statement, which was supposed to be read after Aquino’s arrival at the Manila International Airport last Aug. 21, 1983, has never been made public.

Aquino’s arrival statement

I have returned on my free will to join the ranks of those struggling to restore our rights and freedoms through nonviolence.

I seek no confrontation. I only pray and will strive for a genuine national reconciliation founded on justice.

I am prepared for the worst, and have decided against the advice of my mother, my spiritual adviser, any of my tested friends and a few of my most valued political mentors.

A death sentence awaits me. Two more subversion charges, both calling for death penalties, have been filed since I left three years ago and are now pending with the courts.

I could have opted to seek political asylum in America, but I feel it is my duty, as it is the duty of every Filipino, to suffer with his people especially in time of crisis.

I never sought nor have I been given any assurances or promise of leniency by the regime. I return voluntarily armed only with a clear conscience and fortified in the faith that in the end justice will emerge triumphant.

According to Gandhi, the WILLING sacrifice of the innocent is the most powerful answer to insolent tyranny that has yet been conceived by God and man.

Three years ago when I left for an emergency heart bypass operation, I hoped and prayed that the rights and freedoms of our people would soon be restored, that living conditions would improve and that bloodletting would stop.

Rather than move forward, we have moved backward. The killings have increased, the economy has taken a turn for the worse and the human rights situation has deteriorated.

During the martial law period, the Supreme Court heard petitions for Habeas Corpus. It is most ironic, after martial law has allegedly been lifted, that the Supreme Court last April ruled it can no longer entertain petitions for Habeas Corpus for persons detained under a Presidential Commitment Order, which covers all so-called national security cases and which under present circumstances can cover almost anything.

The country is far advanced in her times of trouble. Economic, social and political problems bedevil the Filipino. These problems may be surmounted if we are united. But we can be united only if all the rights and freedoms enjoyed before September 21, 1972 are fully restored.

The Filipino asks for nothing more, but will surely accept nothing less, than all the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the 1935 Constitution — the most sacred legacies from the Founding Fathers.

Yes, the Filipino is patient, but there is a limit to his patience. Must we wait until that patience snaps?

The nationwide rebellion is escalating and threatens to explode into a bloody revolution. There is a growing cadre of young Filipino who have finally come to realize that freedom is never granted, it is taken. Must we relieve the agonies and the blood-letting of the past that brought forth our Republic or can we sit down as brothers and sisters and discuss our differences with reason and goodwill?

I have often wondered how many disputes could have been settled easily had the disputants only dared to define their terms.

So as to leave no room for misunderstanding, I shall define my terms:

1. Six years ago, I was sentenced to die before a firing squad by a Military Tribunal whose jurisdiction I steadfastly refused to recognize. It is now time for the regime to decide. Order my IMMEDIATE EXECUTION or SET ME FREE.

I was sentenced to die for allegedly being the leading communist leader. I am not a communist, never was and never will be.

2. National reconciliation and unity can be achieved but only with justice, including justice for our Muslim and Ifugao brothers. There can be no deal with a Dictator. No compromise with Dictatorship.

3. In a revolution there can really be no victors, only victims. We do not have to destroy in order to build.

4. Subversions stems from economic, social and political causes and will not be solved by purely military solutions; it can be curbed not with ever increasing repression but with a more equitable distribution of wealth, more democracy and more freedom, and

5. For the economy to get going once again, the workingman must be given his just and rightful share of his labor, and to the owners and managers must be restored the hope where there is so much uncertainly if not despair.

On one of the long corridors of Harvard University are carved in granite the words of Archibald Macleish:

“How shall freedom be defended? By arms when it is attacked by arms; by truth when it is attacked by lies, by democratic faith when it is attacked by authoritarian dogma. Always, and in the final act, by determination and faith.”

I return from exile and to an uncertain future with only determination and faith to offer — faith in our people and faith in God. (FREEMAN)