Ninoy’s Death

This was publised in Arab News 23 August Issue to commemorate the death anniversary of Ninoy Aquino. In 2003, I am still an Aquino family admirer but it all changed when Cory took part in rallies to oust PGMA. After that incident, I begun to hate all the Aquinos including Ninoy, Cory, Kris, Noy Noy and anybody related to the Cojuanco's and Aquinos.

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Ninoy’s Death

Though 20 years have gone by since the assassination of Ninoy Aquino, the symbol of popular opposition to the martial-law rule of Ferdinand Marcos, on Aug. 21, 1983, the culprits behind that dastardly crime have not been identified.
The assassination provided the spark for the EDSA revolution that drove the Marcos dictatorship out of power. Though Ninoy’s widow Corazon C. Aquino became president of our shattered country, her government failed to identify the mastermind behind the assassination. The 15 soldiers who were sentenced to double life imprisonment for their involvement in the actual murder were mere instruments. The brain or brains that used those instruments are still free.

Another worrying aspect is that though Ninoy’s assassination was instrumental in the restoration of Philippine democracy, its survival remains under constant threat. The Ayala Center mutiny proves that. We now know that in our armed forces there are power-hungry young officers who would like to grab power through military coups. Those selected, trained and paid to defend our people and their rights seem to pose the biggest threat to our rights and freedom.

It is a national failure, not just one of our armed forces. At such times as this we must reflect on Ninoy’s famous quotation: “Filipinos are worth dying for.” Are we really worth dying for? I think not. We Filipinos have not proved ourselves to be capable of learning lessons from history.