Rites set for Ninoy’s 40th death anniversary

MANILA, Philippines — The nation is set to remember the sacrifice of former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., who opposed the authoritarian rule of then president Marcos Sr., on his 40th death anniversary on Aug. 21.

According to the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation, a mass will be held for the former senator’s death anniversary at the Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City.

His remains are interred at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City, where he is with his wife, former president Cory Aquino, and his son, former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

On Aug. 10, the foundation and the opposition coalition 1SAMBAYAN discussed Aquino’s sacrifice for the nation “to remember and move forward.”

The Aquino family, led by daughters Ballsy and Viel, usually visit the tombs of Ninoy, Cory and Ninoy at the Manila Memorial Park.

The commemoration of Aquino’s death anniversary is the second year it will be done at a time when his family’s political nemesis is back in power.

In 2021, hardly any government agency commemorated Ninoy Aquino Day, departing from annual celebrations held in observance of the official holiday.

However, in at least three social media accounts of police stations, including the Batangas and Quezon maritime police stations and the Sta. Margarita police station in Samar, police shared posts that used the anniversary of the Plaza Miranda bombings to falsely tag Aquino as a “communist terrorist.”

The former senator was assassinated on Aug. 21, 1983, upon arrival in Manila from the US, where he was in exile for three years.

At that time, he was the face of the political opposition, as he kept challenging the dictatorship of then president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., the father and namesake of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who is in the second year of his term.

Aquino’s assassination sparked protests that led to the ouster of the Marcos family in February 1986 through the People Power Revolution.

Aquino’s widow, Cory, assumed power from that time until 1992, and their only son, Benigno III, was elected to the presidency in 2010. The two passed away in 2009 and 2021, respectively.