Marcos: Let’s transcend political barriers

‘Ninoy fought battles he deemed right’

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos joined Filipinos in commemorating the 40th death anniversary of former senator Benigno Aquino Jr. yesterday, asking them to tear down political barriers that have rent the country for decades.

“I stand united with all Filipinos worldwide in commemorating the Ninoy Aquino Day. By standing for his beliefs and fighting for battles he deemed right, he became an example of relentlessness and resolve for many Filipinos,” Marcos, son of the former president who was the senator’s political nemesis, said.

“Let us transcend political barriers that hamper us from securing the comprehensive welfare and advancement of our beloved people,” he said, even as progressive groups hit the alleged disinformation spread by the Marcoses and their cronies to deodorize the family’s name.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) president Renato Reyes said Malacañang’s statement lacked historical
context.

“(Ninoy’s) death became a symbol of the brutality of the Marcos fascist dictatorship. This fundamental point is lost in the statement from Malacañang today,” Reyes noted.

The pursuit of power, unchecked corruption and submission to foreign dictates are the “genuine impediments to development,” far more than mere political disagreements, he explained.

Aquino, the deceased Marcos patriarch’s harshest critic, was assassinated on the tarmac of the then Manila International Airport on Aug. 21, 1983 as he returned from the US, where he was in exile for three years.

His death sparked the bloodless people power revolution that led to the exile of the Marcos family in February 1986.

Aquino’s widow Corazon then assumed power until 1992. Their only son, Benigno III, was elected president in 2010. Corazon passed away in 2009 and Benigno III in 2021.

In August 2015, the Chief Executive brushed off questions on rights abuses and corruption during his father’s time and instead redirected the discussion to supposed economic gains. “What am I to say sorry about?” he told ANC’s Headstart.

The “Golden Age” argument that the Philippine economy was successful at the time of Marcos Sr. has long been debunked.

In October 2021, Marcos told CNN Philippines’ The Source that he was not sorry for the atrocities committed by his father. “I can only apologize for myself... if I have done something wrong,” he noted.

Last year, most government agencies did not join the commemoration, while a number of police stations accused Aquino of being a communist rebel.

Justice

Labor group Federation of Free Workers (FFW) joined in the commemoration of Aquino’s 40th death anniversary.

“It is not lost on us that today, the Philippines is under the leadership of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. We hope that the lessons of the past guide our nation towards the fight for social justice and upholding of democratic principles in our society,” FFW president Sonny Matula said in a statement.

“Remember, reflect and act in the spirit of Ninoy’s words: The Filipino is worth dying for,” he added.

Meanwhile, the August Twenty-One Movement (ATOM) and Tindig Pilipinas lamented the country’s unending fight against the same problems from decades ago and the fight against historical revisionism.

“Now that we are still in the same situation, let us refresh and revive what is in Ninoy’s heart and spirit: love for the people, appreciation of human rights and the defense of democracy,” ATOM said in a statement.

“We call upon your generation (the youth) to galvanize your strength, find others who are committed to the truth and stand firm like Ninoy,” Tindig Pilipinas said.

Floral offerings

Aquino family members and friends offered flowers and prayers at Ninoy’s marker located at the departure curbside of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 yesterday morning.

Among the guests were Rebecca Quijano – referred to as the “crying lady” and lone civilian eyewitness in Ninoy’s assassination, historian Xiao Chua, Francis Aquino, Manila International Airport Authority Public Affairs Office head Connie Bungag and Terminal 1 manager Rodel Oba.

The group also visited Ninoy’s bronze bust at the departure area of NAIA Terminal 3.

Simultaneous flower offerings and prayers were also done at the Aquino monument in the Tagaytay City rotonda, the monument at the corner of Burgos street and Roxas Boulevard near Rizal Park in Manila and another in Makati City.

Liberal Party

Aquino’s achievements as a public servant and his death restored democracy in the Philippines, according to Liberal Party (LP) president Edcel Lagman.

“His death accelerated the liberation of the Philippines from authoritarian ignominy. His heroism galvanized the beginning of the end of the strongman rule of Ferdinand Marcos,” Lagman, concurrently Albay representative, said in a statement.

“(Aquino crusaded) for meaningful reforms, resisting oppression and repression, campaigning for a change in abusive and derelict national leadership and even sacrificed his life for the motherland,” he added.

Meanwhile, around 30 LP members and supporters gathered at the public square in front of Quiapo Church to offer flower wreaths at the historical marker commemorating the Plaza Miranda bombing on August 21, 1971.

The 1971 bombing resulted in nine deaths and 95 wounded after two hand grenades were thrown at an LP campaign rally.

“Our biggest enemies are misinformation and disinformation. Freedom does not only mean independence, we should also fight to be free from hunger and poverty,” former Ifugao representative Teodoro Baguilat said in his speech on Monday.

‘Not enough’

It is not enough to remember the heroism of Ninoy, but Filipinos also “need to stand up and wake up from our pretentious sleep,” according to Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas.

“There is punishment from hell for a country that stands on layers of corpses, and those who cheer these deaths,” Villegas said in Filipino in his Aug. 21 homily at the Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City.

“So much blood has been spilled yet it seemed that we have become numbed, lack interest and do not care… It is difficult to wake people who are only pretending to be asleep,” he added — Rudy Santos, Delon Porcalla, Evelyn Macairan, Ghio Ong, Neil Jayson Servallos, Mark Ernest Villeza