Anonymous accounts mark Ninoy Aquino Day with CPP-NPA and Plaza Miranda bombing allegations

MANILA, Philippines — Anonymous social media pages on Ninoy Aquino Day posted similar content alleging the late Benigno Aquino Jr. supported the Communist Party of the Philippines and plotted the Plaza Miranda bombing with them.

Several Facebook posts, which were posted on Monday, had used the #NinoyIsNotAHero hashtag with the hashtags #NOTODECEPTION and  #NOTOCPPNPANDF.

Based on social media monitoring tool CrowdTangle, Facebook page "Juander Wall" was the first to publicly post on Monday that Aquino "allowed the Plaza Miranda bombing to happen" and allegedly duped the public into thinking Ferdinand Marcos Sr. caused the incident.

“Juander Wall”’s post, which was posted at 8:10 a.m., garnered 78 shares and only two likes. 

This was followed by posts from Facebook pages "Pansit Cabagan" and "Sakalam" who posted similar claims that Aquino plotted with the CPP-NPA (New People’s Army) to bomb Plaza Miranda. 

In particular, “Pansit Cabagan” said that Aquino blamed the Plaza Miranda bombing incident on others to divert the blame from the CPP-NPA. “Sakalam” said that the “Aquinos” and leftist groups made an agreement to install Aquino in power — “Terrorismo kapalit ang posisyong pagkapangulo (Terrorism is the tradeoff for the position of president).”

"Sakalam"s post received two likes and 48 shares, while “Pansit Cabagan”s post received seven likes and 19 shares. Both were posted within three minutes of each other — at 8:19 a.m. and 8:21 a.m., respectively. 

All three posts bore the logo of a certain “ANG TINIG NG ORDINARYONG MAMAMAYAN (ATOM).”

“Juander Wall” and “Sakalam” have around 400 followers each, while “Pansit Cabagan” has around 1,800 followers.

Police pages juxtapose Aquino day with Plaza Miranda bombing 

Meanwhile, some social media pages of law enforcement agencies posted photos commemorating Aquino’s death with references to the Plaza Miranda bombing anniversary, with some accounts also stating this was plotted by the CPP-NPA.

Both the Plaza Miranda bombing and the assassination of Aquino took place on August 21 — the latter happening in 1971, the former in 1983.

A Facebook post by Butuan City Police Station 4 juxtaposed a photo commemorating Aquino’s death with a photo of late CPP founder Joma Sison and a text claiming that the CPP and the New People’s Army (NPA) planned the bombing of Plaza Miranda.

Facebook posts by the Davao City Maritime Police Station, meanwhile, paired the caption: “Ninoy Aquino Day and Plaza Miranda Bombing Anniversary” with several posts warning of the abuses and human rights violations allegedly committed by the CPP-NPA. 

Meanwhile, the Occidental Mindoro Police Provincial Office issued a warning to those planning to protest on August 21 by sharing a quote card of former National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict spokesperson Lorraine Badoy saying they could be used as the next "sacrificial lamb" by the NPA. 

"Hagisan ng granada at gawan ng kwento. Like Plaza Miranda, Rano Massacre, Inopacan Massacre and so on and so forth. Ad nauseam. Sabay bintang sa gobyerno,” the quote card read.

The Occidental Mindoro Police Provincial Office also later posted: “The Philippine National Police is geared to protect the safety and security of the community as we observe today the anniversary of the Plaza Miranda Bombing and Ninoy Aquino Day.”

Meanwhile, the Southern Luzon Command, AFP also posted a photo claiming that the CPP-NPA caused the Plaza Miranda bombing. The photo included a caption falsely claiming that Aquino had erroneously judged the Jabidah Massacre as a hoax, which is supposedly being used now to indoctrinate new members into the CPP-NPA. 

What the facts say 

Allegations that Aquino planned the Plaza Miranda bombing and had ties with the CPP-NPA have no basis. 

Aquino was not present at the event, which took place August 21, 1971 during a political rally of the Liberal Party. To this day, there is no evidence pointing to the individual(s) responsible for the incident.

News5 and UP Baguio under fact-checking coalition Tsek.ph have fact-checked similar false claims.

The CPP’s chairperson, Joma Sison, also said in an interview in March 2016 that Aquino “could not have been a communist or founder of the [CPP]” because he was “well-known as a CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) asset from the time he was a war correspondent in Korea.”

During the Plaza Miranda bombing, grenades were thrown onto the stage where the Liberal Party’s campaign was being held. The incident killed nine and wounded a hundred others. 

— with reports by Rosette Adel, Nadie Esteban and John Marwin Elao