Freedom and Ninoy's moral clarity

Speech delivered at the 29th anniversary of the martyrdom of Sen. Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino, NAIA 1 Tarmac, Aug. 21, 2012

It has been almost three decades since Senator Benigno Aquino was assassinated on this spot — on this sacred ground — where we commemorate his sacrifice. A new generation of Filipinos has matured since 1983 and another generation is growing up. They have no memory of martial law, no experience of the terror and brutality by their own leaders, and no knowledge of what it is to be oppressed as a people.

We are here today to remind them that freedom is a constant struggle that must be waged and won by each generation. We must guard against the continuing attempts to reshape history, against the efforts to make the dictatorship palatable today, against the persistent plots to bury Marcos as a hero at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani. If liberty is to be preserved and advanced, each new generation must have the audacity to confront every attempt to diminish freedom and the courage to uphold the verdict at EDSA since 1986.

Those of us who struggled in the United States and abroad, those of us who carried the grim battle here in our cities and our countrysides know that a revolution is war, that the events preceding the EDSA Revolution were not passive and bloodless. From painful experience, we know that it is not enough to expose the abuses and absurdities of tyranny. The killings during the darkness of the Marcos regime, the violence of state forces against those who disagreed with the rulers, the torture and the desaperacidos were unbearable.

To do nothing was to invite further bloodshed and violence. To remain passive was to be morally ignorant and to be morally insensitive. It was necessary — no, it was imperative — for the anti-Marcos alliances in the US and in our country to be realistic. There was a rising clamor for the need of some counter violent strategy to end the dictatorship. That has been the way of wars and revolutions since time immemorial.

Together with many outstanding leaders in the Filipino-American communities across America, Europe and Saudi Arabia, the Movement for a Free Philippines and the Ninoy Aquino Movement galvanized the generosity, the will and the spirit of Filipinos overseas and Americans who believed in our cause.

As one of the core leaders of the alliance against the Marcos regime, I served with some of the finest Filipinos — men and women and youth — who joined us at the rampants. Some of these outstanding Filipinos are familiar to many, and many more remain anonymous. But among those who passionately labored to change the mindset of American policymakers against marcos were Steve Psinakis/Danila Lamila/Alex Esclamado/Philippine News/Victor Lovely, Doris Baffrey/those who are still living and now recognized with a NAM Medal of Valor.

The Patriot-Allies of Ninoy who passed away are also remembered in a special mass: Raul Manglapus/ Gerry Roxas/ Francisco Soc Rodrigo/ Bonifacio Gillego/ Doy Laurel/ Ramon (Monching) Mitra/ Jose ‘Pepe’ Calderon/ Sultan Rashid Lucman/ Fr. Toti Olaguer/ Alejandro Roces/ Eddie Monteclaro/ Manoling Maravilla/ Fortunato Roxas/ Geny Lopez/ Art Taca/ Steve Agular/ Esther Paredes/ Otto Jimenez/ Ric Manapat/ Renato ‘Nats’ Tañada/ Anne Tañada/ Robbie Tañada/ Jesus ‘Chute’ Cellano/ Rafael ‘Paps’ Baskinas/ Ciriaco ‘Cery’ Sabilano/ Cecilia Muñoz-Palma/ Gerry Esguerra/ Jose ‘Pepe’ Diokno/ Ernie Rondon/ Gusty Ortigas/ Nina Estrada-Puyat.

We are grateful to NAM President Raul Daza joined by the NAM Awards Executive Committee; Charlie Avila/Fernando Peña/ Willo Layug/ Roy Sangil/ Fred Dungca/Steve Legasto/ Cesar Arellano/ Cecile Guidote-Alvarez and the NAM-SERVE Ladies led by Ditas Rodrigo-Sevilla, and Tessie Aquino-Oreta.

I know there are others and I ask their forgiveness for, I must confess, the years have dimmed the lights in some parts of my memory.

I cannot, however, forget their valor and their fortitude. Nor can I forget the evil and the sufferings we endured as we fought the despotism in our land. My younger brother, Marsman, was abducted and tortured to death by martial law agents. Marsman’s mangled body was later found with its tonque cut and head bashed. Jaime Cardinal Sin called it “a most heinous crime under martial law.”

Our cause was just and sacred, our people fought back — we fought back! How did we fight back? I quote Archibald MacLeish, “By arms when it is attacked by arms’ by truth when it is attacked by lies; democratic faith when it is attacked by authoritarian dogma. Always in the final act, by determination and faith...”

All during this period, Ninoy Aquino was undergoing a spiritual and political transformation. Sometime in the autumn of 1981, I began to detect a sea change in Ninoy’s thinking and attitudes about Marcos. Through our discussions, Ninoy’s anti-Marcos rhetoric appeared to have mellowed.

Here was Ninoy Aquino, the foremost Filipino opposition leader, abandoning a counter strategy of violence against a violent dictatorship. Now, suddenly, Ninoy was supremely confident that the way of Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Abdul Ghaffar Khan could prevail in his homeland.

By early January 1983, Ninoy’s transformation was complete. He no longer believed in fighting the despotism of Marcos through the use of force and violence. I understood immediately that Ninoy had found a moral clarity when he told me: “Sonny, we cannot build a nation on the bones of our youth.”

Ninoy’s moral clarity prevails today in our nation’s leadership. The bold standard against corruption and injustice flutters proudly in the hands of his son, President Benigno Aquino III.

Let us go forth from here remembering the glory of Ninoy’s martyrdom rather than the horror of his death. Let us go forth to teach our children and our youth to celebrate the purposefulness of Ninoy’s life rather than its tragedy. Through his example, let us awaken heroism within every citizen to act collectively to overcome poverty and confront the challenge of climate change disasters.

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!