MELLOW YELLOW MONDAY!
“The Best President We NEVER had”
The memory is still fresh, as though it just happened yesterday. But it has been twenty-six years since Ninoy Aquino stepped out of the plane at the Manila International Airport which carried him from the United States. He was in exile for seven years.
Yet, despite being clad in a bulletproof vest, escorted by thousands – personal and armed bodyguards, military and police personnel – Ninoy was fatally shot in the head as he disembarked from the plane.
Made for politics
Ninoy was no stranger to politics. He came from a family of politicians. His grandfather served under President Aguinaldo, while his father held offi ce under Presidents Manuel L. Quezon and Jose P. Laurel.
Still, Ninoy made his own mark. At 22, he became the youngest municipal mayor, at 27 he became the youngest vice-governor. He became governor of Tarlac at age 29 and the youngest elected senator during his time at age 34.
But his successful political career also imperiled his life. He was the only member of the Liberal Party who made it to the senate – which was dominated by former President Ferdinand Marcos and his allies. Ninoy was already a threat to the Marcoses even before Martial Law was proclaimed. He bravely criticized the fi rst couple’s wanton spending and plans for militarization.
Although many saw Ninoy as an unlikely contender for the highest offi ce, surveys showed that he was the number one choice of Filipinos.
However, Marcos secured his position by declaring Martial Law on September 21, 1972. He had Ninoy arrested on charges of murder, illegal possession of firearms and subversion. Ninoy was also accused of being involved in the fateful Plaza Miranda bombing on August 1971.
Ninoy went through the same ordeal like any prisoner – he faced a military tribunal. He was found guilty by the government-controlled military commission and was sentenced to death by firing squad.
He spent almost eight years in solitary confinement. After suffering two heart attacks, he decided to go on exile in the United States to undergo a coronary bypass.
While in the US, Ninoy attended symposiums, lectures and gave speeches in freedom rallies against the Marcos dictatorship. He vowed to return to his country, to his people.
“The Filipino is worth dying for”
In his speech before the Asia Society in New York on August 4, 1980, Ninoy said:
“I have asked myself many times: Is the Filipino worth suffering, or even dying, for? Is he not a coward who would readily yield to any colonizer, be he foreign or homegrown? Is a Filipino more comfortable under an authoritarian leader because he does not want to be burdened with the freedom of choice? Is he unprepared, or worse, ill-suited for presidential or parliamentary democracy?
I have carefully weighed the virtues and the faults of the Filipino and I have come to the conclusion that he is worth dying for because he is the nation’s greatest untapped resource.”
Such is Ninoy’s loyalty and love for his country and his fellowmen that he was willing to give up his life for their freedom. On August 21, 1983, despite knowing that his life may be threatened, Ninoy went back to the Philippines. The shot that killed him reverberated and broke the cowardly silence that once gripped the hearts of his fellowmen. It awakened a sense of nationalism among Filipinos to face the ugly realities of Marcos’ totalitarian regime.
Two million people lined the streets to attend his funeral procession. They were overwhelmed by grief and anger. But along with their devastation rose a common good – they found solidarity.
Ninoy’s widow, the late Cory Aquino was thrust into the public eye. She ran for president against Marcos during the 1986 snap elections and compelled Filipinos to take the streets for a People Power Revolution.
For a generation who became witness to these events, may we never forget how one man’s courage and love for his country led us to the path to freedom.
(Source: www.asianjournal.com )
>Indeed, I do agree that Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Simeon Aquino, Jr. is the BEST president we never had. Have a Blessed Mellow Yellow Monday Friends. 
