THE grandsons of the late Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. yesterday urged Filipinos to continue commemorating the sacrifice and heroism of the late leader, telling the public to rediscover their love for their fellow countrymen.
The Aquino family, their friends, allies and supporters led the commemoration of the 41st anniversary of the death and assassination of the senator through a wreath-laying ceremony in Concepcion, Tarlac.
A holy mass was also celebrated at the Manila Memorial Park in Sucat, Paranaque and the Sanctuario de Immaculada Concepcion Church in Tarlac.
The National Historical Commission of the Philippines, together with the Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission (HRVVMC), Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation Inc., August Twenty-One Movement (ATOM), Project Gunita, Spirit of EDSA Foundation, Chino Roces Foundation, NAMSERV, and Earth Saver also led a wreath-laying ceremony at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1.
Video clips about the assassination of the late leader and interviews of the late President Corazon Aquino and excerpts of the statements made by the late President Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III and the late Aurora Aquino were also shared on social media.
Jonty Aquino-Cruz and Kiko Aquino-Dee, grandsons of the late leader, could not hide the anger they still personally feel about the treatment and death of their Lolo Ninoy.
Cruz, in a post shared by the Ninoy and Cory Aquino foundation, said he would always feel grateful about being related to their grandparents and the whole family who went through “unimaginable circumstances and never relinquished their dignity to the enemy.
“I think there’s a kind of righteous anger, not to mention the grace to live with it and not succumb to it, that I feel is just as vital and perhaps more honest than any other emotion. And as threats to downplay the importance of August 21 keep coming, perhaps as important as it is to commemorate the sacrifice and heroism of Ninoy Aquino, it would also do us good to remember the anger that came from his murder,” he added.
Dee, after the mass held in Tarlac, said his grandfather loved the country and the Filipinos so much and had made a lot of sacrifices for its sake even at the expense of his family — such as his and many of his cousins’ failure to get the chance to personally meet and spend time with their lolo.
He said like others they look up to him and are even thankful for his sacrifices and heroism.
He, however, could not help but also feel some anger with the way the late senator was treated, along with the downplaying of the significance of his death and sacrifices.
“Para sa akin na lang po, ngayong binabalikan ko ang mga salita nina (former President) Lola Cory (Aquino), Lola Aurora, at (former president) Tito Noy (Aquino)… galit po ako. Galit ako na hindi lang nila pinatay ang lolo ko, siniraan nila ang kanyang pangalan, binastos nila ang kanyang rebulto, at ginuluhan pa nila ‘yung mismong araw na ito [For me, now that I go back to statements of Lola Cory, Lola Aurora, and Tito Noy … I am angry. I am angry that they did not just kill my grandfather, they besmirched his name, they insulted his statue, and they muddled this day),” he said.
Dee said that had his grandfather been alive, he would probably talk of forgiveness instead of holding to anger and emphasized that he had no ill feelings against the late President Ferdinand Marcos, even as he offered the last drop of his blood for the freedom of the Filipinos and the end of the dictatorship.
He said he and other Filipinos who feel the same anger should instead emulate his grandfather and use this anger to better love the Filipinos.
“Let us rediscover this love for our fellow Filipinos which is not different from loving ourselves. More than just offering our lives, this is an example that Lolo Ninoy probably wants us to follow,” he said.
The late senator was a known opposition leader and was among the first to be arrested when the Philippines was placed under martial law in 1972.
He was incarcerated for seven years and was only allowed to go free when he had to go to the United States to seek medical treatment.
On his return to the Philippines on August 21, 1983, he was shot after embarking from an airplane at the Manila International Airport.
His death served as a turning point that triggered the fight for freedom which climaxed into the People Power Revolution of 1986.
