Tomorrow, August 21, 2014 is declared as #Ninoy #Aquino Day (Special non-working day) by virtue of Proclamation No. 655, s. 2013 by the President of the Philippines. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., sacrificed his life just to give freedom to the people. Aquino was the primary opposition to the government of President Ferdinand Marcos who usurped the Filipino people by declaring martial law in September 21, 1972. In March 1980, Aquino suffered a heart attack in his solitary cell. He was transported to the Philippine Heart Center, where he suffered a second heart attack. Doctors said he needed coronary artery bypass surgery; however, no surgeon wanted to perform the operation out of fear of controversy, and Aquino refused to undergo the procedure in the Philippines out of fear of sabotage by Marcos, indicating he would either go to the United States to undergo the procedure or die in his prison cell. Aquino was allowed to depart from the Philippines and to seek medication in the United States. First Lady Imelda Marcos arranged for Aquino and his family to leave for the U.S. Aquino spent the next three years in exile in the U.S., wherein he worked on manuscripts for two books and delivered several lectures and speeches critical of the Marcos government. By 1983, news of the political situation in the Philippines led Aquino to return to his homeland and fully aware of the danger that awaited him. He was warned that he would either go back to his cell or get killed, but he answered, “if it’s my fate to die by an assassin’s bullet, so be it. But I cannot be petrified by inaction, or fear of assassination, and therefore stay in the side…” After flying in a circuitous route from the United States to several Asian cities such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Hong Kong, he boarded on China Airlines plane in Taipei and landed in Manila on August 21, 1983. Upon his arrival at the Manila International Airport, he was assassinated. His death produced rallies after rallies in Metro Manila that eventually became the People’s Power Revolution or EDSA Revolution. One of the most popular words of Aquino, “Filipino is worth dying for”. Meanwhile, the Malacanang Palace reminded the public that August 22, is not a holiday, meaning no long weekend because August 25, Monday is National Heroes day. *Images captured online.
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 04:20:42 +0000
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