Ninoy's undelivered speech, explaining his decision to return despite warnings of imprisonment or assassination
Issue #3
[Editor’s Note]
Hello fellow Filipiniana fans,
Happy long weekend! Though, if you’re like me who took Friday off, you’re probably already in the middle of a 5-day break. Hope you’re making the most out of that time.
For this issue, I wanted to highlight the man who was the reason we had the holiday on Thursday. He was also instrumental in toppling the over-20 year Marcos dictatorship, but some people these days conveniently forget or discredit that.
I mean, the President himself had to resort to “diplomatic circumlocution” on his message on Ninoy Aquino Day. To no one’s surprise.
Enjoy this issue.
Halina!
-Roi
[History] Ninoy’s words foreshadowing his assassination just moments before disembarking the plane
On August 21, 1983, Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. was assassinated on the tarmac of then-Manila International Airport (now named Ninoy Aquino International Airport in his honor).
He had just landed in the country after 3 years of self-imposed exile in the US, following his imprisonment shortly after Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s declaration of martial law in 1972 and his heart attack while in prison in 1980.
His last few moments in the plane were documented as he was being interviewed by the journalist Jim Laurie. He was recorded saying, “my feeling is we all have to die sometime. 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 a corner. I have to suffer with my people, to lead them because of the responsibility given to me by our people.” He was shortly shot upon disembarking the plane.
The day before, he also reportedly advised journalists coming with him on the flight: “You have to be ready with your hand camera because this action can become very fast. In a matter of three or four minutes, it could be all over, and I may not be able to talk to you again after this.”
His assassination essentially catapulted the small opposition movement against Marcos into a national affair. It also contributed to her widow, Corazon Aquino’s sudden rise to popularity, eventually leading to her presidency which ended Marcos Sr.’s regime.
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[History] Ninoy’s Undelivered Speech
Before he was assassinated upon his return to the Philippines, Ninoy Aquino prepared a speech. It explained his decision to return despite warnings that he would be assassinated or imprisoned.
His sister Lupita Aquino-Kashiwahara distributed the following after he was shot shortly upon his arrival:
I have returned on my free will to join the ranks of those struggling to restore our rights and freedoms through nonviolence.
I seek no confrontation. I only pray and will strive for a genuine national reconciliation founded on justice.
I am prepared for the worst, and have decided against the advice of my mother, my spiritual adviser, many of my tested friends and a few of my most valued political mentors.
A death sentence awaits me. Two more subversion charges, both calling for death penalties, have been filed since I left three years ago and are now pending with the courts.
I could have opted to seek political asylum in America, but I feel it is my duty, as it is the duty of every Filipino, to suffer with his people, especially in times of crisis.
I never sought nor have I been given assurances or promises of leniency by the regime. I return voluntarily, armed only with a clear conscience and fortified in the faith that in the end, justice will emerge triumphant.
According to Gandhi, the willing sacrifice of the innocent is the most powerful answer to insolent tyranny that has yet been conceived by God and man.
Three years ago when I left for an emergency heart bypass operation, I hoped and prayed that the rights and freedoms of our people would soon be restored, that living conditions would improve and that bloodletting would stop.
Rather than move forward, we have moved backward. The killings have increased, the economy has taken a turn for the worse and the human rights situation has deteriorated.
During the martial law period, the Supreme Court heard petitions for habeas corpus. It is most ironic, after martial law has allegedly been lifted, that the Supreme Court last April ruled it can no longer entertain petitions for habeas corpus for persons detained under a Presidential Commitment Order, which covers all so-called national security cases and which under present circumstances can cover almost anything.
The country is far advanced in her times of trouble. Economic, social and political problems bedevil the Filipino. These problems may be surmounted if we are united. But we can be united only if all the rights and freedoms enjoyed before September 21, 1972 are fully restored.
The Filipino asks for nothing more, but will surely accept nothing less, than all the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the 1935 Constitution – the most sacred legacies from the Founding Fathers.
Yes, the Filipino is patient, but there is a limit to his patience. Must we wait until that patience snaps?
The nationwide rebellion is escalating and threatens to explode into a bloody revolution.
There is a growing cadre of young Filipinos who have finally come to realize that freedom is never granted, it is taken. Must we relive the agonies and the bloodletting of the past that brought forth our Republic or can we sit down as brothers and sisters and discuss our differences with reason and goodwill?
I have often wondered how many disputes could have been settled easily had the disputants only dared to define their terms.
So as to leave no room for misunderstanding, I shall define my terms:
1. Six years ago, I was sentenced to die before a firing squad by a Military Tribunal whose jurisdiction I steadfastly refused to recognize. It is now time for the regime to decide. Order my immediate execution or set me free.
I was sentenced to die for allegedly being the leading communist leader. I am not a communist, never was and never will be.
2. National reconciliation and unity can be achieved but only with justice, including justice for our Muslim and Ifugao brothers. There can be no deal with a Dictator. No compromise with Dictatorship.
3. In a revolution there can really be no victors, only victims. We do not have to destroy in order to build.
4. Subversion stems from economic, social and political causes and will not be solved by purely military solutions; it can be curbed not with ever-increasing repression but with a more equitable distribution of wealth, more democracy and more freedom; and
5. For the economy to get going once again, the workingman must be given his just and rightful share of his labor, and to the owners and managers must be restored the hope where there is so much uncertainty if not despair.
On one of the long corridors of Harvard University are carved in granite the words of Archibald Macleish:
How shall freedom be defended? By arms when it is attacked by arms; by truth when it is attacked by lies; by democratic faith when it is attacked by authoritarian dogma. Always, and in the final act, by determination and faith.
I return from exile and to an uncertain future with only determination and faith to offer – faith in our people and faith in God.
See our related posts on our socials (Instagram, TikTok).
Highlighted Community Interactions
Every now and then I post memes or generally try to inject humor where it’s appropriate. But I didn’t realize posts commemorating Ninoy would make some people laugh 🤔
