“Just on a personal note, I want to say thank you to Lolo Ninoy, Lola Cory, Lolo Howard, Lola Betty, Mom and Dad, for making me Filipino because no matter how dark things get, for as long as we are Filipinos, we can do something about it,” said Kiko Aquino Dee, on the commemoration of the 42nd year of Ninoy Aquino’s martyrdom yesterday, August 21.
Ninoy Aquino embodied the belief that there is always hope, even in the darkest of times, said Kiko, one of the grandchildren Ninoy didn’t live to see.
The Aquino family leads the gathering at Mass remembering Ninoy Aquino on his 42nd death anniversary. (Contributed photo)
Speaking to the media after the Mass, Kiko said his pride in being Filipino is deeply rooted in the stories about his lolo Ninoy and the 1986 peaceful People Power Revolution.
After the Mass at Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City, Kiko expressed his gratitude for the enduring legacy his grandfather left behind.
“Most importantly, thank you for Lolo Ninoy for showing us that we can have hope in times that are even darker than the ones that we are living now,” said Kiko, 33, the son of Viel, the fourth child of Ninoy and Cory Aquino, and Dodo Dee, son of the late Ambassador Howard Dee.
Aquino’s assassination on August 21, 1983, sparked a movement that would eventually topple the dictatorship of then-President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr., whose authoritarian rule the opposition leader fiercely resisted. It was a democracy movement that was felt throughout the world.
Fr. Manoling Francisco, SJ officiates at Mass. Behind him is Ninoy’s grandson, Miguel Aquino Abellada, with wife Stephanie. (Contributed Photo)
More than a hundred supporters, long-time allies, friends, and relatives joined the Aquino family in marking the occasion at a Mass officiated by Fr. Manoling Francisco, SJ.
Sen. Bam Aquino at the Mass for his uncle, Ninoy Aquino (Photo by Gil Nartea)
From left, Jackie Aquino, Liberal Party interim president Erin Tanada, and Akyaban Rep. Chel Diokno (Photo by Gil Nartea)
Among those present were Sen. Bam Aquino, Liberal Party president Erin Tañada, and Akbayan Party-list Representative Chel Diokno, whose father, human rights lawyer Jose “Ka Pepe” Diokno, was jailed alongside Ninoy Aquino during Martial Law.
Tindig Pilipinas co-convenor Ging Deles (5th from right) and Tindig Pilipinas before the tombs of Ninoy, Cory, and Noynoy Aquino (Contributed photo)
Teresita “Ging” Deles, peace adviser to the late President Noynoy Aquino, led a delegation from Tindig Pilipinas and the Buhay ang People Power (BAPP) Campaign Network.
ATOM remembers. (Contributed photo)
The August Twenty One Movement (ATOM), founded by the late Sen. Butz Aquino, Ninoy’s younger brother, came in full force, carrying yellow flags bearing Ninoy’s iconic portrait. Members of various Liberal Party chapters also attended the Mass.
In his homily, Father Francisco reminded the gathering that Ninoy’s sacrifice was for every Filipino, regardless of who they were.
“God’s love does not discriminate. God’s love is unconditional. And this is what Ninoy’s life and death have signified. He willingly offered his life for us Filipinos maging sino pa man tayo, makatarungan man o corrupt; makabayan man o makasarili; maka-Diyos man o maka-mundo (whoever we are, righteous or corrupt, nationalistic or self-centered, pious or worldly). The Filipino, whoever we are, whatever our moral disposition, for Ninoy, was worth dying for,” he said.
“And so we ask ourselves: Are we Filipinos indeed worth living and dying for?” he added.
Ballsy Aquino Cruz, eldest child of Ninoy and Cory, blesses the tombs of her parents and brother. (Photo by Gil Nartea)
Jiggy Aquino Cruz, Ninoy’s eldest grandchild, doing the first reading in the Eucharistic celebration. (Photo by Gil Nartea)
This year, Kiko said Ninoy Aquino Day forms part of the month-long “Justice for All” campaign led by the BAPP Campaign Network and Tindig Pilipinas.
The gathering singing ‘Bayan Ko’ (Contributed photo)
The campaign draws parallels between past and present struggles for justice—from the fight against the abuses of Martial Law, from the assassination of Aquino, to the killings of thousands under former President Rodrigo Duterte’s so-called war on drugs.
The campaign began last August 17 at the Dambana ng Paghilom, a columbarium for victims of the drug war, coinciding with the 8th death anniversary of Kian de los Santos. The 17-year-old student was brutally killed by Caloocan police on Aug. 16, 2017, becoming a powerful symbol of impunity and injustice during the Duterte administration.
Kiko said the campaign will continue with events in the lead-up to September 21, the 53rd anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law, at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani, and culminate on September 23 with a Mass at the Dambana ng Paghilom. The culmination coincides with the International Criminal Court hearing on the confirmation of charges against Duterte, if it proceeds as scheduled.
A candle for Ninoy, Cory, and Noynoy Aquino (Photo by Gil Nartea)
To young Filipinos feeling disheartened or jaded, Kiko offered a reminder: they can find strength and inspiration in the same history that once turned the Philippines into a beacon of hope for the world.
