PNoy Playlist Concert Poster
A Mass remembering the late President Cory Aquino on her 14th death anniversary was held August 1, 10 a.m., at the Manila Memorial Park in Sucat, Parañaque City.
On August 11, people can share some of the favorite songs of the late President Benigno S. Aquino III in a concert, PNoy’s Playlist: The Concert, at the Hyundai Hall in Areté, Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City. PNoy was a staunch music lover and serious audiophile whose taste in music ran a wide range, from OPM, contemporary, pop, jazz, to indie. A collector of thousands of CDs, some of which he would gift friends and staff, he would listen to music at the end of the day, to unwind.
The artists who will perform include APO Hiking Society, Noel Cabangon, Ogie Alcasid, Leah Navarro, Mitch Valdez, Pinky Marquez, Lara Maigue, Mike Shimamoto, and leading theater artists.
The two events are part of the series of activities this August commemorating the lives and celebrating the legacies of Sen. Ninoy Aquino, President Cory and President Noynoy Aquino. The series is spearheaded by the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation (NCAF).
“We invite everyone to join us in remembering Lolo Ninoy, Lola Cory, and Tito Noy who in their lifetime always believed that the Filipino is worth dying for, living for, and fighting for. Let us get together on August 1, 11, and 21 to keep their memories alive in our hearts and in the everyday things that we do,” said Kiko Aquino Dee, NCAF deputy executive director, and son of Ninoy and Cory’s third daughter, Viel.
Vintage photograph of Sen. Ninoy Aquino, wife Cory, with children Noynoy, Pinky and Viel
August has become a historic month for both the country and the Aquino family. Ninoy Aquino was assassinated on Aug. 21, 1983; Cory Aquino died on Aug. 1, 2009.
Following the assassination of her husband, Ninoy, in 1983, the people made Mrs. Aquino their de facto opposition leader. The Filipino people were a witness to her faith and courage, and they soldiered on towards the restoration of Philippine democracy, culminating in the peaceful People Power EDSA Revolution in 1986 that toppled the Marcos dictatorship.
“Tita Cory,” as the people called her as a sign of their affinity and love, became the country’s first female President. She had the arduous task of rebuilding a country mired in debt and traumatized by human rights abuses. After her term ended in 1992, she oversaw the first peaceful transfer of power after more than 20 years.
Following Mrs. Aquino’s death in 2009, Filipinos, in protest against the massive corruption in government, called on then Sen. Noynoy Aquino to run for President.
PNoy, as Noynoy chose to be called during his presidency, will always be known for the transformative governance that brought unparalleled economic growth in the country’s history and for fiercely protecting the Philippines’ sovereignty.
Despite all these, he was criticized endlessly. It was music that gave him comfort. He had dozens of meticulously curated playlists that demonstrated his different facets: PNoy the romantic; PNoy the jazz enthusiast; the PNoy who appreciated rap; and the PNoy who communed with God through songs.
PNoy’s Playlist on August 11 is a free concert. Donations to the Benigno Simeon Aquino III Scholarship Endowment inspired by PNoy’s presidential call sign, “7-5” are welcome.
After a function at Malacañang in 2016, PNoy looking at playlist to sing with remaining guests (Photo by Thelma S. San Juan)
August 21 marks the 40th year of the assassination of Sen. Ninoy Aquino, a staunch critic of Marcos, and was among the first opposition leaders to be jailed after Martial Law was declared in 1972.
A Mass will be held at 10 a.m. at the Sto. Domingo Church along Quezon Avenue in Quezon City.
Forty years ago, it was also at Sto. Domingo Church where Ninoy’s wake was held, with an unprecedented number of Filipinos lined up to pay their last respects. Defiant of the authoritarian rule, a million or so ordinary Filipinos lined the funeral route in a procession that lasted the whole day.
Ninoy’s assassination became the turning point in the country’s struggle for the restoration of constitutional democracy.
“This August, I hope people get to see them the way I do: As a Lola who always steered us towards doing the right thing, a Tito whose small comforts let him fight the largest battles, and a man who inspired his family and his country to give their all for democracy, truth, and the dignity of every Filipino,” Dee said.
