Filipinos should keep alive Ninoy's faith in the country— PH senators

MANILA – Forty-three years after the assassination of former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., Senators Bam Aquino and Francis Pangilinan on Friday challenged Filipinos to keep alive his faith in the country by refusing to surrender to hopelessness and standing against abuses.

For Senator Aquino, the lesson has become clearer with age as he recalled visiting his uncle during his years in detention and hearing a joke he was too young to fully understand.

“Kuwento ng mga magulang ko, tuwing dinadalaw raw namin si Tito Ninoy, lagi niyang biro: Paul at Melanie, iwan niyo na si Bam dito para may kasama naman ako (My parents told me that whenever we visited Tito Ninoy, he would always joke: Paul and Melanie, just leave Bam here so I'll have some company),” Aquino said in a statement.

Senator Aquino said he later came to understand the loneliness behind the joke, noting that Ninoy spent seven years and seven months in detention, separated from his family, but held on to his faith in God and trust in Filipinos.

That faith, he said, also explains Ninoy's decision to return to the Philippines in 1983.

Aquino said his uncle's decision gave deeper meaning to the declaration, “The Filipino is worth dying for,” which he described as an expression of Ninoy's belief in the worth of every Filipino amid uncertain times.

“Apatnapu’t tatlong taon na ang lumipas, pero ito marahil ang pinakamahalagang pamana ni Tito Ninoy sa akin: Huwag mawalan ng pag-asa sa Pilipino (Forty-three years have passed, but perhaps this is Uncle Ninoy's most important legacy to me: Never lose hope in the Filipino),” he said.

Pangilinan said remembering Ninoy should go beyond ceremonies and monuments.

“Para kay Ninoy, mas mabigat ang mawalan ng bayan kaysa mawalan ng buhay (For Ninoy, losing one's country was a heavier price than losing one's life),” Pangilinan said.

Pangilinan said honoring that sacrifice now requires Filipinos to defend democratic institutions, demand accountability from abusive officials and place public welfare above personal and political interests.

“Hindi pa tapos ang laban, pero patuloy tayong lalaban. Iyan ang pinakamagandang parangal na maisusukli natin sa kanya (The fight is not yet over, but we will continue fighting. That is the best tribute we can give him),” he said.

Republic Act 9256, signed in 2004, declares Aug. 21 of every year as Ninoy Aquino Day to commemorate the former his death. (PNA)