Category: ninoy

beyond conspiracy: ninoy’s politics

it was impossible not to weep as i watched the retelling of ninoy’s life and death by the docu Beyond Conspiracy: 25 Years after the Aquino Assassination courtesy of the Foundation for WorldWide People Power. impossible because i so remember those days.

i was 23 when marcos declared martial law and i remember ninoy aquino before that, the chubby bespectacled senator who was the fastest talker and the most fearless and most ardent critic of marcos. and i remember those news photos of a thin Ninoy through the military trial and the hunger strike,and that one time he was allowed to speak out on television — when the streets of manila were empty because everyone was indoors watching and listening to the last man standing, painfully lean, and, to me, painfully sexy, in his hunger for justice and freedom.

i remember feeling abandoned when his heart failed and he flew off to america for treatment, and three years later exulting when he announced that he was coming home, tie a yellow ribbon ’round that ol’ tree, it’s been three long years, do you still want me… and i remember that fateful sunday afternoon, how my heart sank when i heard that he had been killed, and how i wept for cory and kids and country.

but the second half of the docu left me cold. i suppose okey lang for young viewers hearing the story of the assassination and the trials and witnesses for the first time; otherwise it told me nothing new, except maybe for some trivia. to my mind the big question, i mean, the big story, is no longer who ordered ninoy killed, rather, why aren’t these masterminds in jail? because blood, or maybe even just class, is thicker?

hindi rin lang ito kayang itanong o sagutin, sana iba na lang ang tinutukan, such as ninoy’s politics, on which subject there is ample material. then maybe the kids’ iamninoy campaign would have some ground to stand on other than faithhopeandcharity.

in his goodbye statement to the house of representatives of the u.s. congress in 1983 ninoy spoke of a “program of action” that he drafted during his three years in exile which he intendedto take up with the leaders of the non-violent opposition at home, hopefully to end the bloodletting and set the economy right. nothing has been heard about this program of action since. but the book Testament from a Prison Cell published by cory in 1984 has a wealth of information about the man and his politics.

TESTAMENT Foreword:

This book is Ninoy’s ‘closing statement’ before Military Commission No. 2.

Ninoy started working on his ‘closing statement’ in 1975 and he finished it in 1977. Although many believed that the charges against him were fabricated, still Ninoy believed he should present his side to the Filipino people.

Ninoy was determined that this book should reach his people and so my children and I smuggled out the manuscript, page by page. He instructed me to furnish the international press with copies of his statement. Perhaps he had a premonition. As it turned out, the Military Commission prevented Ninoy from reading his ‘closing statement’ by keeping him locked up in his cell during the last vital eight hours of the proceedings.

I cannot help but point out the striking parallel between Ninoy’s closing statement before the tribunal that condemned him to death on November 25, 1977, and his ‘arrival statement’ for August 21, 1983. In both instances Ninoy was stopped from reading them.

Allow me then to present to you, the Filipino people, Ninoy’s testament.

CORY AQUINO

coming next are selected excerpts from Testament:

Three Generations… “I am Benigno S. Aquino, Jr., 45, Filipino, married, father of five…”

The Filipino As Dissident… “In 1954, when I first established contact with Huk Supremo Luis M. Taruc…”

A Christian Democratic Vision… “As I delved deeper into the underlying reasons behind our chronic insurgency problem…”

Manifesto For A Free Society… “In the most unequivocal terms, not a few communist leaders have told me that there is no room for politicians in the CPP/NPA set-up…”

wearenotninoy

smoke’s rom thinks ninoy became a hero only because he was assassinated, that otherwise he would have turned out to be just like any traditional politician with feet of clay.

What does Ninoy actually represent, other than that he was a victim of a dictator (just like hundreds of other public intellectuals, labor leaders, journalists, and so on)?

Kids today don’t know squat about him, or about what he did. His place in our pantheon of heroes was secured for him by the fact that he was assassinated. Prior to that, he was just one of the many who were victimized by the Marcoses. Fine, he was primus inter pares or something, but at the end of the day, I tend to admire more those who stayed and lived their lives in constant danger of death, rather than those who fled.

I mean, Joma is in the Netherlands, isn’t he? And don’t we all laugh at how he runs the communists here by remote control? Well, if you’re being honest about it, that was exactly what Ninoy’s exile was all about.In the meantime that he was gone, people at home were being harassed, hounded into the hills, and getting impoverished by the importunings of the dictator.

The only time he returned was when, according to him, he felt that the time was right to convince Marcos to hand over the reins of government to him in order to prevent the turmoil that would inevitably result when Marcos died and his lieutenants began fighting for their share of empire (kinda like how Alexander’s generals – Ptolemy and all the rest – carved up Alexander’s empire into smaller kingdoms). Sure he braved death, but at least part of that bravery was openly motivated by the will to power. Not very heroic that, eh?”

clearly the information is inadequate, therefore the concluson is flawed.

in fact ninoy was one of those “who stayed and lived their lives in constant danger of death”. he was not one of those who fled, like oppositionists heherson and manglapus and maceda a.k.a. “steak commandoes” in america demonstrating against the dictator and martial law from afar. ninoy did not flee to america, he was offered medical treatment in america when his heart began to fail after 7 years and 7 months in jail. and once he was well, he could think of nothing but the homeland and going home, even if it meant going back to his prison cell.

if he had not been assassinated and had instead succeeded marcos i have no doubt that he would have been creative enough and brave enough -remember, he was much much younger than senators tanada and salonga – to find ways of working out a peaceful settlement of the mindanao problem as well as a more equitable economic system all around (as can be gleaned from his writings) AND with his charisma he would have inspired the nation to unite behind a truly democratic social order.

also rom dares say that edsa wasn’t about ninoy, it was about ramos and enrile.

Ninoy Aquino’s death didn’t free us.

We freed ourselves.

In fact, the EDSA revolution wasn’t even about Ninoy, was it? It was about Enrile and Ramos battling their way out of corners they’d found themselves painted into. It was Cardinal Sin who turned it into a Ninoy Aquino lovefest – and to great effect. The soldiers Enrile and Ramos were smart enough to recognize a tactical advantage and were quick to jump on the bandwagon.

What sets him apart from all his peers – people like Tanada and Salonga – is that his death happened at the right time and under the right circumstances that allowed it to be used by US as the seed of OUR revolution. The idea of him being killed by the dictator gave us the focal point we needed for our simmering discontent to boil over into massive mobilization. Except, of course, if Ninoy hadn’t died, he would have succeeded Marcos (prolly) and his feet would be touching the same base clay as Salonga and Tanada, and the discontent would have escaped into the atmosphere as nothing more than so much vented steam.”

if EDSA were about ramos and enrile, why then did enrile not end up the president?

in fact EDSA was about ramos and enrile trying to unseat marcos, replace him with enrile, thus preempting cory, but they failed because the people would have none of it — the people had united behind cory in the snap elections the way they would have united behind ninoy, and when they went to edsa, wearing cory’s colors and waving her flags, it was not just to support ramos and enrile, it was to woo them and the reformist soldiers into serving as cory’s armed forces and helping unseat marcos.

but rom’s right, we are not ninoy. i’d even say he died because we did not deserve him, and we still don’t.

ninoy, 21 august 83

‘FAITH IN OUR PEOPLE AND FAITH IN GOD’

August 21, 1983
Manila International Airport

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, calling for death penalties, have been 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 time of crisis.

I never sought nor have I been given any assurances or promise 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 Ghandi, 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 freedom 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 nation-wide 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 blood-letting 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.

BENIGNO S. AQUINO, JR.

ninoy’s statement to u.s. congress, 23 june 83

‘CAN THE KILLERS OF TODAY BE THE LEADERS OF TOMORROW?

Introduction to oral statement of Senator Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. before the Subcommittee of Asian and Pacific Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C., June 23, 1983. For full text of statement, see A Testimony by Ninoy, Human Society, No. 21.

Mr. Chairman, members of this august committee:

Please accept my profoundest gratitude for giving me this timely opportunity to testify before your committee on matters vital to the interests of our two countries on the eve of my return to the Philippines and to the prison cell that awaits me.

My family and I will forever cherish the hospitality of your government and your people that has made our exile not only bearable but an experience we shall long recall.

As you probably know, I was given a medical furlough on May 8, 1980 and was allowed to proceed to the United States for an emergency heart bypass operation by the Marcos regime while awaiting final action on the death sentence imposed upon me by a kangaroo court masquerading as a military tribunal.

Since my arrival in America, the Marcos regime has filed two more subversion charges against me, one in late 1980 and another in late 1982. The City Fiscal of Quezon City where the cases were filed announced last week-after the wire services carried the story that I have decided to return-that I would be served arrest warrants the moment I step on Philippine soil and that I would be immediately arrested.

I am returning to the Philippines because it has never been my intention to seek political asylum here … or elsewhere. When I left, I promised I shall return.

Luckily, I survived the heart bypass operation and I have regained the health I lost during seven years and seven months in solitary confinement. I have completed the research work I set out to do. I will never be as ready to return to the trenches.

The Filipino today is facing an ever deepening crisis. Never in history has he suffered from greater political and economic wants. It is time for every Filipino abroad who loves his country to return home, suffer with his people and help in the quest for that elusive national unity which is imperative for the nation’s survival.

During my stay in America, I was privileged to enjoy fellowships in two of the most prestigious academic institutions of this great Republic: Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to search for answers to the many problems besetting the Philippines.

Shortly after I arrived in Boston in the fall of 1980, I was visited by some of my countrymen and asked to join the ranks of the freedom fighters who have chosen the path of revolution to liberate our people. I considered their appeal very seriously and I re-directed my academic research to a close scrutiny of the advantages and disadvantages of the use of force and violence to attain national liberation.

To gather empirical data and first hand information, I travelled to the Middle East, to Southeast Asia and to Central America. I interviewed the leaders of the most recent successful revolutions and talked to both the victors and the vanquished, the relatives of the victims and the survivors. I have concluded that revolution and violence exact the highest price in terms of human values and human lives in the struggle for freedom. In the end there are really no victors, only victims.

It is true, one can fight fire with fire, but the late Ramon Magsaysay, one of the most revered presidents of our country, proved that it is more effective to fight fire with water. Communism may be defeated not by adopting the brutal methods of the enemy and thereby lose your moral imperative, but by reinforcing human rights. One can fight hatred with a greater hatred, but Magsaysay proved that it is more effective to fight hatred with greater Christian love. “Those who have less in life should have more in law” was one of his battle-cries.

I have decided to pursue my freedom struggle through the path of non-violence, fully cognizant that this may be the longer and the more arduous road. If I have made the wrong decision, only I, and maybe, my family will suffer. Only I will suffer solitary confinement once again, and possibly death by firing squad.

But by taking the road of revolution, how many lives, other than mine, will have to be sacrificed? We are already the worst economic performer in Southeast Asia. Revolution would set us back thirty or even forty years and we may well end up the basket case in our region.

I have chosen to return to the silence of my solitary confinement and from there to work for a peaceful solution to our problems rather than come back triumphant to the blare of trumpets and cymbals seeking to drown the wailings and sad lamentations of mothers whose sons and daughters have been sacrificed to the gods of revolution. Can the killers of today be the leaders of tomorrow? Must we destroy in order to build? I refuse to believe that it is necessary for a nation to build its foundations on the bones of its young.

Last June 12, 1983, the leaders of the non-violent opposition met and signed in Manila a document entitled “A Formula for National Reconciliation.”

They appealed to the armed opposition in the hills “to give democratic processes a last chance by joining in the forthcoming elections and to demand that they be free, orderly and honest.”

To bring about peaceful reconciliation, the leaders urged Marcos to grant general amnesty to all political offenders; repeal the Anti-Subversion Law; abolish the infamous Presidential Commitment Order; and discontinue the practice of military interference in purely civilian affairs.

These same leaders warned that “armed conflict in our country is fast approaching the point of no return. Dissenters and dissidents, many of them reluctant rebels, are being driven farther and farther from the ways of peace and reconciliation.”

The formula for national reconciliation is their final effort to stave off what they perceive to be an imminent revolution.

Upon my return, I intend to join these leaders in their appeal and take up with them the program of action I drafted during my three years in exile.

Buffeted by natural and unnatural calamities. the Philippines has carded the worst economic performance among the five-nation ASEAN grouping last year. What is more tragic, in the midst of all these miseries, Filipinos are still killing each other in ever increasing numbers. This blood-letting must stop. This madness must cease.

I think it can be stopped if all Filipinos can get together as true brothers and sisters and search for a healing solution in a genuine spirit of give and take. We must transcend our petty selves, forget our hurts and bitterness, cast aside thoughts of revenge and let sanity, reason, and above all, love of country prevail during our gravest hour.

BENIGNO AQUINO, JR.