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TWENTY-FOUR years after her husband’s death, former
President Corazon Aquino is still seeking justice for
her husband’s death.
“Hinihiling
ko lang sa kanila na sabihin nila kung sino ang nag-utos
sa kanila. Pero hanggang ngayon ang sinasabi nila ay
wala silang kinalaman. Mahirap naman iyon [All I
asked them to do is tell me who ordered them to kill my
husband, but until now they insist they’re innocent. I
find that hard to accept],” Aquino said over the
Catholic Church’s Radyo Veritas on Monday.
The
former President was referring to the soldiers convicted
for their complicity in the killing of former Sen.
Benigno Aquino Jr.
If not
for the people who staged a revolt against former
President Ferdinand Marcos after her husband’s death,
Aquino said that she would have given up on fighting for
democracy.
“Kung
walang pumansin sa pagkakapaslang ni Ninoy, o
baka sabihin ko na rin ‘ bahala na kayo’ [If no one
had moved after his death, or if everyone said, it’s up
to you, I have given up],” she said.
Aquino
admitted that she had never expected the extent of the
national outrage over the former senator’s assassination
on the tarmac of the Manila International Airport (now
Ninoy Aquino International Airport) upon his arrival
from exile in 1983.
However,
the former President said that she would not oppose the
grant of executive clemency to those convicted for the
killing.
She
reiterated her call to the imprisoned soldiers, most of
whom were assigned to the then Air Force Aviation
Security Command, to identify those behind the killing.
Meanwhile, a special ceremony will be held on Tuesday to
observe Aquino’s 24th death anniversary on the tarmac of
the airport that was named after him.
This
year’s tribute will begin with a Mass, to be officiated
by Msgr. Modesto Teston, followed by a wreath-laying at
Bay 8, where he was shot while going down the metal
staircase following his return from self-exile 24 years
ago.
“It is
but fitting to pay tribute to a great man who sacrificed
his life for the sake of the country,” said airport
general manager Alfonso Cusi.
Former
Laban Rep. Agapito Aquino of
Makati,
brother of Ninoy, will lead the ceremony to be attended
by members of the August Twenty One Movement, former
Miaa manager Aurelio German and Cecille Guidote-Alvarez.
Similar
ceremonies will be held in various places in the
Philippines to commemorate the man who said, “The
Filipino is worth dying for.”
The spot
where Aquino was shot has been consecrated and a bronze
marker was erected on the spot. |
