Sunday, August 12, 2018

NO MORAL REASON FOR NINOY AQUINO DAY


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There’s NO MORAL REASON to mark Ninoy Aquino’s death on Aug. 21 as a holiday.

While he may have died as a critic of former President Ferdinand Marcos, his death was NOT AN ACT OF HEROISM. And he DEFINITELY WAS NOT THE FIRST OR ONLY critic to die during the Marcos era.

Ninoy came home from self-imposed exile in the US in 1983 for his personal agenda, whatever that was. And not for any heroic purpose. He didn’t come back to lead an armed revolt against the government, or an attack on Marcos himself or Malacanang. Thirty-five years after Ninoy’s death, NOBODY among his family and allies have proven that he had something that could have ousted Marcos or ended Martial Law at once or not long after upon his return. And Ninoy and everyone else around him knew that even if he came back, Marcos would not be ousted immediately.  

So where is the heroism in Ninoy’s death that merits a holiday? If his determination to come despite the threats to this life is what his allies will say, that’s not HEROISM. That’s SUICIDE. The very smart guy that he was, Ninoy knew that he would be a lot more useful alive than dead.

And for the uninformed, here are some of the anti-Marcos bashers and the years they were killed, LONG BEFORE Ninoy’s death:  Liliosa Hilao, 1973; Archimedes Trajano, 1977; Edgar Jopson, 1982; Juan Escandor, 1983; Emmanuel Lacaba, 1976; Ishmael Quimpo, 1981 and Maria Lorena Barros, 1976.

These people fought the Marcos government HERE AT HOME, FACE-TO-FACE, until their demise. At the height of his assault on the Marcos government, NINOY WAS N THE US.  So if for his famiy’s supporters and allies Ninoy’s killing merits recognition as a holiday, then THE MORE should those who died before him be considered heroes and honored with their own holidays. The difference in the family name DEFINITELY does not make them lesser mortals than Ninoy. 30



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