21/08/2026
[Statement on the 43rd Ninoy Aquino Day]
The moment you say no to tyranny, you are beginning the struggle, the long lonely road to freedom. And so I ask this afternoon, please say no and learn to say no. No to tyranny! No to corruption! No to all this degradation of human dignity! (Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., 1981)
The path to freedom is one that is filled with thorns, a struggle that generations have spilled their blood for. On this day, 43 years ago, Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. was shot dead on the Tarmac of the then Manila International Airport upon his immediate return to the Philippines. Ninoy, as he was famously called, was a prominent opposition leader during the authoritarian regime of Marcos Sr. He was imprisoned for nearly eight years during Martial Law for being a sharp critic of the administration. After he was released, he lived in exile in the United States and only returned to the country in 1983 with the intention to challenge Marcos in the parliamentary elections of 1984 and help restore democracy to the motherland. His subsequent assassination upon his return undoubtedly sparked the movement that changed the course of Philippine History. His death intensified the rage of the Filipino people and strengthened the opposition to the Marcos regime, which eventually culminated in the 1986 People Power Revolution. But nearly five decades later, how is it that Filipinos still have to spill blood for the very freedom that generations before us fought to secure?
The Practice of Administrative Leadership and Service (PALS-NCPAG) commemorates the 43rd Ninoy Aquino Day as a moment for all Filipinos to reflect on the ideals of martyrs and critics like Ninoy Aquino, who recognized injustice and spoke for the freedom and dignity of thousands of Filipinos who suffered under the tyrannical reign of a power-hungry dictator. The Philippines of today may not be under a formal dictatorship, but the culture of impunity and inequality continues to persist. Decades have passed, yet press freedom and the right to free assembly continue to be suppressed under the leadership of another Marcos. As it is, history continues to repeat itself, with activists and human rights defenders being red-tagged and threatened with action for allegedly being members or sympathizers of the New People’s Army.
Ninoy had proclaimed that the Filipinos are worth dying for, but we shall not wait until another blood is spilled, and another critic and activist is found dead at the hands of the morally corrupt. We must not wait for another assassination or another generation of martyrs before we recognize the urgency of defending our democracy. We demand better from the government that is supposed to be subservient to the people, tyranny and corruption have no place in good governance. Freedom may be a long, lonely road, but we must continue to fight for the principles that have founded our democracy in the very first place. As such, we must also choose leaders who will stand with and for the people. It is up to us to demand integrity even when it is inconvenient, accountability even when it is uncomfortable, and service even when there is no power to gain from it.
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