Members of the Federation of Urban Poor (FedUp) in Negros Occidental, clad in yellow and waving Philippine flags, marked Ninoy Aquino Day by laying flowers at the foot of his statue at Araneta Avenue in Bacolod City City on Sunday, August 21.
Ninoy Aquino Day is held every August 21 to mark the assassination of former senator Beningo “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. at the Manila International Airport, now the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, in 1983.
Aquino, a longtime political opponent of then president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., was returning to the Philippines after three years of self-imposed exile in the United States when he was shot in the head at the tarmac of the airport.
“Heroism is not being buried in the hero’s park. It is not having fake medals and a lavish interment with a forever flame on one’s tomb. Heroism is standing up to and doing what is right in the midst of repression,” Joy Jarabelo, FedUp head, said.
She said 64 FedUp members got up early on Sunday “to shout to the world, Ninoy is the hero, Marcos is not.”
“Thank you Ninoy for showing us that indomitable spirit to stand for what is right and for freedom and democracy in our country,” Jarabelo said.*