The Supreme Sacrifice of a genius named Benigno Aquino!
By eileenleyva
@eileenleyva (27560)
Philippines
February 22, 2011 8:48pm CST
I didn't know this man. I was but a child when he was arrested, incarcerated, and kept from the world for seven long years. When he was finally allowed to speak to the people, I found my own father glued to the television, shushing us to keep quiet, because he had to listen to Ninoy, the best senator ever to grace our senate. So I listened with my dad but I couldn't make up all the things he was saying. He spoke with lightning speed, and his vocabulary was so wide, and his ideas were shocking. Then my dad said afterwards that this man was not just a genius but courage beyond compare.
And so when he fell on the tarmac on 21 August 1983 with a bullet on the head, I felt we lost someone most admirable. I didn't know that his death did not just affect my father and me, but each and every Filipino who believed in his creed of social democracy and love of country.
Ninoy gave the last drop of his blood for a free Philippines. Let you and I remember him for always...
3 people like this
8 responses
@ybong007 (6643)
• Philippines
23 Feb 11
my point of view of Ninoy is very different from yours. My father was a soldier and the only recollection I had when Ninoy's name was mentioned was that he was a communist. You can't blame my late father for his opinion though, he was veteran and a PC soldier whom marcos treated so well.
1 person likes this
@eileenleyva (27560)
• Philippines
24 Feb 11
007, the AFP is disillusioned up to now. They were spoiled by the dictator, and the tradition they carried on rocks our newbies up to the present time...
What I cannot accept in the past was the fact that the soldiers obeyed orders to torture and kill... Soldiers were supposed to defend and protect the people...
I have an uncle in the engineering brigade. He was assigned in the south for the longest time. Now that he is retired, he is also shocked by the narration of corruption by the generals...
@eileenleyva (27560)
• Philippines
24 Feb 11
Only good and honest men could resist the temptation. Take care of your dad. He is someone to be proud of, totally and truly.
@ybong007 (6643)
• Philippines
24 Feb 11
I think they are,well my my father was. It's even his dream that i follow on his footsteps and that i be a soldier too. I guess, growing up in a camp didn't help me to aspire to become one. There's just too much corruption, and the disparity in the living conditions is too wide. The enlisted men in their shanties while the generals in their mansions. But I can say that my father was an upright one, he's a supply sergeant and he kept saying this to me over and over again (often times when he's drunk) that he could be rich if he really wants to because the AFP supplies are at his disposal. He would have been shocked too if he was able to witness the controversies hounding the AFP now just like you're uncle. On second thought, I think this is about time that soldiers think twice about their motto that a soldier has to obey first before he complains. That I think is the main reason why the high ups were able to get away with their pabaons.
1 person likes this
@lady1993 (27224)
• Philippines
14 Apr 11
I admire this man too- he has sacrificed his life just to open the eyes of the Filipino people... Unfortunately I wasn't even born at that time, I only knew him from the documentaries I have seen in school about Martial Law. It's sad how easily people can forget what the Marcoses did, and how Ninoy had been an inspiration to all Filipinos.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160908)
• United States
23 Feb 11
You can remember history, and that is so good. You can share this with your daughters as well. It is a lesson well learned and passed on.
1 person likes this
@eileenleyva (27560)
• Philippines
23 Feb 11
Eventually, I did join the proletariat. Ninoy's better half, Corazon Aquino, called us to rally for democracy. We did march on the streets, brave and hopeful, till that four days of the EDSA Revolution, the culmination of our fight...
@jazel_juan (15746)
• Philippines
23 Feb 11
I also was so young when all this hype was happening. I also do not know much about him when i was young and all i know is that that airport was named after him lol. 
not until i went to school and in high school we were taught who he was and i have seen a documentary about him when i was in college and i am amazed on how great Ninoy is. The way he talk, the way he says those words, everything that comes out of his mouth were all empowering even till now..some are on youtube even! He is inspiring and we do rarely have someone like him, till now i do not see someone like him 
not until i went to school and in high school we were taught who he was and i have seen a documentary about him when i was in college and i am amazed on how great Ninoy is. The way he talk, the way he says those words, everything that comes out of his mouth were all empowering even till now..some are on youtube even! He is inspiring and we do rarely have someone like him, till now i do not see someone like him 1 person likes this
@eileenleyva (27560)
• Philippines
23 Feb 11
I do consider him the greatest Filipino who ever lived. No offense to Rizal, Bonifacio, and my love
Greg del Pilar, but Ninoy fought a fellow Filipino...
Greg del Pilar, but Ninoy fought a fellow Filipino...
@SIMPLYD (90721)
• Philippines
23 Feb 11
Just like your father, my father was always glued to the radio, (i guess, there was no TV yet) to listen to Ninoy speak. He was an open admirer of the late senator.
I also remembered him shed a tear while he cussed, when he heard that Ninoy was shot . He was downhearted and was affected greatly. It's as if his only dream of making Philippines a free country was gone.
Little do he know that freedom will be opened thru his widow.
1 person likes this
@eileenleyva (27560)
• Philippines
23 Feb 11
I was not even aware that Ninoy was coming home then. I had tickets to watch wrestling with my friends at the Araneta Coliseum. When the news flashed that Ninoy was shot and the media went on dot mode, my father was furious. He wanted to know the status of Ninoy's shooting. And he became so sad...
• Philippines
23 Feb 11
one of the greatest person in the Philippines. Actually, the Aquino family has really contributed so much blessing to our country. And now their son Ninoy Aquino will continue their legacy.
1 person likes this
@eileenleyva (27560)
• Philippines
24 Feb 11
I also pray that President Noynoy gets to wrap up the stories of his parents, sort of provide a happy ending to a real long book... I do pray the Almighty guides him in every decision he makes for all of us!
@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
24 Feb 11
Hello Eileen,
He thought he was already a good replacement for Macoy since the strong but old man was getting sick, but probably her wife had to do something by taking him down
. He's not a GOD though but too much tyranny of Marcos and his foolish move to Assasinate Ninoy really sparked the Anger of MILLIONS that finally forced him to exile. he would have been a good president too if he's given a chance.1 person likes this
@jeanneyvonne (5501)
• Philippines
24 Feb 11
I first encountered Ninoy and his image was on a 500-peso bill. I wasn't interested in him but I was interested in his wife and his celebrity daughter's showbiz career did help much. I only learned about Ninoy when he was the topic of discussion when my parents talked about the old days and of course, from the media where there is always a snippet of him in a speech or that infamous airline footage.
Like many others, I thought of Ninoy as an hero and Marcos as the villain. That is what history taught me and perhaps that will not change anytime soon. I always found myself reflecting back on his famous quote on a gold bill and tried to visualize the environment of the yester years.
I hope, wherever he is now, he still believe in us as we believe in him.
1 person likes this
