That fateful day
THIRTY-FOUR years ago yesterday, former senator Benigno Aquino Jr. arrived at the Manila International Airport after a threeyear self-imposed exile in the US. As he was being escorted off the plane, the long-time political opponent of then president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. was shot in the head. While they were still in the air, Aquino sat down for a TV interview with foreign media, not knowing that it would be his last.
He told them about the risks he faced by returning. He even considered the possibility that he’d be killed, but that was more of an afterthought. He just wanted the chance to talk to the local press before he would either be shipped back to the States or whisked away to prison.
“If it’s my fate to die by an assassin’s bullet so be it, but I cannot be petrified by inaction or fear of assassination and therefore stay in the corner. I have to suffer with my people. I have to lead them because of the responsibility given to me by our people,” Aquino told them. I know this because I watched that interview on TV in our hotel room in Hong Kong.
It was the summer before my 9th grade. We were headed to Cebu for a short vacation but made a stopover in the then British colony for a few days. Our flight to Manila was on the 22nd. My mom’s sister from Florida was on the same plane as Aquino, if my memory serves me right.
If not, I know she arrived on the day the assassination took place. My parents quickly got on the phone and called our relatives in Cebu and Davao to check if it was okay for us to proceed. They said it was. When we landed in Manila, there was no sign of the turmoil that was taking place on the streets. Life also went on as usual in Cebu and Davao. But after more than three decades, I can still remember that interview.
The camera caught a calm man in white long sleeves and white pants who seemed unperturbed by what awaited him as the plane landed. He smiled as one woman embraced him and planted a kiss on his cheek, followed by another who gave him a quick smack on the lips. The camera showed him jotting something down on a piece of paper before it cut to the scene outside.
Men in uniform could be seen moving. There was a soldier carrying a long firearm who looked like he was standing guard. Then it was back inside the cabin. This time, the camera showed three men in uniform (I don’t know if they were soldiers or members of the defunct Philippine Constabulary) zeroing in on Aquino’s seat while passengers and the foreign press looked on. One of them helped him with his bag. Together, they walked toward the cabin until they went off camera. Then the gunshots rang out. SSCebu