Gov’t asked to act on ‘fallen’ Ninoy

Statues of heroes Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr. and Evelio Javier have literally become “fallen heroes” for those now lie on the ground facing Manila Bay.

Angered by the sight of the vandalized statues, former Manila Mayor Lito Atienza lamented: “This is how the present government is treating Ninoy’s memory! I want PNoy to call the secretary of public works and ask to explain how they are treating the memory of his father!” Atienza was behind the construction of the statues.

Causing the bronze statues to fall were many acts of vandalism and disrespect. First, the bench where Javier sat was stolen; then parts of the pedestal it stood on were taken away. The final fall was caused by children who climbed on the shoulders of the statues.

According to the owner of the store near the monument, the ruined structures have become an attraction to passersby and tourists. “Many people are having their photos taken with those statues, especially now at that state of ruin. The position of the fallen statues have amused the passers-by. Ninoy seems to be hiding behind Javier,” said store owner Aling Muhaida in Tagalog. She has occupied that part of the sidewalk since 2003.

But the broken monuments’ position was not funny to Atienza. He said he was really angry at how the DPWH is not paying attention to them, noting that scavengers will get the rest of the bronze statues if they remain abandoned.

“What do they do to with monuments of great people? To me this is a total disregard of our culture, of our heroes. I am calling the attention of Secretary Singson. Is this how he treats the father of his boss, President Aquino? Ninoy is a hero…. You are busy with plants, with trees, but you are disregarding the monument of heroes?” the former mayor, who is now the representative of Buhay Partylist, pointed out.

Atienza said he has been trying to contact DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson but got no response.

“If they do not attend to this, I will charge them with desecration of national monuments. I’m sure the President will get mad upon knowing this. They [Ninoy and Javier] are now literally fallen heroes.”

Holding a picture of the inauguration of the photos showing the President applauding, Atienza said PNoy would probably remember what his family felt when the monument was built. Atienza said he can still recall how grateful Cory was then.

On the statue of Javier, Atienza said he was “an idealistic Liberal Party leader who fought in the fight of dictatorship.”

“We were together in Cory’s campaign. We were together in the defense of the ballot. I was advising him to go home because he will be killed. He was hugging the ballot, he stayed there. That was his last day,” he shared.

Atienza noted that Javier’s statue no longer had the plate where his life story was written.

“Kapag ang gobyerno, hindi marunong tumanaw ng mga bayani ng bansa nila,walang pupuntahan iyon. Ang isang bansa na walang kultura, wala rin patutunguhan, (If the government does not know who to honor its heroes, it is not getting any where. A country without a culture will not advance),” Atienza emphasized.