MANILA, Philippines -- As the family of former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. offered masses on his 25th death anniversary, so did the men convicted of his murder, who prayed and cherished hopes that someday they will walk free.

In a mass at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) Thursday morning, Fr. Robert Reyes appealed to the Aquino family to take pity on the “Ninoy 12” -- the aging soldiers found guilty of murdering the former senator in 1983.

Aquino’s murder, as he was being escorted by the convicted soldiers from the plane that took him back from exile, helped give birth to the protest movement that eventually ousted the dictator Ferdinand Marcos and replaced him with the martyred opposition figure’s widow, Corazon, who became the country’s first woman president.

Pointing out that the former president has forgiven the soldiers, Reyes asked Aquino’s son, Senator “Noynoy” Benigno Aquino III, to pardon the men convicted of killing his father, who are dying one by one.

“This mass, in time with Ninoy's 25th death anniversary, is to appeal to the Aquinos, especially to Noynoy, to forgive and pardon the remaining soldiers in the Aquino-Galman murders,” Reyes said.

“They have maintained their innocence and yet they are dying one by one. We wish for them to have endurance and patience as concerned groups work for their release,” he added.

The mass was held at almost the same time the August Twenty-One Movement offered prayers at the St. John Bosco Church in Makati City.

In his homily before inmates at the NBP, Reyes surmised that had Ninoy been alive today, the senator "would surely heed the cry of the 12 remaining soldiers."

“He was a lawyer well aware of the problems of the justice system during the Marcos era ... If Ninoy were alive, he will surely be most concerned about the serious flaws and abuses in the justice system,” the priest said.

In a phone interview, Reyes, known as the running priest for the manner in which he banners his causes, pointed out that “the innocent criminals in jail, the Ninoy 12 included, continue to languish because the real culprits want them to suffer.”

“In fact, celebrated cases like the Aquino-Galman case and the Abadilla 5 are luckier than most, because they merit some attention, while the unknowns have none,” Reyes added.

He also prayed for the eventual reopening of the Aquino-Galman case in order for justice to be truly served, not just for the Aquino family but also for the convicted soldiers.

“We cannot allow anyone, whether innocent or guilty, to suffer for the crimes of those who evade justice because of the power and influence they wield over it,” Reyes said in his homily.

“I heed Ninoy's advice, to criticize in order to be free, because only when we criticize can we be free. Twenty-five years may seem far too short a punishment for heinous crimes, but what can we say if innocent men languish this long or even longer?” asked the priest.

The Ninoy 12 had earlier asked President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for clemency, and for the Aquinos to forgive them for a crime they insist they never committed.

Aside from praying for the soldiers, Reyes also blessed the sick members of the Ninoy 12.

Last year, Master Sergeant Pablo Martinez was granted pardon and walked out of prison a month before Christmas.

But in March this year, one of the soldiers, 57-year-old Sgt. Mario Lasaga, died of a heart attack inside the prison.

In 2006, Airman 1st Class Cordova Estelo died after being stabbed during a jail riot.

The mass was attended by Persida Acosta, chief of the Public Attorney’s Office, PAO doctor Erwin Erfe, anthropologist Jerome Bailen, and Martinez, who paid his ex-”kakosas” (fellow inmates) a visit.

The PAO has constantly written Arroyo and the Aquinos to agree to setting the Ninoy 12 free, citing the convicts’ sickness and old age.

In earlier interviews, Acosta said the soldiers suffer from serious illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, renal failure and heart conditions, which she said makes it urgent for them to be granted clemency.

The soldiers, who were sentenced to life imprisonment for Aquino's death, were granted a commutation in 1998 by then president Fidel Ramos, who reduced their sentence to 29 years.

“Somehow, we can say that part of the truth has died with them. Both the innocent and guilty are repositories of truth. Unfortunately, in our defective justice system, both guilty and innocent rot and die in jail before the truth is revealed,” Reyes commented.