THE QUEST for justice for the martyred opposition leader Benigno ?Ninoy? Aquino Jr., who was killed by an assassin?s bullet 27 years ago, will continue, according to his son, President Aquino.

But Mr. Aquino said his administration continues to be focused on giving justice to all Filipinos, particularly those who have suffered social injustice.

?I am being asked whether I still intend to pursue justice for my father. We will do what we can, although there are those that say it is already too late because more than 20 years have passed since the assassination,? Mr. Aquino said in a brief message to family members, friends and supporters at the Mass celebrated by Fr. Catalino Arevalo at the Manila Memorial Park yesterday.

Ninoy, the bitter rival of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, was shot to death by government soldiers on the tarmac of the old Manila International Airport on Aug. 21, 1983, as he returned from a three-year exile in the United States.

A Marcos government investigation concluded that Ninoy had been shot by Rolando Galman who was instantly killed by soldiers. The case has since been referred to as the Aquino-Galman double murder case.

Sixteen soldiers were convicted for the killing of Ninoy but the mastermind was never unmasked.

The assassination triggered the antidictatorship movement that culminated in the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution that brought down the Marcos dictatorship and catapulted Ninoy?s widow to the presidency.

Forgiveness and vengeance

Arevalo?s homily focused on the theme of forgiveness. He said the President?s late mother had already forgiven those behind Ninoy?s sufferings under the Marcos regime.

Arevalo said vengeance was God?s alone and this was accepted by Corazon Aquino.

Mr. Aquino acknowledged that it was difficult for him to forgive those behind his father?s murder. He said Arevalo?s homily was enlightening.

?It was natural that I look for justice ... (When he returned), my father was no longer allowed to speak. He was shot in the back while still in the stairwell and then thrown on the tarmac like a pig,? he said.

?Then he was thrown into the van ... And then, they will say that they had nothing to do with the murder. It?s difficult to accept,? he added referring to the Aviation Security Command soldiers who were pardoned last year by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo amid protests from the Aquino family.

Not a priority

But Mr. Aquino indicated that pursuing the murderers of his father would not be a priority.

He said he intends to attend to the needs of farmers who till the land, students who strive in their studies and those that have been oppressed by influential forces ?such as the victims of the Maguindanao massacre.?

?The justice that we should strive for should not be justice for our own sake but justice for the whole nation,? he said.

He warned that there are still forces that want to return to the type of regime where a few powerful individuals manage to abuse the people.

?Justice for all ... that is what we will insist on,? he said.

Saturday was about the only time that Mr. Aquino has directly addressed the issue of his father?s still unsolved assassination.

Earlier this month, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said Mr. Aquino would allow the remaining legal processes in the double murder case to continue. But he said the President was taking a ?hands-off? policy to avoid any speculation that he was trying to influence the conduct of the case.

The Department of Justice has issued a warrant for the arrest of Capt. Felipe Valerio, an accused in the Aquino-Galman double murder but who was never arraigned and was never tried.

Chief Public Attorney Persida Acosta believes Valerio holds the key to unmasking the person who ordered Ninoy?s killing.

Valerio is believed to be living somewhere in North America.

Early bird

A crowd of about a hundred people quietly gathered near the adjacent tombs of Ninoy and his wife, the late President Corazon Aquino, despite Mr. Aquino?s earlier appeal that he be allowed to pray for his father in peace.

Mr. Aquino arrived for the 4 p.m. Manila Memorial Park Mass well ahead of the rest of the family, his nephews Joshua Aquino and Baby James Yap in tow. He played with Josh and Baby James while waiting for the rest of his family to arrive.

His sisters?Ballsy Cruz, Pinky Abellada, Viel Dee?and their husbands and children arrived minutes later.

Mr. Aquino?s defeated running mate, former Sen. Manuel Roxas, arrived while Arevalo was delivering the homily.

Vice President Jejomar Binay and a daughter arrived minutes later.

Roxas and Binay did not acknowledge each other even if they were standing just a few meters away from each other.

Mr. Aquino?s youngest sister, Kris, arrived after the homily.

Remember this day

Malacañang on Saturday appealed to Filipinos to take time to call to mind the martyrdom of Ninoy even as they enjoyed the holiday weekend with their families.

?Let?s enjoy the weekend but let us also take time to remember why Aug. 21 is a holiday,? said Secretary Ricky Carandang of the Presidential Communications and Strategic Development Office over the state-run dzRB.

?This is a good opportunity for us to remember what this day is about in history, the contribution that it had for our history ... that one man who can set aside his own personal comfort, his interests and even his life can achieve greater good for the whole country,? Carandang said.

?If all people will come together to do the right thing and to help each other out I think the idea here is we can build a better country together,? he added.

Remembrance at the tarmac

Earlier, a modest crowd that included members of the Edsa People Power Commission and August Twenty-One Movement and officials of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), gathered for a commemorative program at the tarmac of the airport named after Ninoy, on the same spot where he fell.

Joined by members of the diplomatic corps, they offered flowers at the commemorative marker written by National Artist for Literature Dr. Alejandro Roces.

His nephew, Roberto Aquino, a son of Ninoy?s brother, Agapito Aquino, read the arrival speech that Ninoy had prepared which he failed to deliver.

?I have returned of my free will to join the ranks of those struggling to restore our rights and freedoms through nonviolence. I seek no confrontation. I only pray and will strive for a genuine national reconciliation founded on justice,? part of the speech read.

?I am prepared for the worst, and have decided against the advice of my mother, my spiritual adviser, many of my tested friends and a few of my most valued political mentors. A death sentence awaits me,? it added.

?I return from exile and to an uncertain future with only determination and faith to offer?faith in our people and faith in God.?

Some of the poems that Ninoy had written in prison were interpreted in song by the Philippine International Theater Institute, Center-Earthsavers Dreams Ensemble and the Madrigal Trio.

Diplomats from the countries associated with Ninoy?s odyssey for freedom joined the gathering.

The ceremony was followed by a Mass, a tradition that the Ninoy Aquino Movement had begun in 1986.

Wreath-laying rites at the Naia?s departure area, where another memorial to Ninoy can be found, capped the event.

Biñan?s way

The community of Biñan, Laguna, paid tribute to Ninoy?s martyrdom by displaying his portrait at the city government?s session hall throughout the month of August.

Through a resolution passed by the city council, the city government every August hangs the 2 x 3 feet framed tarpaulin ?to remind (everyone) and commemorate the heroism and sacrifices of Ninoy,? said Biñan councilor Gat Alatiit, who authored the resolution filed in 2008.

Alatiit said the portrait, which is actually a photo of Aquino lifted from the Internet, was first unveiled last year at the old city hall building.

He denied there was any political motive behind the resolution.

?We didn?t know (Noynoy) would be the President. At the time the resolution was made, he had not confirmed his plans to run for President yet,? he said. With Tina G. Santos and Maricar Cinco, Inquirer Southern Luzon