Bishop censures blocking of Ninoy Aquino statue in Tarlac

The front of the Ninoy Aquino momument at the Tarlac City Plazuela was blocked from view by a tent erected for the campaign sorite of presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his running mate, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio on Saturday, April 2, 2022. (Photo by NEIL ARWIN MERCADO / INQUIRER.net)

MANILA, Philippines — The late Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. was wrong in believing that “the Filipino is worth dying for,” Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said in a Facebook post on Saturday.

David, who is also the bishop of the Diocese of Kalookan, made the remark in reaction to the partial blocking of a Ninoy Aquino monument at the Tarlac City Plazuela. A tent partially hid from view the front part of the statue of Aquino during a campaign rally of presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his running mate, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.

Aquino was a key opposition figure during the regime of President Ferdinand Marcos, the presidential candidate’s father. He was assissinated at what was then called the Manila International Airport on Aug. 21, 1983.

That  sparked a series of protests against the Marcos regime, forcing Marcos to declare by a snap election, which was however marred by accusations of widespread cheating. That eventually led to the February 1986 People Power Revolt on EDSA that forced the Marcos family into fleeing to Hawaii.

“If this is how we treat the memory of a man whose death helped save our country from the long dark years of tyranny and dictatorship, and whose blood watered the seeds of aspiration for the restoration of our freedom and democracy, then it must be said that he was wrong in believing that ‘the Filipino is worth dying for’,” David said in his Facebook post.

https://www.facebook.com/pablovirgilio.david/posts/10220878995741734

David ended his post by saying: “A nation that treats its villains like heroes and its heroes like villains has nowhere to go but down the drain. It will be treated with contempt by the community of nations that used to be inspired by the fabled nobility of its citizens now gone.”

At the Tarlac City Plazuela, where the Marcos-Duterte rally is currently held, stands a momument of former senator Benigno Aquino Jr., a key opposition figure during the time of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

The momument is partially covered. In front, there’s a poster of Bongbong Marcos pic.twitter.com/s9GDde2NJY

— Neil Arwin Mercado (@NAMercadoINQ) April 2, 2022

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