Aquino family: ‘We firmly oppose any threat of violence, assassination’

MANILA, Philippines — The family of the late Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. on Tuesday repeated their long-established stance on the “power of peaceful struggle,” rejecting “any threat of violence or assassination.”

On the Facebook page for the late former President Benigno S. Aquino III, son of Ninoy, the Aquino family reiterated that the deceased ex-senator was a known believer in peaceful methods to criticize the government – a belief that he carried until his death in 1983.

The Aquino family’s statement came after Vice President Sara Duterte referred to the assassination of Ninoy at the tarmac of the Manila International Airport – which is now known as the Ninoy Aquino International Airport – to up her criticism of the current Marcos administration.

“Karapat-dapat na sila’y (Marcoses) panagutin para sa kanya at sa libu-libo pang dinakip, tinortyur, at pinatay sa panunungkulan ni Marcos Sr. Gayunpaman, hanggang sa huling araw, naniwala si Ninoy sa lakas ng mapayapang pakikibaka, at noong 1986, ito ang nagpalaya sa atin mula sa kalupitan at kasakiman ng diktaturya,” the Aquino family said.

(They (Marcoses) deserve to be held accountable for him and the thousands of others who were arrested, tortured, and killed during the reign of Marcos Sr. However, until the last day, Ninoy believed in the power of peaceful struggle, and in 1986, it freed us from the cruelty and greed of the dictatorship.)

READ: Ninoy Aquino’s death lit the path towards Edsa revolution — Lagman

“Ito rin ang paninindigan ng naiwan niyang pamilya. Mariin naming tinututulan ang anumang bantang karahasan o pagpaslang. Ipanalangin natin ang ating bayan,” they added.

(This is also the stance of the family he left behind. We firmly oppose any threat of violence or assassination. Let’s pray for our nation.)

Vice President Duterte brought up Ninoy Aquino in her response to the counter-statement of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the initial anti-administration pronouncements of his running mate and UniTeam tandem in the 2022 polls.

Duterte previously said she had contracted an assassin to kill Marcos, his wife Liza Araneta-Marcos, and his cousin Speaker Martin Romualdez if she was killed. To this, Marcos responded with a stern pledge to act on such threat – an “active threat,” according to Malacañang.

In reply, Duterte accused Marcos’ family for the death of Ninoy Aquino. Duterte also reminded Marcos of the Filipino people’s resistance when Ninoy Aquino was killed.

“Oo, ‘di ba pumalag nga ang buong bayan nang pinatay ng pamilya nila si Benigno Aquino?” Duterte told reporters on the sidelines of the House committee on good government and public accountability hearing on Monday, November 25.

(Yes, didn’t the whole nation resisted when their family killed Benigno Aquino?)

READ: VP Sara Duterte fires back, tags Marcoses in Ninoy assassination

Ninoy Aquino was the political nemesis of the late dictator President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., the father and namesake of the incumbent president.

On August 21, 1983, Ninoy was assassinated upon his return to the Philippines from a three-year exile in the United States. The Marcoses have been blamed for his murder, although no case was ever brought up against the family as no specific mastermind for Ninoy’s assassination has been identified.