Conversations with Ninoy: ‘He talked so fast’

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—The task given to Pfc. Rodolfo Terrible, then aged 25, was to guard a compound inside Fort Bonifacio a day after then President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law on Sept. 21, 1972.

In the 18 months that followed, Terrible defied restrictions and found himself in constant conversation with the regime’s archenemy, who was then held along with other top political prisoners at the Philippine Army’s Military Security Unit (MSU) building.

“He must have picked me out of the six guards every shift because I was a Kapampangan from Tarlac,” Terrible said, referring to Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., whose martyrdom in 1983 is being marked today.

The MSU’s administrative office served as detention center for Aquino, Senators Jose W. Diokno and Ramon Mitra Jr., Manila Times publisher Joaquin “Chino” Roces, columnist Maximo Soliven and Philippines Free Press staff member Leon Ty.

Chat from 5 to 9 p.m.

The detainees were barred from talking to each other at night. And so Aquino, Terrible recalled, often walked to his post for a chat between 5 and 9 p.m., or up to midnight whenever guards assigned to the next shift did not show up.

The glib Aquino did much of the talking, while the guard lent him a sympathetic ear.  Later, the Army private earned the moniker “Terribol” for being Aquino’s favorite guard.

“At daytime, [Aquino] was free to walk around the compound. His favorite spot was around the swimming pool where he walked and jogged around,” Terrible, now 64, told the Inquirer on Saturday.

Terrible did not keep any record of his chatter with Aquino. Neither did he relay what they talked about to his superior then, Lt. Benito Alba.

For keeping up with Aquino’s train of thought was quite difficult. “He talked so fast,” he said.

It was only in 1990, while out of the military and working as a civilian in Belgium, that Terrible managed to write down what he could still remember from his nightly talks with Aquino.

He did it, he said, at the request of Filipinos who were marking the anniversary of Aquino’s assassination that year through a newsletter they were publishing.

‘Light moments’

What he called his “light moments” with Aquino began on his second night on guard duty.

“Aquino went out of his detention room and approached me. We were not supposed to talk to the detainees but I just cannot ignore him. I told him that I am also from Tarlac and speaks the same dialect as he does,” he said, adding:

“Then he [recognized] the gun I was holding, ‘I know [that] type of gun. It’s Uzi, an assault rifle of the Israelis,’ he said. ‘Right sir,’ I answered. ‘Marcos [charged me with] illegal possession of firearms,’ he added.”

On the third night, Aquino began venting his rage at Marcos and martial law. “He told me he was imprisoned because Marcos did not want him to win the election,” he said.

In hindsight, Terrible said, having those talks with the senator was a rare privilege and source of personal pride.

“It was a happy time because an ordinary person like me [was] given importance by this accomplished and charismatic man. The succeeding months (from Sept. 22, 1972, to March 22, 1974) gave us a long time to share the evening, while his buddies played mahjong,” he said.

Food from home

Of the 80 prisoners in that compound, Terrible said, it was only Aquino who refused to eat the rations from the military. He either cooked his own meals or ate the food brought by his wife, the would-be President Corazon Aquino, who visited him daily in the morning.

Conversations with family, friends and associates were recorded through electronic devices installed in a room where Aquino received guests. Terrible remembered that Aquino’s only son and namesake, now President Aquino, appeared to be always quiet during those visits.

Terrible said his superiors later ordered him to monitor the discussions and take notes.

“One afternoon, another guard who served as my substitute accidentally fired his Uzi rifle near Aquino’s place. Immediately, he ran for cover. (Aquino) thought that the shot was intended for him,” Terrible said.

“Masama ang mamatay ng walang magandang dahilan (It’s not good to die without a good cause),” Terrible quoted Aquino as telling him in jest later.

On some other nights, they talked about more mundane things, like an attractive female soldier or a current Nora Aunor movie.

Documents for signature

“One evening, he showed me a document and said: Terrible, (then Defense Minister Juan Ponce) Enrile sent me this document again. They are forcing me to sign it, urging me to approve of Marcos’ New Society. I tore up the first document (then) I refused to sign Enrile’s second endorsement. I would rather go with the Grim Reaper than join Marcos,” he said.

Aquino and Diokno were transferred to Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija in late March  1974. Later, Aquino went on a 40-day hunger strike that forced the military to return him and Diokno to Fort Bonifacio.

By that time, however, Terrible had been reassigned to Fort Magsaysay, unable to say goodbye or give thanks to his nightly companion.

He lost track of the senator, until he learned that Aquino was assassinated at Manila International Airport on Aug. 21, 1983, upon returning from exile in the United States.

“I was compiling intelligence reports when I heard the news. I felt sad because I know he would have made a good President,” Terrible said.