SATURNINA Galman, mother of Rolando Galman, graces the cover of the Sunday Inquirer Magazine in 2003, on the 20th anniversary of the assassination of former Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. PHOTO REPRODUCTION BY ANSELMO ROQUE
ZARAGOZA, a farming town in the southwestern edge of Nueva Ecija province in the boundary of Tarlac province, shot to national consciousness after the Aug. 21, 1983 assassination of former Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr.
Similarly, the surname “Galman” was blemished as the man tagged by the military as Aquino’s assassin, Rolando Galman, was originally from Zaragoza.
But a subsequent court decision, plus firm assurances from the Aquino family, had slowly banished that stigma.
Hours after Aquino was shot dead as he was led by soldiers to the tarmac of the then Manila International Airport, officials of the administration of then President Ferdinand Marcos said the assassin was hired by communists to sow chaos in the country.
The assassin was initially identified as “Rolando Vizcara.” A few days later, his mother, Saturnina, identified him as her son, Rolando.
“It was the second time that the soldiers took me to identify the body. During the first time, I knew it was him because of a hidden body scar, but I denied knowing him out of fear,” Saturnina said in an earlier interview.
But the next time, her love for her son overwhelmed her.
“I would gladly pick his bones and flesh and piece them together. Yes, he is my son,” Saturnina recalled telling the soldiers then.
Following that identification, Galman’s name and his native town of Zaragoza became staples in news reports.
Another Zaragoza native, Col. Arturo Custodio of the Philippine Air Force, was later indicted for the plot to kill Aquino.
The lingering image of Galman captured in photographs was that of the other dead man on the tarmac. Galman, who was dressed in a blue jumpsuit used by airplane mechanics, had 16 bullet wounds.
Saturnina said back then, people looked at them differently and not many relatives visited them. “They were perhaps ashamed of us because our Rolando was reported as Ninoy’s killer,” she said.
Lonely battle
She fought a lonely battle for five years, through the help of a lawyer in Metro Manila who provided the family free legal assistance, all along maintaining that her son was innocent.
Saturnina said Galman, the eldest of her nine children, was born in Zaragoza but later moved to Baguio City.
Later, Galman settled with his own family in Barangay (village) Bagong Silang in San Miguel town, Bulacan province.
Saturnina said her son was detained in Camp Olivas in Pampanga province for a crime that she could not remember. Galman was later released on the intercession of his town mate, Custodio.
Galman, his mother said, used to visit Custodio in his house in Metro Manila until he was reported to have been “adopted” by a ranking police official to work on some projects.
A few weeks before Aquino was killed, Galman’s son, Reynaldo, and half-sister, Roberta, said a group of men fetched Galman in the family house in Bulacan. This was the last time that he was seen alive by his family.
The Agrava fact-finding commission, the board headed by former Court of Appeals Justice Corazon Agrava that was formed to investigate the assassination of Aquino, ruled that a military conspiracy, not Galman, was behind the killing.
The Sandiganbayan convicted 15 officers and enlisted men of the Aviation Security Command (Avsecom) for double murder.
Custodio, who became mayor of Zaragoza, was acquitted by the court as an accomplice.
But for Saturnina, the most important thing was when Aquino’s widow, Corazon, declared that she did not believe Galman killed her husband.
Emboldened by that statement, Saturnina approached Mrs. Aquino and asked her if her son could be buried at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City, where the senator was buried. Her request was granted.
Mrs. Aquino would become president in 1986 after a civilian-backed military uprising ousted Marcos.
On the 31st anniversary of the Aquino assassination tomorrow, Nenita, Rolando’s sister, said they were not sure who among them would visit Galman’s tomb. Her mother, she said, is now 85 and is staying in their house in Aliaga.
Contrary to several claims, Nenita said her mother did not receive money from the court-granted indemnity of P580,000 and from the rights of a movie about Galman.
“We have left everything to God’s wisdom. The case had been closed and the family is not talking about it anymore,” Nenita said.
Saturnina had said that she was leaving everything to God to punish those who did her son wrong. “Whatever is rotten, stinks. A bad deed will surely come out,” she said.