Thursday, August 20, 2009

Tomorrow is Ninoy Aquino Day.


Tomorrow is another special non-working holiday in the Philippines as we commemorate the death anniversary of former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino. He was assassinated August 21, 1983 at the then-Manila International Airport (now the Ninoy Aquino International Airport) upon returning to the Philippines. His death led to the downfall of the dictator, Ferdinand Marcos on February 24, 1986 through the non-violent People Power revolution which also catapulted his wife Corazon Aquino to the presidency.

Ninoy Aquino was a prominent critic of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos. He was later incarcerated for about eight years after martial law was declared in the country. But even in his imprisonment, he managed to win a seat in the senate. Aquino remained in prison but he continued to fight for democracy in the country and against the oppression of the Filipino people. However, he suffered a heart attack in March 1980, so he needed to flee to the United States with his family for his surgery and eventually led to his self-imposed exile in the US. There, he continued his advocacy by giving speeches to the Filipino-American communities. His assassination was pivotal to the downfall of a despotic ruler and the eventual restoration of democracy in the Philippines.

This day in honor of the late icon of democracy was created by Republic Act 9256, which was signed into law by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

3 comments:

janice negrosa said...

well..sarap ng daming holidays ano? lalo na kung paid pa rin..hehehe...

Badong said...

walang pasok! wohoo! but let's not forget the reason for this day.

Badong said...

walang pasok! wohoo! but let's not forget the reason for this day.

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