I accept your marching orders to transform our government from one that is self-serving to one that works for the welfare of the nation. The presidency of Benigno Aquino III has been marked by a hardy dedication to bringing about shared progress by doing things the right way. Join me in continuing this fight for change. President Aquino was born on Feb. He studied from elementary to college in the Ateneo de Manila University, and finished a degree in Economics in His father, then a senator and opposition leader to President Ferdinand Marcos, was incarcerated after the declaration of Martial Law in September In confinement, the senator wrote his son a letter, asking him to continue the family legacy of working for the good the every Filipino:.
No greater people than our own. Serve them with all your heart, with all your might and with all your strength. Son, the ball is now in your hands. In , his father was allowed after a series of heart attacks to receive medical treatment in the United States. Aquino joined the family in a period of self-exile until —when they had to return to the Philippines after the assassination of his father.
Following his return to the Philippines, Aquino served as assistant of the Executive Director of the Philippine Business of Social Progress, an institution that coordinates the efforts of private companies to help struggling Filipinos.
The slight Aquino refused all nourishment but salt tablets and water for 40 days and dropped from to 80 pounds. Aquino's friends and family convinced him to begin eating again after 40 days.
His trial dragged on, however, and did not conclude until November 25, On that day, the military commission found him guilty on all counts. Aquino was to be executed by firing squad.
From prison, Aquino played a major organizational role in the parliamentary elections. Although the LABAN party enjoyed huge public support, every one of its candidates lost in the thoroughly rigged election. Nonetheless, the election proved that Aquino could act as a powerful political catalyst even from a cell in solitary confinement. Feisty and unbowed, despite the death sentence hanging over his head, he was a serious threat to the Marcos regime. Sometime in March , in an echo of his own father's experience, Aquino suffered a heart attack in his prison cell.
A second heart attack at the Philippine Heart Center showed that he had a blocked artery, but Aquino refused to allow surgeons in the Philippines to operate on him for fear of foul play by Marcos.
Imelda Marcos made a surprise visit to Aquino's hospital room on May 8, , offering him a medical furlough to the United States for surgery.
She had two stipulations, however: Aquino had to promise to return to the Philippines and he had to swear not to denounce the Marcos regime while he was in the United States. That same night, Aquino and his family got on a plane bound for Dallas, Texas. The Aquino family decided not to return to the Philippines right after Aquino's recovery from surgery. They moved instead to Newton, Massachusetts, not far from Boston. There, Aquino accepted fellowships from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , which allowed him the opportunity to give a series of lectures and write two books.
Despite his earlier pledge to Imelda, Aquino was highly critical of the Marcos regime during his stay in America. In , Ferdinand Marcos's health began to deteriorate, and with it his iron grip on the Philippines. Aquino worried that if he died, the country would descend into chaos and an even more extreme government might emerge.
Aquino decided to take the risk of returning to the Philippines, fully aware that he might well be reimprisoned or even killed. The Marcos regime tried to prevent his return by revoking his passport, denying him a visa, and warning international airlines that they would not be allowed landing clearance if they tried to bring Aquino into the country. Because Marcos had cut off diplomatic relations with Taiwan, the government there was under no obligation to cooperate with his regime's goal of keeping Aquino away from Manila.
As China Airlines Flight descended into Manila International Airport on August 21, , Aquino warned the foreign journalists traveling with him to have their cameras ready. Minutes after the plane touched down, he was dead—killed by an assassin's bullet. After a hour funeral procession, in which an estimated two million people took part, Aquino was buried in the Manila Memorial Park.
The leader of the Liberal Party famously eulogized Aquino as "the greatest president we never had. Inspired by the outpouring of support she received after Aquino's death, the formerly shy Corazon Aquino became a leader of the anti-Marcos movement. In , Ferdinand Marcos called for a snap presidential election in a ploy to reinforce his power. Aquino ran against him, and Marcos was proclaimed the winner in a clearly falsified result.
Aquino called for massive demonstrations, and millions of Filipinos rallied to her side. On February 25, , Corazon Aquino became the 11th President of the Philippine Republic and its first female president.
Ninoy Aquino's legacy did not end with his wife's six-year presidency, which saw democratic principles reintroduced into the nation. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. It is most ironic after martial law has allegedly been lifted, that the Supreme Court last April ruled it can longer entertain petitions for habeas corpus for persons detained under a Presidential Commitment Order, which covers all so-called national security cases and which under present circumstances can cover almost anything.
The country is far advanced in her times of trouble. Economic, social and political problems bedevil the Filipino. These problems may be surmounted if we are united. But we can be united only if all the rights and freedoms enjoyed before September 21, are fully restored. The Filipino asked for nothing more, but will surely accept nothing less, than all the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution — the most sacred legacies from the founding fathers.
Yes, the Filipino is patient, but there is a limit to his patience. Must we wait until that patience snaps? The nationwide rebellion is escalating and threatens to explode into a bloody revolution.
There is a growing cadre of young Filipinos who have finally come to realize that freedom is never granted, it is taken. Must we relive the agonies and the bloodletting of the past that brought forth our republic or can we sit down as brothers and sisters and discuss our differences with reason and goodwill?
I have often wondered how many disputes could have been settled easily had the disputants only dared to define their terms. So as to leave no room for misunderstanding, I shall define my terms:. Six years ago, I was sentenced to die before a firing squad by a military tribunal whose jurisdiction I steadfastly refused to recognize. It is now time for the regime to decide.
Order my immediate execution or set me free. I was sentenced to die for allegedly being the leading Communist leader. I am not a Communist, never was and never will be. National reconciliation and unity can be achieved, but only with justice, including justice for our Muslim and Ifugao brothers.
There can be no deal with a dictator. No compromise with dictatorship.
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