[OPINION] Courage unspeakable: Remembering Benigno S. Aquino Jr.
Speeches are hardly proof of social graces. If anything, the absolutely good ones disturb, perturb, and get in the way of our peace of mind.
See, unless you’re articulating the beatitudes with the power and majesty of heaven backing up your words, speeches worth our undying attention come few and far between. Abraham Lincoln’s The Gettysburg Address immediately comes to mind as one of the most memorable.
Albert Camus’ Nobel speech on the writer’s refusal to lie dangles between Martin Luther King’s I Have A Dream and Pulp Fiction’s Ezekiel 25:17 rant performed by actor Samuel L. Jackson as Jules Winnfield.
Maximus Decimus Meridius (played by Russel Crowe in Gladiator) and his “I will get my vengeance in this life or the next” speech can stand as a zesty addition to this verbal entourage.
There was this one speech which, for me, remains as captivating and as powerful as when it was first delivered. It’s what I call the “Christian Democracy” speech by former Sen. Benigno S. Aquino Jr. or Ninoy as we fondly called him. He delivered the speech on Feb. 15, 1981 at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles.
At the time, The Movement for a Free Philippines, a pro-democracy organization steered by former Sen. Raul Manglapus, set up a freedom rally symposium where Filipino and American pro-democracy advocates were treated by Aquino to a round of discussions on dictatorship, his seven-year incarceration, and his plans to stop the martial law.
While the speech itself brimmed with Aquino’s humor and charm, the latter part, which remains my favorite, spoke clearly of what was in his heart—ideas, plans, and the philosophical and political framework which he carried with him from his days as a journalist to that fateful hour he was assassinated by government forces.
Ninoy may be many things to many people, not all of them flattering. But if there is one accusation even his fiercest critics will not level against him, it is cowardice. The man knew his fate. He knew the price he would pay for going against the conjugal dictatorship. As a journalist, he also knew the power of his words.
Despite fearing for his life, Ninoy Aquino remained adamant in his convictions, speaking with bulletproof faith that Filipinos can change their lot if they only put their mind to it. He said in the latter part of the speech, addressing Marcos: “While I have vowed never to enter the political arena again, I shall dedicate the last drop of my blood to the restoration of freedom and the dismantlement of your martial law.”
And dedicate his life, he did. After a little over 900 days, on Aug. 21, 1983, Ninoy was felled by an assassin’s bullet on the tarmac of the Manila International Airport upon his arrival from the United States.
Watching this speech again to commemorate his life, I wonder: Would he had been any different if he turned out to be the country’s President? Would his principles and convictions hold? Or would power just easily corrupt him?
Ninoy may be many things to many people, not all of them flattering. But if there is one accusation even his fiercest critics will not level against him, it is cowardice.
In his speech, the former senator raised four issues I had assumed as his primary sociopolitical agenda—an agenda that hasn’t really been addressed even long after Ninoy’s death:
Education: “The poorest person in the land must be given equal opportunity for education.”
Human rights: “The great legitimizer of government is the ballot, not the bullet. And therefore, because we believe in the ballot, we believe in the majority rule. If the majority should win in the contest… we put a coletilla that, if the majority wins, it should respect minority rights.”
Economic self-determination: “We do not believe in the exploitation of man by man, meaning we do not believe in unbridled capitalism where the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer. In a developed country like America, you may have capitalism. But in a country like the Philippines with very meager resources and a developing economy, we must harness our meager economy and maximize their benefit. Therefore, there should be centralized economic planning and the government must actually give the direction to prevent any overlap.”
The doing away of political and economic dynasties: “Finally, I do not believe in the monopoly of basic industries. Why should one family monopolize one electric company in the Philippines, or why should one family monopolize the ownership of one airline company in the Philippines, or why should one company monopolize the telephone company in the Philippines? Since the government is funding all of this to begin with, these families are borrowing from government institutions and must depend on government guarantees, then I say let the government own them and let people share in the profit. Christian socialism, therefore, is nothing more than democracy.”
So, with these issues in mind, would Ninoy Aquino had been any different if he became the country’s President? I guess we will never know.
What is certain, though, is this: We would be strumming the pain of our long silences with our fingers until our need for heroes is finally replaced by the need to stand for ourselves.
Ninoy’s life, if anything, has taught us that.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of PhilSTAR L!fe, its parent company and affiliates, or its staff.