By Philip M. Lustre Jr.
HINDSIGHT is always 20/20.
Had opposition leader Benigno Aquino did not return
to the Philippines in 1983 and opted to stay as a laid back academic in the
United States, the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos could have extended a
little longer, probably a decade or two. Who knows Imelda Marcos could have
followed Ferdinand, and then children Imee and Ferdinand Jr.
But Ninoy Aquino thwarted their political plans to
establish a dynasty by going home. He had decided to present himself as a
democratic alternative just in case the dictator’s kidney surgery worsened,
leading him to die eventually. At that time, a kidney transplant operation was
not a perfected surgery much unlike today.
Ninoy Aquino’s single act of bravery and moral
courage pursued and done at the most crucial moment in history virtually
altered the political equation. It deflated the planned takeover of Imelda and Gen.
Fabian Ver, the dictator’s loyal aide, who rose to become the Armed Forces
chief of staff. His homecoming put them in an awkward situation, prompting them
to pull the trigger and kill Ninoy Aquino.
Ninoy Aquino’s assassination, which was treacherously
done on the airport tarmac in the early afternoon of Aug. 21, 1983, gave the
single spark that torched the Marcos dictatorship. It was the single event that
galvanized a single anti-dictatorship front, uniting the various anti-Marcos
forces from all walks of life – from the perfumed elite of the Makati business
district to the poor and hungry farm hands.
It led to a series of events that exposed the
weaknesses of the Marcos dictatorship, particularly the dictator’s lack of
mandate. Cornered like a scalded cat, Marcos had no choice but to call the Feb.
7, 1986 “snap” presidential elections that resulted in massive cheating and
fraud to mar the purported political victory of Marcos.
In brief, the murder of Ninoy Aquino was one of the
series of antecedents that led to the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, the
single defining moment in history, where the Filipino people, in their exercise of souvereign
right, toppled an overstaying dictator from Malacanang. Aside from becoming the universal template on
how to topple dictators, the EDSA Revolution has led to the restoration of
democracy.
The Philippine political experience teeters on two
themes: democracy and authoritarianism. While
we acknowledge the need for a democratic government that upholds the
Constitution, the rule of the law and individual rights and freedom, a part of
our polity favors authoritarian rule purportedly to promote national security.
Ninoy Aquino’s murder and the subsequent EDSA Revolution
shatter this docrine of national security. It is a strongman’s doctrine to
institutionalize an authoritarian rule and prolong his stay in power.
Fast forward to the present. We could sense an
ongoing counterrevolution to invalidate the gains of EDSA Revolution and
destroy Ninoy Aquino’s legacy and time-tested adage that “the Filipino is worth
dying for.” We see a deranged president who wants to touch the nerve of history
to prove that the restored democracy is a fluke.
We see authoritarian forces who want to revise
history and present the sacrifice of Ninoy Aquino and other democratic heroes
are not worth remembering at all. But against the backdrop of the conspiracy of
anti-democratic elements, we see Ninoy Aquino’s legacyrising above the tempest
of authoritarian tendencies.
The counterrevolution is bound to fail. Yes, the
Filipno is worth fighting for.
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