‘One less coward on August 21’

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. returned to the Philippines on Aug. 21, 1983 “so there would be one less coward and one more brave Filipino.”

Thus said his widow former President Corazon “Cory” Aquino on Ninoy’s 10th death anniversary mass at the Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City, the same church where he lay in repose after he was assassinated upon his return from exile.

“I think he was sure the Filipino was worth dying for because he was a Filipino and he was willing to make the sacrifice. What further example, what better proof did he need than the one at hand,” the former president, who passed away six years ago, said during her husband’s 10th death anniversary.

According to her daughters Ballsy Cruz and Pinky Abellada, their mother also consoled them in their grief 32 years ago by revealing, “It was always your dad’s dream to die for the country.”

Ninoy and Cory’s children agree that despite the misgivings of their mother, their grandmother Aurora Aquino and their own fears, their father was not to be deterred from coming home.

“When he was coming back home, I asked my dad, ‘Why would you come home in that manner? You’re putting your whole life, your whole faith into the hands of a person who never did anything right by us’,” President Aquino, son and namesake of Ninoy, told The STAR in a previous interview.

A photo from the book Ninoy: Ideals and Ideologies shows the late senator Benigno Aquino Jr. and his wife, Corazon, talking to their children Ballsy, Pinky, Viel and Noynoy.

“That’s when my father answered, ‘Who wins in a civil war? It’s just a question of who suffers less. Some people will die sooner than others, nobody wins in a civil war.’ And I took it to mean... how do you profess love of country and not do everything you can to prevent it from falling into the abyss?” the younger Aquino said.

The eldest Aquino daughter Ballsy also once recalled how she “got it” when she told her father when they were in exile that it was time he thought more of his family than his country.

“That’s when we said, Dad, haven’t you given more than enough? Isn’t it time to be with your family? And I got it!” Ballsy recalled two years ago. She remembered her dad telling her she was “selfish.”

Pinky, who is said to be the most “Aquino” among the siblings, said that their father’s love of country was evident in the way he lived his life.

“We could sense that in his priorities,  the country was always number one. Family was below country,” she revealed.

Eventually, Cory also thought that way, according to Ballsy.

“May dumating na panahon na (There came a time when) Mom also felt that it was country first.  We said, ‘Mom, you too, country before family?’ She said you will get to that point. Don’t rush it, it will come when you will believe that country will come before family,” added Ballsy.

Thus Pinky believes her father would not have become the hero that he is if not for the steadfast support of Cory.

“Kasi ang mom pinapalakas pa loob niya na you’re doing the right thing. Kakayanin natin. Siyempre ikaw, kahit naghihirap na ang pamilya mo, if my wife believes in me and supports me and thinks I should continue the fight, lumalakas loob mo (Mom always strengthened my dad’s resolve by standing by him. Even when your family is having a hard time, when you know your wife believes in you, you’re strengthened),” Pinky said.

Ninoy Aquino’s assassination sparked a series of protest movements that led to the downfall of the Marcos dictatorship and the restoration of democracy in the Philippines. His widow was elected president in snap elections in 1986, and his only son, in May 2010.