JAJA? Today justice is just as elusive!

It's been 22 years since the tragic assassination of Sen. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., Aug. 21st last Sunday. I only write religious topics on Sunday so allow me to put in my piece in memory of the man whom I consider a great hero in the lines of Dr. Jose Rizal. It is Ninoy's assassination that makes me write articles opposing the burial of Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani; after all, the entire nation, with the exception of the Marcos cronies, many of whom are now Erap's zombies, will never forget that Ninoy came home at a great risk to his life (something he eerily predicted on foreign television on board the China Airlines Boeing 757 just hours before his death) and fell dead on the tarmac.

That Saturday night before Ninoy's assassination was an unforgettable one. We were having dinner at the residence of Rotarian Antonio Mira together with the Rotary Club of Cebu (Mother) of which I was still a member. Someone popped the question what we thought would happen to Ninoy when he comes home. Everyone offered their thoughts, some saying that he would land in jail and then Marcos would poison him inside. Others said that Ninoy would be sent right back to Taiwan. When my turn came, I blurted out that Ninoy would be dead before he steps on Philippine soil.

Of course, no one gave any serious thought to our dead reckoning until the next day where I was playing golf at the Club Filipino Inc. with my transistor radio glued on my ear. Yes, it was surreal to hear on radio that Ninoy was shot and killed as he stepped out of his plane. Later that evening, I got a lot of calls (remember cellular phones at that time were stuff of dreams) from my fellow Rotarians asking me how I predicted that Ninoy would be killed before he stepped off the plane. Of course, it was a lucky hunch, but it was enough to tell the Filipino people that the Marcos Dictatorship would kill to stay in power.

Ninoy's death revealed other things that Filipinos only realized then, like when they saw the newspaper reports the day after the tumultuous burial of Ninoy. I could never forget the Daily Express headline about the man struck by lighting. It was then a lot of us realized that the media during those dark days was totally controlled by the Marcoses. This incensed so many people, it caused the creation of the mosquito press, publications like Mr. and Ms. and soon, no one was reading those junk newspapers as their credibility vanished overnight. Something like this could never happen again. Thanks to the Internet, it keeps all our newspapers honest.

I would like to believe that what appalled Filipinos more than Ninoy's death was the attempt to cover up his murder and even today, Filipinos know who was the mastermind of his assassination and that he has never been publicly pointed out. In short, the Justice for Ninoy, Justice for All (JAJA) movement failed to give Justice for Ninoy… even under a Cory presidency. Perhaps because of that, justice is as elusive today as it was 22 years ago.

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Speaking of Erap, I was reading an emailed press release from the office of San Juan Mayor JV Ejercito who was so elated by what he called the "rousing reception and thunderous applause" by the El Shaddai given to his father, deposed president Joseph "Erap" Estrada last Sunday at the Luneta. I do not disagree with his view, that the members of the El Shaddai in Metro Manila are still enamored or mystified by Erap despite all the accusations against him and despite his open admittance to having a bevy of mistresses with all those luxurious mansions. It just makes me wonder why Bro. Mike Velarde has not openly denounced Erap's grievous sin despite the El Shaddai's being a Catholic lay organization?

Of course, I do not expect Mike Velarde to do what St. John the Baptist did to King Herod when he publicly chastised him for marrying Herodias, who was the wife of his brother Philip and in the end chopped off the head of St. John the Baptist. No doubt, Mike Velarde has selfish reasons to keep Erap as his friend and of course, he is also keeping his friendship with Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA). Hence, Mike Velarde is trying to reconcile the two political leaders, something which I believe is quite farfetched simply because the Erap camp is demanding the release of Erap before any reconciliation can happen.

So the big question is, should we free Erap so that he can reconcile with GMA? If you ask me, this is not for the GMA to decide. We're not stopping her from making any efforts to reconcile with her foes for as long as she doesn't throw justice out of the window; otherwise, we're in bigger trouble!

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