Revenge

He’s only human, so President Aquino was just being honest when he admitted wanting “an eye for an eye” after his father, former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., was assassinated in 1983.

Obviously P-Noy wasn’t seeking vengeance on purported communist hit man Rolando Galman, who was tagged by the Marcos regime as the gunman. Poor Galman, shot dead with Ninoy on the tarmac, but still seen as a heel for allowing himself to be used as a fall guy.

Since it’s an imperfect world and life is unfair, Noynoy Aquino never managed to exact an eye for an eye. In fact, the mastermind of the so-called crime of the (20th) century has not been officially established, even after six years of Corazon Aquino’s presidency and with the nation now under the leadership of her only son.

As she battled cancer, Cory Aquino had salt rubbed on the family’s wound when the Arroyo administration granted parole on humanitarian grounds and set free the soldiers who were serving life terms for the twin assassinations.

Worse, even some of their former staunch allies openly criticized the Aquinos for being heartless in opposing the release of the soldiers.

Noynoy Aquino, at the time a senator, explained to me why they were against the release. They realized the soldiers could not have known who ordered the hit, Senator Noynoy told me. But he said there were two crimes committed: the first was the assassination itself, and the second was the cover-up. No one had been prosecuted for the second offense, he said.

It took about an hour for the soldiers to bring Ninoy Aquino in a military van from what was then called the Manila International Airport to the hospital at nearby Fort Bonifacio. From the injuries suffered by Ninoy, his family suspected that he was still alive but was finished off by the soldiers inside the van, Senator Noynoy told me. What happened in the van was among the stories the Aquinos wanted to hear from the convicts.

But the soldiers stuck to the official line that Galman did it. No one changed his story except one – Sgt. Pablo Martinez, who indicated that Cory’s first cousin, businessman Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr., ordered the assassination.

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Last May, Martinez was killed while cycling along Roxas Boulevard after being hit by a Mitsubishi Montero driven by Philippine Airlines employee Henry Roque. Reports said the family wanted to pursue suspicions of foul play but did not have money for litigation. They did not press charges and instead agreed to settle with Roque.

It was not the first time that Danding Cojuangco was implicated in the murder of his cousin-in-law. There were “his and hers” cliques in the Marcos-era security forces (with so-called reformists loyal to defense chief Juan Ponce Enrile later emerging). There were officers identified with Ferdinand Marcos. Those implicated in the Aquino assassination were identified with the other half of the conjugal dictatorship, first lady Imelda and her ally Cojuangco.

Among the popular conspiracy theories at the time was that Imeldific, seeing her husband critically ill with lupus, could not risk having Ninoy Aquino in town and ready to take over in case the presidency became vacant.

The late Raul Gonzalez, when he was the tanodbayan or ombudsman, told justice reporters he would present witnesses implicating Cojuangco at the retrial of the assassination case. But after Gonzalez had a run-in with the Supreme Court, he clammed up and no witnesses were presented. Noynoy Aquino would later say they did not believe their uncle was involved.

Ninoy’s widow, the late President Cory, made no secret of her belief that the Marcos regime was responsible for the assassination. Whether it was Ferdinand or Imelda, it didn’t matter.

Imeldific, whose expenses as a former first lady and current member of the House of Representatives continue to be charged to us taxpayers, had no comment yesterday on P-Noy’s wish for vengeance.

Her only son and Ferdinand’s namesake also said it was not his place to comment. Taxpayers are also paying for the upkeep of Senator Ferdinand Jr., who has admitted that he may run for president. If he wins, it will be the ultimate vindication for the Marcos clan.

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The Aquinos did not get an eye for an eye, but Filipinos have allowed them to enjoy a vengeance of sorts by sending two of Ninoy’s direct heirs to Malacañang. The baby of the family, Kris Aquino, is also one of the nation’s most successful entertainers.

But the Aquino assassination continues to be a crime without a mastermind or motive.

It’s like the Marcos assets seized by the government in this country, the United States and Switzerland. The assets were confiscated because they were declared to be ill-gotten. Switzerland considers the return to the Philippine government of the Marcoses’ deposits in Swiss banks – now more than $600 million with accumulated interest – as a landmark in restitution for victims of despotic regimes.

But how come no one has been sent to prison for amassing the dirty money? The amounts involved should warrant a life term for plunder.

Seeing people get away with large-scale corruption has to be the biggest inspiration for crooks in government. The straight path or daang matuwid pursued by Ninoy and Cory Aquino’s only son has made some inroads against corruption, but the problem remains deeply rooted at all levels of government.

Seeing the so-called crime of the century go unsolved also has to be among the inspirations for the prevalence of political assassinations. We’ll be seeing more of them again as the 2016 elections approach.

P-Noy can now shrug off the failure to exact an eye for an eye following the murder of his father. For the aggrieved, success is the best revenge. But for the long-term health of a nation, justice is better.