How the yellow ribbon revolution started

MANILA, Philippines - My name is Ton Soliven. I am the niece of Max Soliven who was once your editor. I am also the grandniece of Ninoy Aquino. I would like to share with you a story of how the whole yellow ribbons started way back in 1983. I think it is important in line with the yellow fever nowadays.

Laban started in 1978 when my Lolo Ninoy ran under the Lakas ng Bayan ticket. I used to help out in his campaign and started being politically involved at the young age of 10. By the age of 16 I had been arrested for political activities more than seven times helping out with the Laban campaign and the homecoming of Lolo Ninoy.

My Lolo Ninoy sent a letter through my aunt Sasa Aquino Lichauco to my Lola in June 1983 asking her to organize a group to welcome him at the airport and so our family had meetings for days and weeks to organize his homecoming. My Lola coined the term hindi ka nag-iisa and thought of that song Tie a Yellow Ribbon as the words aptly referred to my Lolo Ninoy. Tie a yellow ribbon round the ole oak tree, it’s been three long years do you still want me.

We had secret meetings at the Ding Velayo Complex near the airport. The welcoming committee heads were Eva Estrada Kalaw, Aurora Aquino, Doy Laurel, Enchong Tañada. We would meet at my Tita’s house/ lolas house, at the house of then Sen. Gerry Roxas.

My Lolo Ted gave me money to buy ribbons and funded us to get trucks and organize a group from Pangasinan, Tarlac and Bulacan to fill the whole area near the airport to put yellow ribbons and not to forget to feed the people. For days we spent sleepless nights cutting yellow ribbons and filled a whole truck with ribbons. 

 At night we would secretly put up the ribbons. We were hiding from the cops then and asked the people in the small little barangays/shanties to help us put yellow ribbons on top of their houses. For days we hid in and around the airport. My mom’s brother managed to put up the sign “Welcome Ninoy” near the church so that Lolo Ninoy will see this before landing at the airport. 

We also would meet at the PhilBanking building of Tito Doy Laurel and we asked all the offices around Ayala to donate all their yellow page directories to us so that we could shred them for confetti.

My Lola said that since the businessmen would surely support this yellow revolution, the center of the ticker tape should start from the central business district and thus Ayala/Ugarte ticker tape revolution started and we got this from the US war pictures when after the war soldiers were greeted by confetti from the building.

In the letter of Lolo Ninoy which I have a copy of, it describes in detail what he wanted us to do on his arrival. There was a big discussion on whether he should come home August 14 which they first agreed on. Tito Doy Laurel suggested August 28 to give us more time. But my Lola suggested August 21 as this was the anniversary date of the Plaza Miranda bombing.

My Tita Lupita Kashiwahara says Lolo Ninoy saw these ribbons before he landed. We waited for him at the airport but it was my Tita Linda Vargas who came out of the lounge and told us that he was shot. We were all crying and rushed to Fort Bonifacio. At first Gen. Grant who was the one who put my Lolo Ninoy to jail and also my Lola didn’t let us in to see my Lolo Ninoy, later he allowed us to see him all in blood in his white bush jacket. And my lola Aurora upon seeing her son told us that she wanted the world to see what they did to her son. So we rushed to Times Street, cleaned up the rooms for Kris, Balsy, Viel, Pinky and Noynoy as they were away for three years and their rooms were dirty.

We marshalled the streets of Times, Sto. Domingo Church, Tarlac joined the 13-hour bus ride from the church to Manila Memorial. This year I was able to do the same for Auntie Cory. Its history repeating itself though in a different perspective. Things were more difficult then, with the thought of being arrested, not having the press, not having TV coverage, not having computers, cell phones to organize...

The yellow revolution has really gone a long way since we started. —TON SOLIVEN