Discontinuity of Unity on Ninoy Aquino Day 2024

FILIPINOS SHOULD not forget that it was on August 21, 1983, when Ninoy Aquino was assassinated at the Manila International Airport. A staunch critic of the Marcos dictatorship, his death roused Filipinos from the state of repressed discontent. Years of military rule silenced free expression and freedom of the press. The murdered leader of the opposition drew hundreds of thousands to the wake in Sto. Domingo Church and even more swelled the funeral procession on the day of his burial. 

In the next three years, all kinds of protest actions gathered in “the parliament of the streets,” building up a massive movement that sparked the bloodless uprising of People Power and ousted Marcos Sr. from power. 

Thirty-eight years later, a member of the Senate, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ran for president and won, restoring his family to power. He campaigned on a single platform, his call for national unity. Forming an alliance with the Davao Dutertes, the only son and youngest offspring of Ferdinand and Imelda formed Team Unity with Sara Duterte as Vice President.

Just two years in power, the partnership showed its weakness. At present, the Marcoses and Dutertes are feuding, trading barbs and displaying profound differences in policies along with the deep desire for power on both sides. 

On another front, Marcos Jr. this year moved the observance of August 21 to August 23. 

The presidential order was slightly strong enough to open old wounds, stirring anew the pain not only of the Aquino family but of the many Filipinos who share the vision of power for the people, not just politicians. 

Marcos Jr. signed Proclamation No. 665 on August 15 re-setting the commemoration of Aquino’s death two days after the date he was assassinated. According to the proclamation, the change was made “in order to provide for a longer weekend, thereby promoting domestic tourism.”

The media published criticism that focused on historical revisionism and its legality. But the move should also prompt an examination of the sincerity of Marcos Jr.’s call to unity. Is the unity strong enough to open up political leadership to other forces? Is it unity that consolidates the common ground so citizens can work in different ways for the greater benefit of all? 

Or is it unity under one dynasty such as the joined clans of Marcos-Romualdez?

Bongbong Marcos may be a nice guy. But there is a desire for power among his family and relatives. 

Sadly, Philippine media continue to reflect the political polarization of the country. Democracy forces a people to hold a diversity of views, differences of opinion, debate, and disagreement. At some point, news should represent the exchange that articulates a shared vision for the country, imagining the nation Filipinos want to become. The collective understanding of their history allows a diverse community to gain respect for their differences, and to recognize the common values that we hold as a people. 

We may not like them all equally. But political leaders can help drive this process. The shared respect for the men and women who have shaped our society for the good defines this possibility. 

This is the significance of August 21 as a national holiday. It holds up the truth that Aquino returned to the Philippines in 1983 — not to challenge President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.–  but to start a dialogue for a peaceful transition. It was publicly known that Marcos’ health was failing.

He knew there were risks but he took that risk; because in his own words “the Filipino is worth dying for.”  

Coverage of August 21, 2024

Some news organizations reported on the long weekend created on August 23 without noting political connotations. Only a few cited the criticism coming from human rights groups, lawmakers, and the response of the Aquino family. 

Media covered the memorial mass organized by Tindig Pilipinas held at the Aquino mausoleum in Manila Memorial Park. And in other places, stories included the wreath-laying ceremony in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport led by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines and human rights groups; a mass in Conception, Tarlac; and film viewings in various parts of Quezon City.

Inside pages and latter part of newscasts

But these accounts in general did not gain front-page space and were given to other news of the day: the continuing tension in the West Philippine Sea and Vice President Sara Duterte’s book and its budget, among others.

On TV, August 21 was relegated to the latter part of primetime newscasts. TV was stuck on the recording of the day’s activities, including interviews with the Aquino family and human rights groups. 

In print, only Inquirer gave the date front page space, publishing a part of its editorial on Aquino on its cover. It also recalled how Marcos Jr. had moved the observance of People Power events from February 24 instead of February 25 in 2023 and this year removed it altogether from the list of public holidays, supposedly because it fell on a Sunday. ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol interviewed Kiko Aquino Dee, grandson of Ninoy Aquino, who also pointed out this pattern.

Notably, the Daily Tribune chose to publish the birthday of First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos instead, featuring her photo on the front page. 

Legality of the order 

The Philippine Star, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, ANC’s Dateline Philippines, and the Manila Standard cited Representative Edcel Lagman, who argued that the change was illegal. 

August 21 was declared a non-working holiday in 2004 by then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Lagman recalled Republic Act 9492 or “An Act Rationalizing the Celebration of National Holidays,” which sets Ninoy Aquino Day on a Monday nearest August 21, which falls on August 19 this year. “In the event the holiday falls on a Wednesday, the holiday will be observed on the Monday of the week. If the holiday falls on a Sunday, the holiday will be observed on the Monday,” the law stated. This is provided that for movable holidays, the President shall issue a proclamation at least six months before the holiday concerned —  which Marcos Jr. failed to do.

Lagman underscored that “the dates of national memorials must not be changed to dilute its significance and accommodate revisionism.” Similarly, in ANC’s The World Tonight, former Ifugao lawmaker Teddy Baguilat Jr., said that the date change “waters down” the significance of the date. 

Coverage did cite what the Aquino family had to say – “moving the day won’t diminish Ninoy’s sacrifice.”

Opinion not news 

Most media delegated the anniversary to the Op-Ed pages. Like the Inquirer, the other leading broadsheets, the Philippine Star, and the Manila Bulletin carried editorials on Ninoy Aquino Day. 

Rappler’s Glenda Gloria in their newsletter did a retrospective of August 21 in 2021 and 2022. During the last year of Duterte who demonized the “dilawan,” Duterte’s supporters filled social media with false narratives about Ninoy being a supposed founder of the communist underground.

In the first year of Marcos Jr. in 2022, there was no official observance of the holiday, worse, some police stations even red-tagged him.

Vergel Santos, one of CMFR’s Board of Trustees writing for Rappler described Marcos Jr.’s move as “misrepresentation, distortion, falsification — there may be some sense of factuality in using any of those words to describe what Junior and his family are doing to the nation’s history. But not one of those words captures the big stink it gives off.”

Most columns by educators, historians, and youth leaders also focused on the historical revisionism that goes with the moving of the date. To counter, most of these columns recounted the significance of the date, recalling events during this passage.

A younger generation of journalists may not connect to the country’s history as closely as the older generation who lived the experience. But even the first draft in the news should help enliven the noblest aspirations in charting our destiny. 

Perhaps, next year…