Ninoy’s Last Speech.
On this day 22 years ago, Ninoy Aquino was supposed to read this speech upon alighting from the China Airlines flight that proved to be his last.
Four presidents and just as many EDSAs later, have we overcome most, indeed any, of the problems that Ninoy outlined in this speech? Oh how I wish.
I have returned on my free will to join the ranks of those struggling to restore our rights and freedoms through non-violence.
I seek no confrontation. I only pray and will strive for a genuine national reconciliation founded on justice.
I am prepared for the worst, and have decided against the advice of my mother, my spiritual adviser, many of my tested friends and a few of my most valued political mentors.
A death sentence awaits me. Two more subversion charges, both calling for death penalties, have been filed since I left three years ago and are now pending with the courts.
I could have opted to seek political asylum in America, but I feel it is my duty, as it is the duty of every Filipino, to suffer with his people especially in time of crisis.
I never sought nor have I been given any assurances or promise of leniency by the regime. I return voluntarily armed only with a clear conscience and fortified in the faith that in the end justice will emerge triumphant.
According to Gandhi, the willing sacrifice of the innocent is the most powerful answer to insolent tyranny that has yet been conceived by God and man.
Three years ago, when I left for an emergency heart bypass operation, I hoped and prayed that the rights and freedoms of our people would soon be restored, that living conditions would improve and that blood-letting would stop.
Rather than move forward, we have moved backward. The killings have increased, the economy has taken a toll for the worse, and the human rights situation has deteriorated.
During the martial law period, the Supreme Court heard petitions for habeas corpus. It is most ironic after martial law has allegedly been lifted, that the Supreme Court last April ruled it can no longer entertain petitions for habeas corpus for persons detained under a Presidential Commitment Order, which covers all so-called national security cases and which under present circumstances can cover almost anything.
The country is far advanced in her times of trouble. Economic, social, and political problems bedevil the Filipino. These problems may be surmounted if we are united. But we can be united only if all the rights and freedoms enjoyed before September 21, 1972 are fully restored.
The Filipino asked for nothing more, but will surely accept nothing less than all the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the 1935 Constitution — the most sacred legacies from the founding fathers.
Yes, the Filipino is patient, but there is a limit to his patience. Must we wait until that patience snaps?
The nationwide rebellion is escalating and threatens to explode into a bloody revolution. There is a growing cadre of young Filipinos who have finally come to realize that freedom is never granted, it is taken. Must we relive the agonies and the blood-letting of the past that brought forth our republic, or can we sit down as brothers and sisters, and discuss our differences with reason and goodwill?
I have often wondered how many disputes could have been settled easily had the disputants only dared to define their terms.
So as to leave no room for misunderstanding, I shall define my terms:
1. Six years ago, I was sentenced to die before a firing squad by a military tribunal whose jurisdiction I steadfastly refused to recognize. It is now time for the regime to decide. Order my immediate execution or set me free.
I was sentenced to die for allegedly being the leading communist leader. I am not a communist, never was, and never will be.
2. National reconciliation and unity can be achieved, but only with justice, including justice for our Muslim and Ifugao brothers. There can be no deal with a dictator. No compromise with dictatorship.
3. In a revolution there can really be no victors, only victims. We do not have to destroy in order to build.
4. Subversion stems from economic, social, and political causes and will not be solved by purely military solution: it can be curbed not with ever increasing repression but with a more equitable distribution of wealth, more democracy and more freedom.
5. For the economy to get going once again, the working man must be given his just and rightful share of his labor, and to the owners and managers must be restored the hope where there is so much uncertainty if not despair.
On one of the long corridors of Harvard University are carved in granite the words of Archibald McLeish: “How shall freedom be defended? By arms when it is attacked by arms; by truth where it is attacked by lies; by democratic faith when it is attacked by authoritarian dogma. Always, and in the final act, by determination and faith.”
I return from exile and to an uncertain future with only determination and faith to offer — faith in our people and faith in God.
22 years after Ninoy’s brains were splattered onto the tarmac, the masterminds behind his murder remain free: the dictator Ferdinand Marcos reprieved by a natural death, his widow flaunting her freedom in our faces, on our own soil. Two of his children are now high government officials..
Ninoy remains buried in Manila Memorial. A very vocal minority is pressing for the dictator’s remains to be transferred to the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery).
Source: “The Prepared Speech That Was Never Read,” Mr & Ms, Vol VIII, No 20 Sept 6, 1983 p. 3.
i really admire this great man ! He is a great hero in my heart and in the Philippine history. a one in a million, you can find this kind of man. It is so heartwarming to know his thoughts about his country and countrymen. I feel good as a filipino indeed.
I also admire him as a hero, but I’d rather we also remember that he was human as well. He was also an ambitious politician, with many of the faults we associate with today’s ambitious politicians.
I’m not belittling him as a hero by describing him thus; this touch of humanity, if anything, serves to make him even more deserving of our respect.
ninoy aquino is who the current opposition try to present themselves as but fall short. they, ofcourse, are headless chickens running around making a mess of everything without truly accomplishing anything POSITIVE for the country. if ninoy were to comment on these people now, he would lash out and declare them hypocrites and cowards–driving around in their escorted luxury vans, jetsetting, lapping up in the people’s money, and accusing the administration of abuses they themselves share.
Amen to that - personally I would focus on those leftist organizations who would decry police action in rallies, then hit riot police with nail-encrusted planks. The hypocrisy is spread all around.
woa. tnx for putting his speech.. I really need it for my assign tnx!!! anywayz.. he’s a great man..
You’re welcome. What school are you from?
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others”-M.Gandhi
Sir Ninoy Aquino is not just a great hero to me, he is the “enlightened” one (the Filipino Gandhi) of our generation who inspire us to regain once more our true worth and identity as Filipino people. His faith and determination to serve his cause-freedom & justice through non-violence- become the building block of our freedom we enjoy today…but it is not meaningful to have that freedom for our personal gain or selfish endeavor. Sir Ninoy lay down his life to the last drop of his blood because of his love for his country, for his people, and for you. value it! Let us continue his noble cause for the sake of our beloved fellowmen. May his life sacrifice become a seed of a free and better country, today and for the future generation. I have Faith in Filipino.
“A Filipino is worth dying for”.- Ninoy
Rane A. Panaligan
Braveheart
http://www.inspirationph.com
ninoy’s really a hero. he has his own principle and is very firm with it. i guess thousands of filipinos admire this man. for me,he’s a genius……….
Ninoy Aquino is indeed a national hero of our modern times. We indeed lost a great man who could have been President of our country. I really admire and respect him. A man of GOD, too.
Si former Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr. ay isang tunay na bayani at martir ng sambayanang Pilipino. Nakakahinayang na mawalan ng isang dakilang lider tulad niya. Tunay na humahanga ako sa kanya, hindi lang dahil siya ay may prinsipyo kundi isa rin siyang anak ng DIYOS. Hope that our politicians would do the same kaya lang nakakalungkot kasi ang Opposition ngayon ay di tulad ng Opposition nung panahon ni Ninoy.
I am a firm believer that Ninoy Aquino was an opportunistic person. He was part of the same elite that for generations have enslaved the Filipinos. His political life had shown that Ninoy was never on the side of democracy of the common man. He was on the side of oligarchy and the weatlhy. His death was fruitless. The true heroes of the 1986 Revolution was the commom man who for years fought injustice with the barrel of the gun in the hills and countryside. It makes me sick to think that Ninoy is a national hero.
“The true heroes of the 1986 Revolution was the commom man who for years fought injustice with the barrel of the gun in the hills and countryside.”
Are you kidding? The Communists were totally sidelined by the 1986 Revolution, and never got back into the spotlight again. The enemy that makes the Army crap their pants now is the MILF, not the washed-up Communist movement. Didn’t you get the memo?
I admire him as a superhero,,, magaling talaga siya at talagang may pagmamalasakit sa ating mga pinoy… tnx ninoy for your concern….
“I am a firm believer that Ninoy Aquino was an opportunistic person. He was part of the same elite that for generations have enslaved the Filipinos. His political life had shown that Ninoy was never on the side of democracy of the common man. He was on the side of oligarchy and the weatlhy. His death was fruitless. The true heroes of the 1986 Revolution was the commom man who for years fought injustice with the barrel of the gun in the hills and countryside. It makes me sick to think that Ninoy is a national hero.”
I beg to disagree, was it Ninoy’s fault that he was born to a well- off family? how dare you make such statements about those whom who you say fight in the mountains, how dare you praise them. It’s a shame that you uplift the very same people who “fight” blindy for a lost cause. how dare you praise those people who are blinded by the teachings of someone who is hiding in comforts of a foriegn land, while his followers risk life and limb to further his so called cause. and lastly, how can you praise a group of people who follow a dictum, so distorted from the original that it fails to serve it’s real purpose.
how dare you praise people who say they fight for the good of the common man, when they themselves extort from the very people they vowed to fight for?
how dare you discredit Ninoy for his sacrifice.and how dare you credit those commies for the 1986 revolt, when in fact they weren’t part of it in any way. it was the common people, those who work tirelessly, who care for their children, who pay taxes, who follow the law, that credit should be given, and not those who does other wise.
Indeed, Ninoy is a great hero!
while i admired Ninoy’s “heroism”, i still am not sure about his real motives in rebelling against Ferdinand E. Marcos. A lot of people are saying that both of them are good friends and that only the political affiliation divides them.
Ninoy is a hero, and that is absolute! He was instrumental in giving us the freedom that we have now. He is a “true-blooded” leader i can ever imagine. Until now, no one can be as good or as great as Ninoy. Everybody needs a leader and Ninoy epitomize the traits of leadership worthy of emulation, but to my dismay no one, literally no one, comes close to Ninoy until now. He will be arrested when he will return, he will be killed when he will return, he will suffer when he will return, he will be persecuted when he will return, but still Ninoy returns… Others so called leaders hide in the comfort of a foriegn land, while his followers suffers the worst in his homeland but never dare to come home.
They are afraid to die, I dont think its an act of cowardice, I only think that their can be only one - Ninoy and his statement that, “Filipinos are worth dying for…”
What a very honorable man. He sacrificed his life even if he had the choice to seek asylum in America.
He continued on even if he knew that meant getting killed. Thus, this speech is a very beautiful one.
nice speech.he is a real hero
wow its so very nice!!!! i hope many people told that type of guy!!!! ur the man!!hheheheh
In 2008 modern politics, He is more eloquent than Barrack Obama and JFK. He is more complex than any first impression could ever suggest. With him, I have great feeling of pride and always proud being Filipino.
Manolito Palustre Baciles
University Scholar
Bagac,Bataan Philippines
it is one of the most profound speeches ive ever read. if only he could have escaped the brutal fate of execution, he would have made a great intellectual leader of our time
i really admire this man… to all central luzon viewers pls watch our special episode at CLTV 36… magsilbi tamu every tuesdays at 8:30 in the evening… ninoy… heart and soul…
Ninoy did not bring justice and liberty to the Filipino, but the opportunity to be free. He did not walk us through the door, instead He open it, for us to decide.
He may be a hero for some and not for many or the other way around, but the question is, Will you be a hero for you own country.
Act now, the opportunity is knocking…
daleglovely@yahoo.com.ph
hi…may i grab this speech so i can post it in my blog? thanks
Go ahead. I didn’t write it; Ninoy did.
i really admire this great man ! He is a great hero in my heart and in the Philippine history. a one in a million, you can find this kind of man. It is so heartwarming to know his thoughts about his country and countrymen. I feel good as a filipino indeed.
he is great man great filipino his a hero in my heart
add me in friendster gelo_espinosa@yahoo.com.ph
i admire ninoy aquino because he is really a brave hero..
ninoy is our hero.. . . mabuhay si ninoy. . mabuhay ang pilipino. .
An intelligent, principled, eloquent, brave Filipino we should all emulate. He, his ultimate sacrifice awakened us from our twenty or so years of stupor and indifference and transformed our hopes into demands and actions for justice and freedom, best portrayed during the first EDSA Revolution.
Ninoy Aquino stands for a true Filipino and a real legacy worth emulating.
do u have a copy of all the speeches he made? pls post it.. tnx…
watta xpeech:]
Ninoy was gallant and he had genuine love for the Filipino people. He was given that rare chance to prove this and he bravely seized it. He was blessed.
I really admire “ninoy” because of his heroic act,for me he is the heroe of all the filipinos. And he become an inspiration for me to struggle and fight for what I think is right. “His foot print will never vanish”.
his spirit is still alive..
and will always be there to guide us..
“In a revolution there can never be victors, only victims”….Indeed! Ninoy is a great person. He doesn’t want to use strength to fight for our freedom, but by his brains, wisdom and courage. He is really our hero!!!
i really also need it for my reaction paper..i already have read it. he’s great man for our country..
wow! I think I am one of the most avid listener of speeches of ninoy. I really admire him!
He is very clever and i want to be like him even though i am dull but i will strive. I think I can do what he does…. to our dear country !
i admire pres.ninoy
i admire ex.sen.ninoy aquino
i will never forget ex.sen.ninoy
@micketymoc
yes, we should remember him also as a human being AND a politician. i too admired him after his death but later on realize that he also made a lot of mistake simply because he has his own agenda. the Sabbah issue alone… we could have taken Sabbah back then, but….
let’s not lose sight of reality… thats the problem with this country is we like to “hero-worship” people, make them “bigger than life”, when we ourselves can make a big difference for our country. if we want good government, then the change must begin with us. if we want to stop corruption, then let us make a stand against corruption. kung walang maglalagay, walang mangungurakot. kung pipila tayo ng maayos, walang makakasingit and we must be honest to ourselves na kaya natin iboboto dahil hindi sa “madaling” kausap or “malalapitan” or dahil “kilala” natin. that is why Singapore has managed to be a first world country, because there are no special favors, to think, they had a bad reputation before in the Malaysian Federation.
i have not gone home for four years simply because i refuse to pay the bribe in the airport. i may have sacrificed so much in not being with my family but i stand by my principle.
ninoy is my idoL..he inspired m everytime i read his story.. he is so very brave… so thank you for making me proud FiLipino’
people haven’t forgotten the LAPIANG MALAYA massacre in malacanang during marcos regime. what about the LUISITA MASSACRE? have you followers of NOYNOY forgotten the lives of poor farmers lost because of a cause? it’s time to wake up my fellow countrymen!
Ninoy Aquino makes me proud to be a Filipino!!! It is such a shame that the dictator and his wife (sorry but I cannot stomach mentioning their names) showed to the whole world how barbaric they are in treating national treasures such as Ninoy. One can easily detect the comparison between the two leaders and their wives. Ninoy deserves to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani but his family declined; instead he was buried in a simple tomb, not even a mausoleum was built for him. On the other hand, the wife of the dictator is deperately asking, in fact begging, for that monster to be buried on a land that he does not deserve to have claiming that he was a soldier during the Japanese occupation. Hahahaha…. everybody knows that claims is a fake. It has been proven that the so-called medals was not really awarded to that dictator and that there was no such units that fought under the American side.
ninoy for me is incomparable…what a great man! a great loss but a gain as he restored the democracy we are enjoying currently….we have come so far and yet suffering from political instability…tsk..tsk..tsk, please leat us do our share to make Philippines a country we can all be proud of….may the memories and deeds of ninoy be our inspiration making our country a place we can really feel that we are fulll blooded Filipinos. Kudos to Ninoy
ninoy for me is incomparable…what a great man! a great loss but a gain as he restored the democracy we are enjoying currently….we have come so far and yet suffering from political instability…tsk..tsk..tsk, please let us do our share to make Philippines a country we can all be proud of….may the memories and deeds of ninoy be our inspiration making our country a place we can really feel that we are fulll blooded Filipinos. Kudos to Ninoy
@sam
Excuse me?,the hacienda lusita massacre was not fault and done by the aquino family,it came from his uncle, Cojuanco family.you better research..Ninoy was a very brilliant person,dont be silly and don’t be dull,His speeches,principles were truly touches the every heart of the filipino people. Ninoy Aquino FOREVER!.
I am the Political science student of The University of Mindanao!.
I admire you sir Ninoy but I hope that all Filipinos will not dissapointed to your speech…
Ninoy is forever, signature for true democracy for the filipino people!!!!!!
tnx for posting this undelivered speech of a true hero- ninoy aquino…
You’re…
My Friend,
my companion,
through good times and bad
my friend, my buddy,
through happy and sad,
beside me you stand,
beside me you walk,
you’re there to listen,
you’re there to talk,
with happiness, with smiles,
with pain and tears,
I know you’ll be there,
throughout the years!
tnx for this speech post i now have an assignment & i would not stand at the back of the class tnx… ^_^
tnx for the speech to us filipinos
^.^
elow again im back i really like your speech Tito Ninoy Aquino your a great hero for us filipinos
i salute you ninoy amen!