GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
Filtered By: Topstories
News
Essay: Remembering the father in the season of the son
August 21,2010 This is the first death anniversary of Ninoy’s assassination in the administration of his son, President Noynoy. At this point, 27 years after the terrible crime against our collective sense as a civilized people, most of us still around to remember can just barely recall like a faint echo, the anger, grief and outrage over Ninoy’s public murder. We were eventually moved to conquer our fears and affirm our humanity by toppling the dictatorship and installing our democracy. Now when Ninoy’s and Cory’s son is in Malacañang, at the head of our government, and the supreme leader of our country, we could ask: what meaning does Ninoy’s death give to Noynoy’s tasks? 
Noynoy himself offered this narrative to explain his and his parents’ mission in his inaugural speech at Luneta last June 30, 2010: “Nilabanan ng aking ama ang diktadurya at ibinuwis niya ang kanyang buhay para tubusin ang ating demokrasya. Inalay ng aking ina ang kanyang buhay upang pangalagaan ang demokrasyang ito. Ilalaan ko ang aking buhay para siguraduhin na ang ating demokrasya ay kapaki-pakinabang sa bawat isa." The father lost his life to win back democracy; the mother spent her life nurturing that democracy; the son will spend his life making democracy work for all of us. At the root of this narrative is Ninoy’s sacrifice which continues to bear fruit for our nation. I think of Ninoy’s death as a kind of atomic explosion in our collective consciousness. At its detonation, it released a first wave of anger and outrage powerful enough to sweep aside Marcos from power and bring down the political and institutional infrastructure of his long dictatorship. This first wave crested in the 1986 EDSA revolution and settled down with the ratification of the 1987 Constitution. A second, less dramatic but very real, wave akin to radiation then followed the initial explosion. his was marked by our people’s determination, based on faith in the pure virtue of Ninoy’s sacrifice, that our democracy will prevail and survive coups, corruption and illegitimacy. This collective determination to sustain our democracy that Ninoy bought with his life carried us through the terms of Cory, Ramos, Erap and even Gloria. And now, I think we are on the third wave of potential consequences from Ninoy’s martyrdom in August 21, 1983. Ninoy was a victim of arrogant power abused, without restraint, unaccountable to anyone and rampantly dominant. His death released in us tremendous energy and courage to confront official arrogance, restrain unaccountable authority, and bring down all sources of dictatorial power that Marcos represented. But Ninoy was also a willing and conscious martyr to the cause of democracy. His sacrifice made democracy even more precious to us and we have kept the faith though many of our elected and unelected leaders have since made a mockery of the same democracy. Ninoy’s son is now president of our democracy. How does Ninoy’s death at the hands of our oppressor speak to us about the use of power gained by his son through PNoy’s electoral victory? The answer to this is going to be the third wave of possible consequences from the explosion that was Ninoy’s assassination. Maybe during PNoy’s administration, Ninoy’s sacrifice may now be seen by many Filipinos as an example to inspire their own modest sacrifices by obeying laws, paying taxes, demanding proper behavior from their officials and working harder to get our economy moving and our society right. Maybe residual public anger over Ninoy’s death as a still unpunished case of abuse of power can still generate outrage necessary to punish the corrupt, banish midnight appointees, and stop further abuses by the powerful and well connected. Maybe the desire that Ninoy will never be alone can be transformed into well-informed support for the wise use by PNoy of the president’s great power for the greater good. It is still up to us today to define for our purposes the meaning of Ninoy’s death 27 years ago. Rizal’s death is an example of one man’s sacrifice for the nation that has an enduring and continuing influence on our collective consciousness. Ninoy’s death is yet another example about how our re-interpretations of our past remain useful for our future progress as a nation. Let us use our remembrance well. Mario Taguiwalo served in the administration of President Corazon Aquino and is now president of the National Institute for Policy Studies, the Liberal Party think tank. Photo collage by Analyn Perez
Noynoy himself offered this narrative to explain his and his parents’ mission in his inaugural speech at Luneta last June 30, 2010: “Nilabanan ng aking ama ang diktadurya at ibinuwis niya ang kanyang buhay para tubusin ang ating demokrasya. Inalay ng aking ina ang kanyang buhay upang pangalagaan ang demokrasyang ito. Ilalaan ko ang aking buhay para siguraduhin na ang ating demokrasya ay kapaki-pakinabang sa bawat isa." The father lost his life to win back democracy; the mother spent her life nurturing that democracy; the son will spend his life making democracy work for all of us. At the root of this narrative is Ninoy’s sacrifice which continues to bear fruit for our nation. I think of Ninoy’s death as a kind of atomic explosion in our collective consciousness. At its detonation, it released a first wave of anger and outrage powerful enough to sweep aside Marcos from power and bring down the political and institutional infrastructure of his long dictatorship. This first wave crested in the 1986 EDSA revolution and settled down with the ratification of the 1987 Constitution. A second, less dramatic but very real, wave akin to radiation then followed the initial explosion. his was marked by our people’s determination, based on faith in the pure virtue of Ninoy’s sacrifice, that our democracy will prevail and survive coups, corruption and illegitimacy. This collective determination to sustain our democracy that Ninoy bought with his life carried us through the terms of Cory, Ramos, Erap and even Gloria. And now, I think we are on the third wave of potential consequences from Ninoy’s martyrdom in August 21, 1983. Ninoy was a victim of arrogant power abused, without restraint, unaccountable to anyone and rampantly dominant. His death released in us tremendous energy and courage to confront official arrogance, restrain unaccountable authority, and bring down all sources of dictatorial power that Marcos represented. But Ninoy was also a willing and conscious martyr to the cause of democracy. His sacrifice made democracy even more precious to us and we have kept the faith though many of our elected and unelected leaders have since made a mockery of the same democracy. Ninoy’s son is now president of our democracy. How does Ninoy’s death at the hands of our oppressor speak to us about the use of power gained by his son through PNoy’s electoral victory? The answer to this is going to be the third wave of possible consequences from the explosion that was Ninoy’s assassination. Maybe during PNoy’s administration, Ninoy’s sacrifice may now be seen by many Filipinos as an example to inspire their own modest sacrifices by obeying laws, paying taxes, demanding proper behavior from their officials and working harder to get our economy moving and our society right. Maybe residual public anger over Ninoy’s death as a still unpunished case of abuse of power can still generate outrage necessary to punish the corrupt, banish midnight appointees, and stop further abuses by the powerful and well connected. Maybe the desire that Ninoy will never be alone can be transformed into well-informed support for the wise use by PNoy of the president’s great power for the greater good. It is still up to us today to define for our purposes the meaning of Ninoy’s death 27 years ago. Rizal’s death is an example of one man’s sacrifice for the nation that has an enduring and continuing influence on our collective consciousness. Ninoy’s death is yet another example about how our re-interpretations of our past remain useful for our future progress as a nation. Let us use our remembrance well. Mario Taguiwalo served in the administration of President Corazon Aquino and is now president of the National Institute for Policy Studies, the Liberal Party think tank. Photo collage by Analyn Perez 
