Aquino siblings mark Ninoy’s death with prayers, call for unity

President Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III and his siblings commemorated on Saturday the 27th death anniversary of their father, the late Senator Benigno “Ninoy" Aquino Jr., with prayers and a call for unity for Filipinos to always remember what their parents died for. The President and his four sisters—Maria Elena “Ballsy" Cruz, Aurora Corazon “Pinky" Abellada, Victoria Eliza “Viel" Dee and Kris Aquino-Yap—gathered at their father’s grave at the Manila Memorial Park on Saturday for a Mass and a candle-lighting ceremony, attended by close friends and officials of the Aquino administration. President Aquino said in a speech during the gathering that his father’s example should serve as guide for Filipinos to take “the straight path." “Sa halimbawa nila, marami po sa atin ang namulat. Kaunti na lamang po ay maipupunta na natin sa tama at tuwid na landas (ang bansa) ," the President said. (Following their example, many of us became enlightened. Just a bit more, and we can finally bring our nation to the straight and righteous path.) President Aquino’s father, one of the staunchest critics of then President Ferdinand Marcos, was shot dead at the tarmac of the Manila International Airport on Aug. 21, 1983. The airport was later named after him. The assassination fueled the flame of protests against the Marcos regime, culminating in a people’s uprising that ousted the strongman and installed Aquino’s widow Corazon as president in 1986. Mrs. Aquino’s death in August 1, 2009 prompted now-President Noynoy Aquino to run and win in the May 2010 presidential elections. ‘Tell us what really happened’ President Aquino’s eldest sister, Ballsy Cruz, meanwhile said that although the family had long forgiven the persons behind her father’s assassination, she and the rest of her siblings still want to know what really happened on the day of Ninoy’s death. Cruz urged the former soldiers-turned-prisoners, who were pardoned by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2007 after being convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for killing her father, to speak up and tell the real story behind the assassination. “Sana po maisulat, kung ayaw, maikuwento man lang sa atin, nang sa gayon, sa future ay malaman natin ang tunay na nangyari doon," she said during a wreath-laying ceremony in front of the late senator’s monument in Intramuros in Manila. (See: Wreath-laying starts Ninoy 27th death anniversary rites) (I hope what they know could be written, or if they don’t wish to, could just be recounted to us, so that future generations will know what really happened there.) Cruz likewise said that Filipinos should focus on the good things that her father’s death brought to the country. “Dahil po inalay niya ang kanyang buhay, nabalik po ang demokrasya sa ating bayan (Because he offered his life," she said. Thankful The three other Aquino sisters, meanwhile, thanked Filipinos for continuing to remember their father’s “sacrifice." “We are all very thankful to the Filipino people for not forgetting Dad and his sacrifice," Viel Dee said after a Mass at the People Power Monument along Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA), site of the popular uprising which catapulted their mother to the presidency. “We’re very grateful [that] after 27 years, ang dami pa ring gumugunita (so many still remember)," Kris Aquino-Yap, President Aquino’s youngest sister, told reporters after the Aquino family gathering at the Manila Memorial Park. The family also had a private dinner later in the evening, as part of President Aquino’s wish to commemorate their father’s death quietly and privately. Pinky Abellada, for her part, attended a ground-breaking ceremony for a preschool building at the Holy Spirit Elementary School in Quezon City, also on Saturday. “Kaming magkakapatid, sa bait ng mga Pilipino sa aming mga magulang, dapat din ay suklian namin sila (For the goodwill that Filipinos showed our parents, we siblings should give them something back)," she said.—Andreo C. Calonzo/JV, GMANews.TV