Where were some young senators when Ninoy was assassinated?

Some neophyte senators were not even in their teens when opposition leader Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. was shot dead on August 21, 1983.

Thirty-one years later, they have become elected senators, as Ninoy once was. But all of them, despite their party affiliations, believe that the late senator was a good man whose legacy should live on.

Senator Nancy Binay, 41, of the United Nationalist Alliance recalls that she was with her father, then human rights lawyer and now Vice President Jejomar Binay, at the Manila International Airport  together with other supporters waiting for the arrival of the senator.

Ninoy, however, was not even able to step on the soil of his homeland when an assassin pulled the trigger and killed the staunchest critic of strongman Ferdinand Marcos. The Ninoy Aquino International Airport now bears his name as a reminder of that tragic event.

“I remember the confusion when there were reports he (Ninoy) was assassinated,” said Nancy, who was 10 years old then.

In a text message to GMA News Online, she said: “We should never forget that the Filipinos are worth dying for,” quoting Ninoy's famous lines that still resonate three decades after his assassination.

Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aguirre Aquino IV, from the Liberal party and a cousin of President Benigno Aquino III, remembers being left alone in their house on that fateful day.

“I was six years old when Tito Ninoy was killed. I was the only one left at home while my whole family went to the airport to welcome Tito Ninoy for his homecoming,” said Bam Aquino, who is the son of Paul Aquino, the youngest brother of Ninoy.

He said he learned of the unfortunate incident when his family returned home.

“I remember them coming home and giving the terrible news that Tito Ninoy had been shot. It was a very sad time for all of us,” he said.

The neophyte senator, now 37, vows to continue his uncle's advocacies.

“When he died, we were fighting for democracy and justice. Today, we are still fighting for it, but this time we are fighting against poverty and corruption,” he said.

“The work that I’ve done in the Senate so far, and the bills that I’ve filed and passed, are part of that fight to bring inclusive growth and social justice to our countrymen,” Aquino added.

Senator Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara, 42, of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino and son of Senator Edgardo Angara, said his family spoke highly of Ninoy.

"I was 11 years old then and in grade school. I honestly didn’t know who he was because I wasn’t very interested in politics then, but my parents told me he was a good man." — LBG/YA, GMA News