Aquinos celebrate 90th birth anniversary of Ninoy

The Aquino family and the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation (NCAF) commemorated the 90th birth anniversary of the late Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. on Sunday, November 27.

According to Luisito Santos’ report on Super Radyo dzBB, a mass was held in remembrance of the birthday of the former Senator Aquino Jr.

In a video message, Ninoy’s grandchild, Kiko Dee, thanked the public on behalf of the family for joining the celebration.

“I wish I could share with you some personal story about our Lolo, but sadly, none of us grandchildren ever got to know him personally. Instead, we learn about him through the stories of our parents, Tito Noy, and Lola Cory, and like most Filipinos, we also learn new things about him from our school teachers, public historians, and even Google,” he said.

“This is why days like Lolo Ninoy’s birthday and death anniversary can sometimes make me feel insecure: I’m his grandson, but there’s still so much I don’t know about him,” he added.

Benigno served as Senator from 1967 to 1972. He was assassinated at the Manila International Airport on August 21, 1983.

Moreover, Kiko said that people have always asked them how they would fight the disinformation against his grandfather and the effort to restore democracy in the country.

“This past year, people have been asking our family what the plan is to fight the disinformation about Lolo Ninoy, Lola Cory, Tito Noy, and our country’s shared story of democracy,” he said.

“It’s an enormous question. But for me, the first step involves admitting my ignorance about their stories, about our country’s story, and encountering it through the things they’ve left behind,” he added.

Further, Kiko said that they would also share with the citizenry "this trove of history" that they have at the NCAF.

“Today is Lolo Ninoy’s 90th birthday. Next year will be his 40th death anniversary. In days that follow, may we work to do justice to his memory,” he said. — DVM, GMA Integrated News