August 21 1983

Back in that date, I didn’t know who Ninoy Aquino was.  I was not yet fully aware of what was happening then.  I remember, it was around 2:00 PM when all of the sudden I felt there was something different.  It was my elder sister who brought me the news, from word of mouth I guess because our youth then was merely not involved in general issues.  Besides, I cannot remember if it was reported on the radio.  “Who is Ninoy by the way?” I asked.  She said “Ninoy is the staunch opponent of Ferdinand Marcos”.  I cannot clearly remember how he said it but my father warned us not to talk about it.  And being said that, it only mean that censorship during that time was high, and this was what I always grieved: being deprived of knowledge around us.

 

I just felt something was strange.   Was it just a gloomy sunny Sunday (I googled it was Sunday)?  No, I really believed there was something happening.  Why it seemed there was fear, and the silence was simply unusual.  It was not normal.  People are mum about it as in people seemed to hide something.  But I did not pursue to find it because my teen life was basically home-school routine. 

 

In August 21 1983, I was a struggling student hoping to finish study.  I was quiet and slowly trying to find out what was going on around me.  I heard some urban stories about the government but I really didn’t know Ninoy or any Aquino let’s say.  I did not know what was he fighting for, what were his deeds, belief, and who was he?  I had a social concerns and questions inside myself but I did not voice out them because my youth was happened in the typical era where our voice was not loud then.  

 

Coming from a family that the political party is under Marcos’ KBL, I took a different path and dared to make my own belief.  First and foremost, I can be called out by my father but he did not interfere into my political belief.  He never influenced me to follow the same path but instead he told me be wise and careful.

 

During my early social life, I had doubts then but I was not fully equipped with knowledge to hold my truth maybe because we had limited resources to know these things.  Until my consciousness was awaken during the 1986 Peoples Power revolution where all my unspoken thoughts about my government were suddenly not secret anymore.  And most of those thoughts of mine have been confirmed by history.

 

But what really happened in August 21 1983?  What are the back stories of all this?  What are the true stories of each witness’s narrative?  Sadly, people did not really have the opportunity to get the truth because it was happened during Marcos era but should this happen in our times today where there is no censorship, it will expose what to expose.

 

August 21 1983 destined to become history and paved way to give birth to a hero.  Ninoy’s martyrdom and principles affected the lives of the Filipino people.  The unprecedented funeral that lasted more than 10 hours and marched by more than a million people is testament to his worth.  He was not buried in the Libingan ng Mga Bayani but was declared hero not in term of his President wife but by another political party’s President – that makes it worth.  Now at 2020, I always look Ninoy as the man who instilled that freedom is important.  I may not appreciate him in 1983 but I am truly grateful for the fight he has shown against the authoritarian regime.  He is the symbol of opposition that will fight against all odds.