Benigno Aquino, Jr.

:For the municipality, see Sen. Ninoy Aquino, Sultan Kudarat

"I will go back to the Philippines"

Throughout his three years and three months in the United States, Ninoy was always aware that their life there was temporary. Ninoy never stopped talking about returning to the Philippines even as he enjoyed living together with his family in the land of the free.

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In the first quarter of 1983, Ninoy was receiving information about the deteriorating political situation in the country combined with the rumored poor health (due to lupus) of President Marcos. Ninoy believed that it was imperative for him to speak to Marcos so that he could appeal to him to return the country to democracy, before extreme forces were released that would make such a return impossible. Also, the three years Ninoy spent in the U.S. made his allies worry that the Filipino people may have already forgotten about him, thinking that perhaps the people had finally embraced Marcos' strongman rule and that the opposition was no more.

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Ninoy decided to go back to the Philippines fully aware of the dangers that awaited him; even if it'll cost him to go to jail, "so be it", Ninoy answers. However, the Aquino family learned from the Philippine Consulate official in New York that there were orders from Manila not to issue any passports for them. At that time, all their passports had already expired and they had been denied new passports. So there was a change of plan. Ninoy decided it would be better if he went alone to attract less attention, and the rest of the family were supposed to follow him after two weeks. Ninoy had acquired a passport through the help of Rashid Lucman, a former congressman from Mindanao. The passport carried the name Marcial Bonifacio (Marcial for martial law and Bonifacio to represent his imprisonment in Fort Bonifacio). Ninoy was able to get a second passport from one of his friends in one of the Philippine consulates in America, and this passport carried his name, Benigno S. Aquino Jr. The Marcos government warned all international airlines who will airlift Aquino that they will be sanctioned and forced to return (if ever they carry Ninoy) to the point of embarkation. Ninoy reiterated that it's his natural right as a Filipino citizen to return to his homeland, and no government can prevent him from doing it. He left Logan International Airport on August 13, 1983 and took several routes home from Boston, to Los Angeles, then to Singapore, next to Malaysia, where he had friends in the ruling family, to Hong Kong, and then to Taipei, his last pitstop before heading towards Manila. Ninoy had chosen Taipei as the final stopover because the Philippines had severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan. This made him feel more secure; the Taiwan authorities could pretend they did not know of his presence. There would also be a couple of Taiwanese friends to take care of him.

Related Topics:
Consulate - New York - Rashid Lucman - Congressman - Mindanao - Marcial Bonifacio - Citizen - Logan International Airport - August 13 - Boston - Los Angeles - Singapore - Malaysia - Hong Kong - Taipei - Taiwan

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Having spent three years in the U.S., Ninoy could've chosen a better life by not to return in order to avoid another possible detention. In fact, it's fine to Marcos that Aquino would stay in the U.S. forever. Yet Ninoy made the biggest sacrifice to suffer all the consequences of returning home and to settle his score with the President. He wished to return to suffer alongside his people and to appeal directly to Marcos to step down and seek a peaceful regime change and reformation. Anticipating the worst, during a pre-return interview, he revealed that he'll be wearing a bullet-proof vest, but he also said that "it's only good for the body, but in the head there's nothing else we can do". Sensing his own doom, he quoted during the interview that they (the journalists) "have to be very ready with your hand camera because this action can become very fast...in a matter of 3 or 4 minutes it could be all over you know...and I may not be able to talk to you again after this...so this is the danger, the big danger".

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