Benigno Aquino, Jr.

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

On the road to Martial Law

It was not until the Plaza Miranda bombing however - on August 21, 1971 (12 years to the day before Aquino's own assassination) - that the pattern of direct confrontation, the grand collision, between Marcos and Aquino emerged.

Related Topics:
Plaza Miranda - August 21 - 1971 - Assassination

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At 9:15 p.m. on that day, at the kick-off rally of the Liberal Party, the LP candidates had formed a line on the makeshift platform and raised their hands as the crowd applauded them. The band played, a fireworks "show" drew all eyes - but then there were two loud explosions that were not part of the fireworks, and the stage became a scene of wild carnage. It was later discovered by police that two fragmentation grenades had been thrown at the stage by "persons unknown". Nine (9) people died, 85 others were wounded, many gravely, including former senate-president Jovito Salonga.

Related Topics:
Grenades - Jovito Salonga

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Although the finger of suspicion pointed at the Nacionalistas (the political party of Marcos), the Marcos allies sought to deflect this by insinuating that, perhaps, Aquino might have had a hand in the blast in a bid to eliminate his potential rivals in the party. Later, evidence of the bombings as well as the situations surrounding the communist insurgency suggested that the bombings were the handiwork of the growing New People's Army. Nevertheless, Marcos suspended the Writ of Habeas Corpus, vowed that the killers would be apprehended within 48 hours (they never were), and arrested a score of alleged "Maoists" on general principles. Ironically, the police captured one of the bombers, and was identified as a sergeant of the firearms and explosive section of then Philippine Constabulary. According to Aquino, this man was later snatched from police custody and the public never heard from him again.

Related Topics:
New People's Army - Writ of Habeas Corpus - Philippine Constabulary

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When President Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972 (he went on-air to broadcast his declaration on the midnight of September 23), Aquino was one of the first to be arrested and imprisoned on charges of murder, illegal possession of firearms and subversion. On April 4, 1975, he announced that he was starting a fast to the death to protest the injustice of his military trial. Ten days after the "fast" began, he instructed his lawyers to withdraw all motions he had submitted to the Supreme Court. As the weeks went by, he took no food, only salt tablets, sodium bicarbonate, amino acids and two glasses of water a day. Even as he grew weaker, undergoing chills and cramps, the soldiers forcibly dragged him to the military tribunal's session. His family and hundreds of friends and supporters heard Mass nightly at the Santuario de San Jose in Greenhills, San Juan, praying that he would not die. Near the end, Aquino's weight had dropped from 160 to only 120 pounds. Ninoy could walk throughout the 40 days. On May 13, 1975, on the 40th day of his fast, he noted that it was the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. His family and several priests and friends, begged him to stop his fast, pointing out that even Our Lord Jesus Christ had fasted only 40 days and nights. He survived. He had made his gesture, offered his sacrifice up to God. But at 10:25 p.m. on November 25, 1977, Military Commission No. 2 found Aquino guilty of murder, subversion and illegal possession of firearms, and was sentenced to death by firing squad. However, Ninoy believed that Marcos would not want him to die this way. Whatever it may be, Aquino said, it will be done in another way.

Related Topics:
Martial law - September 21 - 1972 - Murder - Illegal possession of firearms - Subversion - April 4 - 1975 - Fast - Supreme Court - Sodium bicarbonate - Amino acids - Greenhills, San Juan - May 13 - Our Lady of Fatima - Jesus Christ - November 25 - 1977 - Firing squad

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