NINOY: The Modern Day Hero

The common denominator among what we currently characterize as heroes, making them

distinct from a common man, are not whether they used the pen or the sword as a their weapon,

nor is it the era in which they marked history, but rather the ideals and principles they had and

the way they changed the lives of many Filipinos. One hero marked a very significant event in

19th century Philippines which mapped the country to the globe. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.

became the voice of the people during the Martial Law years. He was the leading Philippine

opposition leader during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos and was assassinated on returning

home from exile. He emerged as a contemporary analogy to the great Rizal, who was among the

world's earliest proponents of non-violence as the instrumentation to combat a repressive regime.

Aquino, popularly known as Ninoy, married Corazon Cojuangco in 1954. He entered

politics at the age of 22 and subsequently became the youngest mayor, governor, and senator to

serve in the Philippines. Imprisoned in 1972 when President Marcos declared martial law, Ninoy

was allowed to move his family to the United States so he could undergo heart surgery. He later

served as a research fellow at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In 1983 he returned to Manila to work in the legislative election. Despite high security, he was

assassinated as he deplaned on August 21. Although an investigation commission declared that

several military allies of Marcos were responsible for the assassination, all defendants were

acquitted in a 1985 trial. In 1986 a popular uprising in Manila, called the People Power

Movement, forced Marcos to flee the Philippines, and Ninoy’s widow Corazon Aquino took

office as the elected president. The Supreme Court subsequently declared his murder trial a

mistrial. In a new trial that ended in 1990, 16 military officials were convicted of his murder.
 His death began the series of events that led to the world-famous People Power

Revolution of 1986 which ousted Marcos – an event that made the Filipinos separate from the

rest of the world in their approach to reaching a peaceful country.

Yet what really made Ninoy earn his heroism? Was it his martyrdom? This paper shall

have a closer look at the life of the man who proved that indeed, the Filipino is worth dying for.

The early life of a modern hero…

Benigno Aquino was born in, Conception, Tarlac to a prosperous family of hacienderos.

His grandfather, Servillano Aquino, was a general in the revolutionary army of Emilio Aguinaldo

while his father, Benigno Aquino, Sr. was a prominent official in the World War II Japanese-

organized government of Jose P. Laurel. His father died while Benigno Aquino was in his teens

amid rumors of collaboration with the Japanese during the occupation. Aquino was educated in

private schools--St. Joseph's College and De La Salle College. He finished high school at San

Beda College. Aquino took his tertiary education at the Ateneo de Manila with a degree in

Liberal Arts but he did not graduate. At age 17, he was the youngest war correspondent to cover

the Korean War for the newspaper The Manila Times of Joaquin "Chino" Roces. Because of his

journalistic feats, he received a Philippine Legion of Honor award from President Elpidio

Quirino at age 18. At 21, he became a close adviser to then defense secretary Ramon Magsaysay.

Ninoy took law at the University of the Philippines, where he became a member of the Upsilon

Sigma Phi. He interrupted his studies however to pursue a career in journalism. In early 1954, he

was appointed by President Ramon Magsaysay to act as personal emissary to Luis Taruc, leader

of the Hukbalahap rebel group. After four months of negotiations, he claimed credit for Taruc's

unconditional surrender. He became mayor of Concepcion in 1955 at the age of 22. In the same
year he married Corazon "Cory" Cojuangco, and they had 5 children; Ma. Elena, Aurora

Corazon, Benigno Aquino III, Victoria Elisa, and TV host Kris Aquino.

His life in politics…

Ninoy was no stranger to Philippine politics. He came from a family that had been

involved with some of the country's political heavyweights. His grandfather served under

President Aguinaldo while his father held office under Presidents Manuel Quezon and Jose P.

Laurel. He became the youngest municipal mayor at age 22 and the nation's youngest vice-

governor at 27. He became governor of Tarlac province in 1961 at age 29, then secretary-general

of the Liberal Party in 1966. In 1967 he made history by becoming the youngest elected senator

in the country's history at age 34. He was the only "survivor" of the Liberal Party who made it to

the senate, where he was inevitably singled out by Marcos and his allies as their greatest threat.

In 1968, during his first year in the Upper House, Ninoy warned that Marcos was on the road to

establishing "a garrison state" by "ballooning the armed forces budget", saddling the defense

establishment with "overstaying generals" and "militarizing our civilian government offices"--all

these cautions were uttered barely four years before martial law.

In myriad ways Ninoy bedeviled the Marcos regime, chipping away at its massive

pretense. His most celebrated speech, insolently entitled "A Pantheon for Imelda", was delivered

on February 10, 1969, and assailed the first lady's first extravagant project, the P50 million

Cultural Center, which he dubbed "a monument to shame". An outraged President Marcos called

Ninoy "a congenital liar". The First Lady's friends angrily accused him of being "ungallant".

These so-called "fiscalization" tactics of Ninoy quickly became his trademark in the senate.

During his tenure as senator, he was selected by the Philippine Free Press magazine as one of the
nation's most outstanding senators. His achievements at such a young age earned him the

moniker "Wonder Boy" of Philippine politics.

Ninoy was seen as a contender by many for the highest office in the land, the presidency.

Surveys during those times showed that he was the number one choice among Filipinos, since

President Marcos by law was prohibited to serve another term.

During the Martial Law…

It was not until the Plaza Miranda bombing however--on August 21, 1971 (12 years to

the day before Ninoy Aquino's own assassination)--that the pattern of direct confrontation

between Marcos and Ninoy emerged. At 9:15 p.m., at the kick-off rally of the Liberal Party, the

candidates had formed a line on a makeshift platform and were raising their hands as the crowd

applauded. The band played, a fireworks display drew all eyes, when suddenly there were two

loud explosions that obviously were not part of the show. In an instant the stage became a scene

of wild carnage. The police later discovered two fragmentation grenades that had been thrown at

the stage by "unknown persons". Nine people died, 85 others were wounded, many critically.

Although suspicions pointed to the Nacionalistas (the political party of Marcos), Marcos

allies sought to deflect this by insinuating that, perhaps, Ninoy might have had a hand in the blast

in a bid to eliminate his potential rivals within the party. Later, the Marcos government presented

"evidence" of the bombings as well as an alleged threat of a communist insurgency, suggesting

that the bombings were the handiwork of the growing New People's Army. Marcos made this a

pretext to suspend the Writ of Habeas Corpus, vowed that the killers would be apprehended

within 48 hours, and arrested a score of known "Maoists" on general principle. Ironically, the
police captured one of the bombers, who was identified as a sergeant of the firearms and

explosive section of the Philippine Constabulary, a military arm of the government. According to

Ninoy, this man was later snatched from police custody by military personnel and the public

never heard from him again.

President Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972 and he went on air to

broadcast his declaration on midnight of September 23. Ninoy was one of the first to be arrested

and imprisoned on trumped-up charges of murder, illegal possession of firearms and subversion.

On April 4, 1975, Ninoy announced that he was going on a hunger strike, a fast to the death to

protest the injustices of his military trial. Ten days through his hunger strike, he instructed his

lawyers to withdraw all motions he had submitted to the Supreme Court. As weeks went by, he

subsisted solely on salt tablets, sodium bicarbonate, amino acids and two glasses of water a day.

Even as he grew weaker, suffering from chills and cramps, 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 for his survival. Near the end,

Ninoy’s weight had dropped from 180 to 120 pounds. He nonetheless maintained the ability to

walk throughout his ordeal. On May 13, 1975, on the 40th day, his family and several priests and

friends, begged him to end his fast, pointing out that even Christ fasted only for 40 days. He

agreed, confident that he had made a symbolic gesture. But at 10:25 p.m. on November 25, 1977,

the government-controlled Military Commission No. 2 found him guilty of all charges and he

was sentenced to death by firing squad. However, Ninoy and many others believed that Marcos

would not let him suffer a death that would surely make him a martyr.
Life in exile…

In 1978, from his prison cell, he was allowed to take part in the elections for Interim

Batasang Pambansa (Parliament). Although his friends, former Senators Gerry Roxas and Jovito

Salonga preferred to boycott the elections, Ninoy urged his supporters to organize and run 21

candidates in Metro Manila. Thus his political party, dubbed Lakas ng Bayan (People's Power),

was born. The party's acronym was "LABAN”. He was allowed one television interview on Face

the Nation (hosted by the infamous Ronnie Nathanielsz) and proved to a startled and impressed

populace that imprisonment had neither dulled his rapier-like tongue nor dampened his fighting

spirit. Foreign correspondents and diplomats asked what would happen to the LABAN ticket.

People agreed with him that his party would win overwhelmingly in an honest election. Not

surprisingly, all his candidates lost due to widespread election fraud.

In mid-March 1980, Ninoy suffered a heart attack, possibly the result of seven years in

prison, mostly in a solitary cell which must have taken a heavy toll on his gregarious personality.

He was transported to the Philippine Heart Center where he suffered a second heart attack. The

doctors administered ECG and other tests and found that he had a blocked artery. The surgeons

were reluctant to do a coronary bypass because of their unwillingness to be involved in a

controversy. Additionally, Ninoy refused to submit himself to the hands of local doctors, fearing

possible Marcos "duplicity", preferring to either go to the United States for the procedure or to

return to his cell at Fort Bonifacio and die.

On May 8, 1980, Imelda Marcos made an unannounced visit to Ninoy at his hospital

room. She asked him if he would like to leave that evening for the U.S., but not before agreeing

on two covenants: 1.) That if he leaves, he will return; 2.) While in America, he should not speak
out against the Marcos regime. She then ordered General Fabian Ver and Mel Mathay to make

necessary arrangements for passports and plane tickets for the Aquino family. Ninoy was shoved

in a closed van, rushed to his home on Times Street to pack, hustled to the airport and put on a

plane bound for the U.S. that same day accompanied by his family.

Ninoy was operated on at a hospital in Dallas, Texas. He made a quick recovery, was

walking within two weeks and making plans to fly to Damascus, Syria to contact Muslim

leaders, which he did five weeks later. When he reiterated that he was returning to the

Philippines, he received a surreptitious message from the Marcos government saying that he was

now granted an extension of his "medical furlough". Eventually, he decided to renounce his two

covenants with Malacañang "because of the dictates of higher national interest". After all, he

added, "a pact with the devil is no pact at all".

Ninoy spent three years in self-exile, setting up house with Cory and their kids in

Newton, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. On fellowship grants from Harvard University and

the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he worked on the manuscripts of two books and gave

a series of lectures in school halls, classrooms and auditoriums. He traveled extensively in the

U.S. delivering speeches critical of the Marcos government.

Marcos and his officials, aware of Ninoy's growing popularity even in his absence, in turn

accused him of being the "Mad Bomber" and allegedly masterminding a rash of bombings that

had rocked Metro Manila in 1981 and 1982. Ninoy denied that he was advocating a bloody

revolution, but warned that radicalized oppositionists were threatening to use violence soon. He

urged Marcos to "heed the voice of conscience and moderation", and declared himself willing to

lay his own life on the line.

A promise fulfilled…

Throughout his years of expatriation, Ninoy was always aware that his life in the U.S.

was temporary. He never stopped affirming his eventual return even as he enjoyed American

hospitality and a peaceful life with his family on American soil.

In the first quarter of 1983, Ninoy was receiving news about the deteriorating political

situation in his country combined with the rumored declining health (due to lupus) of President

Marcos. He believed that it was expedient for him to speak to Marcos and present to him his

rationale for the country's return to democracy, before extremists took over and make such a

change impossible. Moreover, his years of absence made his allies worry that the Filipinos may

have resigned themselves to Marcos' strongman rule and that without his leadership the centrist

opposition would die a natural death.

Ninoy decided to go back to the Philippines, fully aware of the dangers that awaited him.

Warned that he would either be imprisoned or killed, Ninoy answered, "if it's my fate to die by an

assassin's bullet, so be it". His family, however, learned from a Philippine Consulate official that

there were orders from Ministry of Foreign Affairs not to issue any passports for them. At that

time, their visas had expired and their renewal had been denied. They therefore formulated a plan

for Ninoy to fly alone--to attract less attention--and the rest of the family to follow him after two

weeks. Despite the government's ban on issuing him a passport, Ninoy was able to acquire one

with the help of Rashid Lucman, a former congressman from Mindanao. It carried an alias,

Marcial Bonifacio (Marcial for martial law and Bonifacio for Fort Bonifacio, his former prison).

He eventually obtained a legitimate passport from a sympathizer working in a Philippine

consulate. The Marcos government warned all international airlines that they would be denied

landing rights and forced to return if they tried to fly Ninoy to the Philippines. Ninoy insisted
that it was his natural right as a citizen to come back to his homeland, and that no government

could prevent him from doing so. He left Logan International Airport on August 13, 1983, took a

circuitous route home from Boston, via Los Angeles, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Taipei, before

heading towards Manila. He had chosen Taipei as the final stopover when he learned the

Philippines had severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan. This made him feel more secure; the

Taiwan authorities could pretend they were not aware of his presence. There would also be a

couple of Taiwanese friends accompanying him.

It would have been perfectly convenient for the Marcos government if Ninoy had stayed

out of the local political arena; however Ninoy asserted his willingness to suffer the

consequences declaring, "the Filipino is worth dying for." He wished to express an earnest plea

for Marcos to step down and seek a peaceful regime change and a return to democratic

institutions. Anticipating the worst, during a pre-return interview, he revealed that he would be

wearing a bullet-proof vest, but he also said that "it's only good for the body, but for the head

there's nothing else we can do". Sensing his own doom, he told the journalists accompanying

him on the flight that they "have to be ready with your camera because events will happen very

fast...in a matter of 3 or 4 minutes it could be all over...and I may not be able to talk to you again

after this... " In his last formal statement he said, " I have returned to join the ranks of those

struggling to restore our rights and freedom through nonviolence. I seek no confrontation."

His martyrdom…

On August 21, 1983, while on his way to Manila, Ninoy was accompanied by several

foreign journalists to ensure his safety or, at the very least, to record events for posterity in case

rumors of a planned assassination proved to be true on China Airlines Flight 811. Despite a
convoy of security guards (all assigned to him by the Marcos government) and a contingent of

2,000 military and police personnel on the tarmac, Ninoy was fatally shot in the head as he was

escorted off the airplane. Government investigators claimed that he was gunned down by

Rolando Galman, who was immediately shot dead by the aviation security. No one actually

identified who pulled the trigger, but Rebecca Quijano, another passenger, testified that she saw a

man behind Ninoy (on the stairs) point a gun at the back of his head, then there was the sound of

a gunshot. A Post-mortem analysis disclosed that Ninoy was shot in the back of the head at close

range with the bullet exiting at the chin at an angle which supported Quijano's testimony. Even

more suspicions were aroused when Quijano described the assassin as wearing a military

uniform.

The government claimed that Aquino was killed by a Communist hit man. However,

politicians and diplomats found evident contradictions between the claim and the photos and the

videotape footage that documented the time before and after the shooting. The footage had

circulated throughout the Philippines at that time.

Everyone from the CIA to the Communist Party of the Philippines to First Lady Imelda

Marcos was accused of conspiracy. President Marcos was reportedly gravely ill, recovering from

kidney transplant when the incident occurred. Theories arose as to who was in charge and who

ordered the execution. Some hypothesized that Marcos had a long-standing order for Ninoy’s

murder upon the latter's return.

The Marcos government then ordered two independent bodies, the Fernando Commission

and Agrava Fact-Finding Board, to investigate. The men on the tarmac, the rank and file of the

military, were found guilty and are currently serving life sentences at National Bilibid Prison.

They have recently filed an appeal to have their sentences reduced after 22 years, claiming the
assassination was ordered by a Marcos crony and business partner (and Corazon Aquino's

estranged cousin), Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., who was eventually cleared by the Aquino family.

Ninoy 's funeral procession on August 31 lasted from 9 a.m.--with a funeral mass

officiated by the Catholic archbishop of Manila, Jaime Cardinal Sin, and held at Santo Domingo

Church--to 9 p.m., when his body was interred at the Manila Memorial Park. Two million people

lined the streets during the procession which was aired by the Church-sponsored Radio Veritas,

the only station that covered the procession. The procession reached Rizal Park, where the

Philippine flag was brought to half-mast.

A revolution begins…

The death of Benigno Aquino transformed the Philippine opposition from a small isolated

movement to a massive unified crusade, incorporating people from all walks of life. The middle

class got involved, the impoverished majority participated, and business leaders whom Marcos

had irked during martial law endorsed the campaign--all with the crucial support of the military

and the Catholic Church hierarchy. The assassination showed the increasing incapacity of the

Marcos regime - Ferdinand was mortally ill when the crime occurred while his cronies

mismanaged the country in his absence. It outraged Ninoy’s supporters that he, if not

masterminding it, allowed the assassination to happen and engineered its cover-up. The mass

revolt caused by Ninoy’s demise attracted worldwide media attention and Marcos' American

contacts, as well as the Reagan Administration, began distancing themselves. There was global

media spotlight to the Philippine crisis, and exposés on Imelda's extravagant lifestyle (most

infamously, her thousands of pairs of shoes) and "mining operations", as well as Ferdinand's

dictatorial excesses, came into focus.

 The assassination thrust Ninoy’s widow, Corazon "Cory" Aquino, willingly or unwilling,

into the public eye. Convinced by leaders of the opposition that she was the person to best

Marcos, Cory Aquino went on to campaign tirelessly in the 1986 snap elections which were

called by Marcos to pacify rampant public discontent. In 57 days of trying to win people's votes

before the February 7, 1986 election, her UNIDO party took to the streets, visiting all but a few

of the Philippine provinces. On the campaign trail, Mrs. Aquino was greeted by throngs of

people throwing confetti and cheering "Cory! Cory! Cory!". Despite the Marcos-controlled

Commission on Election's declaration of a Marcos' victory, the majority of the Filipino people

refused to accept the allegedly fraudulent outcome, prompting the People Power revolution that

drove Marcos into exile and placed Cory Aquino in the seat of power.

While no Filipino president has ever been assassinated, Benigno Aquino is one of three

presidential spouses who have been murdered. Aurora Quezon was killed along with her

daughter and son-in-law in a Hukbalahap ambush in 1949, while Alicia Syquia-Quirino was

murdered by the Japanese along with three of her children during the Battle of Manila in 1945.

His legacy…

In Ninoy’s honor, the Manila International Airport where he was assassinated was

renamed Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and his image is printed on the 500-peso

bill. The Philippine Congress enacted Republic Act (R.A.) 9256, declaring August 21, the

anniversary of his death, as Ninoy Aquino Day, an annual public holiday in the Philippines.

Several monuments were built in his honor. Most renowned is the bronze memorial in Makati

City near the Philippine Stock Exchange, which today is a venue of endless anti-government

rallies and demonstrations.

 Although Ninoy was recognized as the most prominent and most outspoken critic of the

Marcos dictatorship, in the years prior to martial law he was regarded by many as being a

representative of the entrenched familial bureaucracy which to this day dominates Philippine

politics. While unusually telegenic and uncommonly articulate, he had his share of detractors and

was not known to be immune to ambitions and excesses of the ruling political class. However,

during his seven years and seven months imprisoned as a political prisoner of Marcos, Ninoy

read a book entitled Born Again by convicted Watergate conspirator Charles Colson and it

inspired him to a religious awakening.

As a result, the remainder of his personal and political life would undertake a distinct

spiritual sheen. He emerged as a contemporary counterpart of the great Rizal, who was among

the world's earliest proponents of the use of non-violence to combat a repressive regime. Many

remained skeptical of Ninoy’s redirected spiritual focus, but it ultimately had an effect on his

wife's political career. While some may question the prominence given Ninoy in Philippine

history, it was his assassination that was pivotal to the downfall of a dictatorial ruler and the

eventual restoration of democracy in the Philippines.

On August 21, 2007, (Ninoy’s 24th death anniversary), Enrile stated that the case of the

14 soldiers incarcerated for 24 years now, due to the assassination of Benigno Aquino, Jr. should

be reviewed for clemency. Enrile paid for the legal services of the soldiers during their trial, and

said the soldiers and their family have suffered enough. 15 soldiers of the Aviation Security

Command were sentenced to double life imprisonment for the double murder of Ninoy and his

alleged lone communist gunman, Rolando Galman, and one of them had died. They were all

acquitted on December 1985, by the Sandiganbayan's Manuel Pamaran, but the Sandiganbayan's

Regino C. Hermosisima, Jr., convicted them on September 28, 1990.

 On the 24th anniversary of the death of Benigno Aquino, Jr., Cory stated that she had

forgiven the 14 incarcerated soldiers for the assassination of her husband but she would not ever

nod to appeals for their release. On the other hand, Andres Narvasa stressed that there was no

direct evidence linking Ferdinand Marcos and Fabian Ver to the murder. Narvasa further pleaded

for the release of the 14 soldiers since they have suffered enough, and warned that Mrs. Aquino

is not a vengeful person.

The hero that he is…

Ninoy Aquino may not be as popular or as celebrated as our other Filipino heroes such as

Apolinario Mabini, Andres Bonifacio, Gabriela Silang and Jose Rizal, but what he has done for

the country is something that would make him be in the hearts of the Filipino people and be

remembered forever. His genuine love for his country and his desire to restore the rights and

freedom of the Filipino people was his inspiration to fight the dictatorial government of Marcos.

Amidst the sufferings, the threats and the fear, he remained strong in carrying out his ideals and

aspirations. Through his perseverance, Ninoy brought back one very important thing that our

first heroes died for -freedom.

His noble intentions and passion awakened and inspired the Filipino people. After the

tragic end of his life, the Filipinos became more patriotic. He instilled to us the value of justice

and to fight for what we believe is right.

That is why we are now enjoying our rights that was taken away from us during the martial

law. “The Filipino is worth dying for”, indeed he died for us. He died, in order for us to be free.
APPENDIX: The Benigno Aquino, Jr. Murder Case

• August 21, 1983 Benigno Aquino, Jr. was assassinated after disembarking a China

Airlines plane at the Manila International Airport. Also killed was

Rolando Galman.

• August 24, 1983 Ferdinand Marcos set a fact-finding commission headed by Supreme

Court Chief Justice Enrique Fernando to investigate the Aquino

murder (composed of 4 retired Supreme Court Justices who

resigned, after its composition was challenged in court and

thereafter, Arturo M. Tolentino declined appointment as board

chairman.

• August 31, 1983 Burial of Ninoy at the Manila Memorial Park, Paranaque after the 11-

hour procession joined by 2 million Filipinos.

• October 22, 1983 Marcos created another fact-finding committee known as the Agrava

Fact-Finding Board, headed by former Court of Appeals Justice

Corazon Agrava, chairman, with lawyer Luciano E. Salazar,

businessman Dante G. Santos, labor leader Ernesto F. Herrera and

educator Amado C. Dizon, as members (3 P.D. 1886 dated October

14, 1983 and P.D. 1903 dated February 8, 1984). It held 125 hearing

days from November 3, 1983 (including 3 hearings in Tokyo and 8

hearings in Los Angeles, California), heard 194 witnesses recorded in

20,377 pages of transcripts.

• October 22, 1984 Agrava Board released the reports concluding that military officers,
 including Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Fabian Ver conspired to

kill Ninoy and the Supreme Court assigned the case to the

Sandiganbayan.

• December 2, 1985 Justice Manuel Pamaran of the Sandiganbayan acquitted all the

accused.

• May 16, 1986 Corazon Aquino appointed Regino C. Hermosisima, Jr. Justice of the

Sandiganbayan (until July 18, 1995).

• September 12, 1986 The Supreme Court ordered a retrial, granting the 2nd Motion for

Reconsideration in G.R. No. 72670.

• September 16, 1986 The Sandiganbayan issued warrant to arrest 25 military men, led by

Ver and a civilian.

• September 28, 1989 Marcos died in exile at age 72 in Hawaii.

• September 28, 1990 Regino C. Hermosisima, Jr. penned the 177 pages Sandiganbayan

judgment to jail the 16 suspects, sentencing them to reclusion

perpetua in each case. Convicted of the crime were the Avsecom chief,

Brig. Gen. Luther Custodio, Capt. Romeo Bautista, 2nd Lt. Jesus

Castro, and Sergeants Claro L. Lat, Arnulfo de Mesa, Filomeno

Miranda, Rolando de Guzman, Ernesto Mateo, Rodolfo

Desolong, Ruben Aquino and Arnulfo Artates, supposed gunman

Constable Rogelio Moreno, M/Sgt. Pablo Martinez, C1C Mario

Lazaga, A1C Cordova Estelo and A1C Felizardo Taran. Custodio died

of cancer while in prison in 1991. Estelo was stabbed dead in 2005 by

 another inmate. However, no mastermind was named.

• July 23, 1991 The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction.

• July 10, 1995 Fidel Ramos appointed Regino C. Hermosisima, Jr. Associate Justice

of the Philippine Supreme Court and retired on his 70th natal day on

October 18, 1997.

• December 17, 1997 Regino C. Hermosisima, Jr. was appointed Judicial and Bar Council

regular member.

• November 21, 1998 Ver died of a lung ailment in Bangkok.

• December 12, 2001 Regino C. Hermosisima, Jr. was re-appointed Judicial and Bar Council

regular member.

• March 8, 2005 The Supreme Court denied the petition of the accused (filed on August

2004) to re-open the case.

• October 4, 2005 Regino C. Hermosisima, Jr. was re-appointed Judicial and Bar Council

regular member, for his 3rd term, duplicating the 3rd term of Teresita

Cruz-Sison. His last term will expire on July 9, 2009.

• August 21, 2007 The 24th anniversary of Ninoy’s murder. Chief Justice Andres Narvasa

appealed for the closure of the case; Juan Ponce Enrile asked for the

review for clemency in favor of the 14 convicts; Palawan Bishop

Pedro Arigo, chairman of the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on

Prison Pastoral Care (ECPPC) asked pardon for the convicts; Corazon

Aquino and Benigno Aquino III forgave the 14 soldiers but opposed
 their appeals for clemency or parole (which Sec. Raul Gonzales

submitted to the President on 2004); Eduardo Ermita stated that the

Bureau of Pardons and Parole had recommended a grant of executive

clemency.

• August 24, 2007 Eduardo Ermita officially announced that due to political implications,

the appeal for clemency by the 14 soldiers was archived, even if the

Bureau of Pardons and Parole presently reviews the plea. The

executive secretary refused to give a time frame for the review.