Remember Ninoy, not Noynoy

Ninoy Aquino's Arrival Speech
This is the speech that Benigno Aquino had prepared to give on his return to the Philippines from exile. He was assassinated at the airport that now bears his name.

Arrival Speech of Ninoy Aquino

I have returned on my free will to join the ranks of those struggling to restore our rights and freedoms through non-violence.

I seek no confrontation. I only pray and will strive for a genuine national reconciliation founded on justice.

I am prepared for the worst, and have decided against the advice of my mother, my spiritual adviser, many of my tested friends and a few of my most valued political mentors.

A death sentence awaits me. Two more subversion charges, both calling for death penalties, have been filed since I left three years ago and are now pending with the courts.

Three years ago when I left for an emergency heart bypass operation, I hoped and prayed that the rights and freedoms of our people would soon be restored, that living conditions would improve and that blood-letting would stop.

I could have opted to seek political asylum in America, but I feel it is my duty, as it is the duty of every Filipino, to suffer with his people especially in time of crisis. I never sought not have I been given any assurances, or promise of leniency by the regime. I return voluntarily armed only with a clear conscience and fortified in the faith that in the end, justice will emerge triumphant. According to Gandhi, the willing sacrifice of the innocent is the most powerful answer to insolent tyranny that has yet been conceived by God and man.

Rather than move forward we have moved backward. The killings have increased, the economy has taken a turn for the worse and the human rights situation has deteriorated.

During the martial law period, the Supreme Court heard petitions for habeas corpus. It is most ironic after martial law has allegedly been lifted, that the Supreme Court last April ruled it can longer entertain petitions for habeas corpus for person detained under the Presidential Commitment Order, which covers all so-called national security cases and which under present circumstances can cover almost anything.

The country is far advanced in her times of trouble. Economic, social and political problems bedevil the Filipino. These problems may be surmounted if we are united. But we can be united only if all the rights and freedoms enjoyed before September 21, 1972 are fully restored.

The Filipino asked for nothing more, but will surely accept nothing less, than all the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the 1935 constitution – the most sacred legacies from the founding fathers.

Yes, the Filipino is patient, but there is a limit to his patience. Must we wait until that patience snaps?

The nationwide rebellion is escalating and threatens to explode into a bloody revolution. There is a growing cadre of young Filipinos who have finally come to realize that freedom is never granted, it is taken. Must we relive the agonies and the blood-letting of the past that brought forth our republic or can we sit down as brothers and sisters and discuss our differences with reason and goodwill?

I have often wondered how many disputes could have been settled easily had the disputants only dared to define their terms.

So as to leave no room for misunderstanding, I shall define my terms:

Six years ago, I was sentenced to die before a firing squad by a military tribunal whose jurisdiction I steadfastly refused to recognize. It is now time for the regime to decide. Order my immediate execution or set me free.

I was sentenced to die for allegedly being the leading communist leader. I am not a communist, never was and never will be.

National reconciliation and unity can be achieved, but only with justice, including justice for our Muslim and Ifugao brothers. There can be no deal with a dictator. No compromise with dictatorship.

In a revolution there can really be no victors, only victims. We do not have to destroy in order to build.

Subversion stems from economic, social, and political causes and will not be solved by purely military solution: It can be curbed not with ever increasing repression but with a more equitable distribution of wealth, more democracy and more freedom.

For the economy to get going once again, the working man must be given his just and rightful share or his labor, and to the owners and managers must be restored the hope where there is so must uncertainty if not despair.

On one of the long corridors of Harvard University are carved in granite the words of Archibald Macleish: ‘How shall freedom be defended? By arms when it is attacked by arms; by truth when it is attacked by lies; by democratic faith when it is attacked by authoritarian dogma. Always and in the final act, by determination and faith.’

I return from exile and an uncertain future with only determination and faith to offer – faith in our people and faith in God.
(1983)

1. What was Benigno Aquino’s plan upon his return?
2. According to him, what is the current state of the country?
3. Explain his stand on the thought of revolution?
4. What do you think is going through his mind when he said, “It is now time for the regime to decide. Order my immediate execution or set me free.”?

Byte me!

Array ko Spits

"Okay, class! Remember! When you graduate College, be sure to enroll next in elementary! Look at me, after my presidency, I will run for Congress. After that, Mayor. Next, Baranggay Tanod! So are you with me? Okay, let us review my very first speech!"


INAUGURATION SPEECH OF PRESIDENT GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
JANUARY 20, 2001

In all humility, I accept the Presidency of the Republic.

I do so with both trepidation and a sense of awe.

Trepidation, because it is now, as the Good Book says, a time to heal and a time to build. The task is formidable, so I pray that we will all be one -- one in our priorities, one in our values and commitments, and one because of Edsa 2001.

A sense of awe, because the Filipino has done it again on the hallowed ground of Edsa.

People Power and the oneness of will and vision have made a new beginning possible. I cannot but recall at this point, therefore, Ninoy Aquino's words:

"I have carefully weighed the virtues and the faults of the Filipino, and I have come to the conclusion that he is worth dying for."

As we break from the past in our quest for the new Philippines, the unity, the Filipino's sense of history, and his unshakeable faith in the Almighty that prevailed in Edsa '86 and Edsa 2001 will continue to guide and inspire us.

I am certain the Filipinos of unborn generations will look back with pride to Edsa 2001, just as we look back with pride to Mactan, the Katipunan and other revolts, Bataan and Corregidor , and Edsa '86.

I am certain that pride will reign supreme as they recall the heroism and sacrifices and prayers of Jaime Cardinal Sin, former Presidens Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos, the legislators who fought the good fight in Congress, the leaders whose principles were beyond negotiation, the witnesses in the impeachment trial who did not count the cost of testifying, the youth and students who walked out of their classes to be here at Edsa, the generals in the Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police, and the Filipino out there who stood up to be counted in these troubled times.

The Filipino, crises and all, is truly worth living and dying for.

Ngunit saan tayo tutungo mula rito?

Jose Rizal, the first to articulate self-determination in a free society, provides the answer.

Rizal counseled the Filipino to lead a life of commitment, "He must think national, go beyond self."

"A stone is worthless," Rizal wrote, "if it is not part of an edifice."

We are the stones, and the Philippines is our edifice.

On many occasions, I have given my views on what our program of government should be. This is not the time or place to repeat them all. However, I can tell you that they converge on four core beliefs.

1. We must be bold in our national ambitions, so that our challenge must be that within this decade, we will win the fight against poverty.

2. We must improve moral standards in government and society, in order to provide a strong foundation for good governance.

3. We must change the character of our politics, in order create fertile ground for true reforms. Our politics of personality and patronage must give way to a new politics of party programs and process of dialogue with the people.

4. Finally, I believe in leadership by example. We should promote solid traits such as work ethic and a dignified lifestyle, matching action to rhetoric, performing rather than grandstanding.

The first of my core beliefs pertains to the elimination of poverty. This is our unfinished business from the past. It dates back to the creation of our Republic, whose seeds were sown in the revolution launched in 1896 by the plebian Andres Bonifacio. It was an unfinished revolution, for to this day, poverty remains our national problem. We need to complete what Andres Bonifacio began. The ultimate solution to poverty has both a political and an economic aspect.

Let me first talk about the political aspect.

In doing so, I will refer to one of my core beliefs, that of the need for new politics. Politics and political power as traditionally practiced and used in the Philippines are among the roots of the social and economic inequities that characterize our national problems. Thus, to achieve true reforms, we need to outgrow our traditional brand of politics based on patronage and personality. Traditional politics is the politics of the status quo. It is a structural part of our problem.

We need to promote a new politics of true party programs and platforms, of an institutional process of dialogue with our citizenry. This new politics is the politics of genuine reform. It is a structural part of the solution.

We have long accepted the need to level the playing field in business and economics. Now, we must accept the need to level the playing field in politics as well. We have long aspired to be a world class economy. Now, we must also aspire to develop a world class political system, one in tune with the 21st Century.

The world of the 21st Century that our youth will inherit is truly a new economy, where relentless forces such as capital market flows and advances in information and communications technology create both peril and opportunity.

To tap the opportunities, we need an economic philosophy of transparency and private enterprise, for these are the catalysts that nurture the entrepreneurial spirit to be globally competitive.

To extend the opportunities to our rural countryside, we must create a modernized and socially equitable agricultural sector.

To address the perils, we must give a social bias to balance our economic development, and these are embodied in safety nets for sectors affected by globalization, and safeguards for our environment.

To ensure that our gains are not dissipated through corruption, we must improve moral standards. As we do so, we create fertile ground for good governance based on a sound moral foundation, a philosophy of transparency, and an ethic of effective implementation.

Considering the divisions of today, our commitment will entail a lot of sacrifices among us all, as we work to restore the dignity and pre-eminence of the Filipino.

Join me, therefore, as we begin to tear down the walls that divide. Let us build an edifice of peace, progress and economic stability.

People Power has dramatized the Filipino's capacity for greatness.

People of People Power, I ask for your support and prayers. Together, we will light the healing and cleansing flame.

This we owe to the Philippines. This we own to every Filipino.

Thank you and may the Good Lord bless us all.


1. What is Gloria Arroyo’s view about revolution?
2. What have you understood about her plans for the Philippines now that revolution had put her on power?
3. In terms of politics, in what way does she want it reformed?
4. In terms of economics, what does she want to have?
5. As an evaluation, explain your stand as to whether or not her visions for the future of the Philippines have been met.

Byte me!