Maraming Salamat!

When I was five or six years old, I remember seeing (on the cover of a magazine), Time Magazine if I'm not mistaken, a picture of a man lying dead. He had much bruises and contusions. I didn't know what happened to him; but, I can't and will never forget his face. I felt so..so wretched during that time. I wasn't sure why.

As I grew older or rather grow older (I've never stopped growing yet!), I also have a clearer picture of who and what kind of a man the person on the magazine was. As I find more things about him, I also admire him more. I'm becoming more aware why he's become the Philippine's modern hero. At first, I saw him as Marcos' opponent because some people told me that the ex-president was the one behind his murder. Then, a person in the 500-peso-bill. Next, he was a former senator who said that "Filipinos are worth dying for." There was also a time when I looked at him as the late husband of the former Pres. Corazon C. Aqunio and the dad of Kris Aquino.

Now that I'm already 24 and more mature, I can say that I almost totally understand Senator Ninoy Aquino's life and how he started to bring democracy back in the country. I wasn't born yet during the Martial Law. I wasn't even here yet even when they killed him; but, I don't need to live in that era for me to know how he suffered from the iron hand of the dictator. Despite that, he didn't give up, even in his last moment.

Today, as we commemorate his 26th death anniversary, I look around our country. The iron hand still exists in many forms. Our politics is still corrupt. But then, Sen. Ninoy continuously inspires a common Filipino like me to do something for our nation. In fact, his late wife once said that "Filipinos are worth living for." I'm still not losing hope for our country. Ninoy taught us that we can stand up for what we believe in, that small things can be the start of gigantic ones. There's a Ninoy in all of us. I know. I can be a good Filipino in my own little way. Thank you for the inspiration, Senator! Now, I know why I felt wretched when I saw his picture. I knew then that they killed our hero.