My Memory of President Noynoy Aquino

The late President Noynoy Aquino interviewed by Rogelio Constantino Medina.

I was one of those people who suggested, through text, that he first had a spiritual retreat before he could go on with his crucial decision to run for the highest position in the Philippines, and he readily thanked me for that piece of advice.

It was indeed prophetic when in a corner at St. John Bosco Parish in Makati City I asked for the first time his personal cellphone number that I never did before (due to respecting his privacy) in the years that I had known him for I felt something momentous would happen in the near future, and Noynoy gave it to me at once. That was on August 21, 2008 during the 25th death anniversary of his dad, former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.

As I listened to his mother’s speech, entitled “Keeping Ninoy Alive in Our Hearts and Minds”, I felt something very historic would occur in the near future: that Noynoy would take the lead and would be on the spot. That day, “I am Ninoy” touching campaign was also launched with the help of merchandise sponsors, media networks, commercial centers and select local governments.

I vividly remember that his mother said: “I am Ninoy is a modern-day Filipino’s simple expression of solidarity with those who profess faith in the principles of truth, justice, spirituality, democracy and human rights. It echoes the slogan that we of older generations used to utter proudly on the streets: ‘Ninoy, hindi ka nag-iisa’. To us then, the mood was one of defiance in the face of the brazen tyranny that claimed Ninoy’s life, among thousands of others, and held our freedom ransom.”

On that day at the chapel, I was also happy to see my former colleague, Romy Duran of the Benigno Aquino Foundation, where I used to be a volunteer writer. Later Tita Valderrama of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) asked me to join her at the Liberal Party’s press conference in a restaurant along Pasay Road where both Senators Mar Roxas and Noynoy Aquino would answer the media’s queries. After that, I joined Noynoy and Mar at Plaza Miranda to commemorate its 37^th bombing anniversary. The two tandem joined Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim, former Senator Jovito Salonga, Atty. Florencio “Butch” Abad, Rep. Lorenzo “Erin” R. Tanada III, Dr. JR Nereus O. Acosta, the choir of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Manila (PLM) where I was an assistant professorial lecturer in the College of Mass Communication.

 

During the wake for his mother, former President Cory Aquino, at La Salle Greenhills, where Tita Cory’s body was brought first for public view, Noynoy left his friends and came toward me to whisper to me that he had received all my text messages. As he did that, I had all of a sudden a vision that he would be this nation’s leader.

But the first time I had an exclusive interview with Noynoy was as a presidential son. He reminisced to me his happy moments with his dad Ninoy as a senator (they would watch films, play jokes with each other, go to church, dine in a Chinese restaurant, take a vacation in Tarlac and Baguio; ride on horses and in jeepneys, involve in charity and outreach works for the poor, do school tasks/assignments); the declaration of martial law in September 1972 when he was 12 years old, still a pupil at the Ateneo Grade School; his closer encounter with his dad again when he was already about to graduate in economics course at the Ateneo de Manila University (“I vividly remember that I had a date for my class graduation ball. My dad asked me who my date was and I revealed her name to him. My father, as if he knew all the people in this world, asked: ‘Ano niya si _____?’ I answered, ‘Dad, tatay niya iyon!’ My father then said, ‘Sinisisi nga ako ng tatay niya dahill natalo sila, dinaya raw sila sa halalan pero sila talaga ang nandaya. Malaki pa rin ang sama ng loob sa akin.’ I only found this fact three hours before I picked up the girl. I said to my father, ‘Dad, kung malaki pa rin ang galit sa iyo ng taong iyon, e, martial law pa naman ngayon, baka naman ang sumalubong sa akin ay shotgun!’ Tawa kami ng tawa. He said to me, ‘Hindi naman niya gagawin iyon. Edukadong tao iyon.”); their memorable days in exile in Boston, Massachusetts, USA (Noynoy would fetch his dad’s friends from the airport, cook rice and some food, take care of his dad’s dog); his suggestion to his dad to bargain for a position of strength to accompany him in returning to the Philippines through a back-door (referring to southern Mindanao) which his dad entirely refused (“Sabi ko, ‘Bakit mo aasahan si Marcos na magkaroon ng magandang loob? Bakit mo pagkakatiwalaan maging reasonable man lang?’ Wala sa ugali’t pagkatao ni Marcos iyon. Ngunit pwede mong gawin reasonable kung nandoon ka na sa position of strength na kailangan ka niyang pakinggan. Baka iyon ang mas magandang solusyon. Ang sagot ng tatay ko, ‘Anong mangyayari niyon, confrontational kaagad? Maski sinuman ang manalo, problema ang mamanahin mo at maraming mapipinsala, masasaktan. Hindi yata iyon tama.’ Pero sabi ko nga, tatay ko ito. Siyempre, nagmamalasakit ako. Para bang papasok ka sa isang swimming pool na puros buwaya at mga shark na gutom na gutom…’).

Actually, Noynoy was supposed to travel with his dad Ninoy in going back to the land of their birth. Had Noynoy really convinced his dad to join him in his flight back home, he might also be mercilessly assassinated just like his dad.

Interestingly, a year after he was born, Noynoy related to me, he had an intestinal flu, and there was an impression that he would not survive. He was very malnourished. But with his parents’ unwavering faith and trust in God, Noynoy miraculously survived. Years after, during his mother’s early term as president of the country, he met a tragic accident at the height of the attempted coup, and he survived this grim scenario – perhaps there was a reason that only God knew.

Even when his mother was no longer president, I would meet Noynoy during EDSA anniversaries, his dad’s death anniversary every August 21 at the Manila Memorial Park in Paranaque, protest rallies against Charter Change (Cha-Cha), the Mass for Truth at La Salle Greenhills (as a tribute to Jun Lozada, the NBN-ZTE star witness) in February 2008, launching of “Cory—An Intimate Portrait” (edited by Tita Cory’s former appointments secretary Margie Penson-Juico) at Bestseller Bookstore in Robinson’s Galleria where Noynoy represented his mother, among others.

One time, I went to his mother’s house on 25 Times Street in Quezon City to give my birthday card to her, and she kind-heartedly invited me to come inside for a lunch, and of course Noynoy was there.

Through former Sen. Agapito “Butz” Aquino, I had spent my Christmas Day with the Aquino clan when they had their reunion at the residence of former Sen. Tessie Aquino-Oreta in Urdaneta Village, Makati City, and I met Noynoy’s cousins, nephews and nieces.

During the burial for Dona Aurora Aquino (I met and interviewed her when she was alive) in Concepcion, Tarlac, Noynoy was composed as he reminisced the kindness of his “Lola Gindang” or “Lollie”, as his grandmother was affectionately called.