James Yap is a hero while Ninoy Aquino is not!

EVERY time James Yap steps on the basketball court wearing the jersey with the Philippine flag emblazoned on it he has only one purpose – to win the game for the motherland. To do so he has to sacrifice his body and limb and in any book that is heroic.

Now compare that to what the Aquinos from Ninoy, Cory and Noynoy, including Kris, have done for the country, nil. And no, being an extra on “Crazy Rich Asians” does not count.

Which brings us to the question why tomorrow, Aug. 21, is a special non- working holiday. Not that I’m complaining about the holiday, any day-off from work is always a welcome respite.

For starters:

The late Benigno Aquino Jr. a.k.a. Ninoy Aquino is not a hero. At best he’s just another opportunistic politician who entered politics to fulfill his personal ambitions and save Hacienda Luisita at all cost. He is the classic demagogue who spent his time as an elected public official making himself look good while his political rivals look bad.

From that free online encyclopedia a.k.a. the internet:

Ninoy Aquino Day is a national non-working holiday in the Philippines observed annually on Aug. 21, commemorating the assassination of former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. He was the husband of Corazon Aquino, who was later to become Philippine President.

Unlike other dates reserved for national heroes of the Philippines (like Bonifacio Day, Rizal Day, Araw ng Kagitingan, and National Heroes Day), the date is not a “regular holiday” (double pay for working nationals) but only a “special non-working holiday.”

The holiday was created by Republic Act 9256, which was signed into law by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Feb. 25, 2004, 21 years after his death and 18 years after the People Power Revolution., and was sponsored by Senate President Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Jose de Venecia. It requires the EDSA People Power Commission (EPPC) to hold activities in observance of the day and shall be funded from the budget of the Office of the President and from private donations.

As you can see from that explanation, the ultimate motive is patronage politics, paying a debt to the “cult of yellow ribbon devotees” and not to honor a “hero” who has done something great for the natives of this archipelago. Take a look at the proponents of this law; they are the ultimate politicians and patronage politics experts.

And what about the man they imposed upon us to honor? What had he done for the country and the natives?

Ninoy Aquino was a congressman and a senator and during his time. As a member of both legislative bodies not a single bill or law was passed coming from him.

If that sounds familiar, he had a son and namesake, more popularly known as Noynoy Aquino, who also was a congressman and a senator and spent 12 years there with not a single bill or law passed to his name.

The late Ninoy Aquino spent his time in the Senate doing privilege speeches one after the other denouncing then President Ferdinand Marcos, grandstanding to make himself look good and Marcos look bad.

Ninoy Aquino vehemently opposed then President Marcos for two things: he wanted to become President of the Republic and Marcos was his main stumbling block. Also, the lease from the government of Hacienda Luisita was about to expire and President Marcos already served noticed that it won’t be extended and the government wanted it back.

For the uninitiated, a short background on Hacienda Luisita:

Ninoy helped broker the purchase of Hacienda Luisita, a 6,453-hectare sugar plantation and the biggest hacienda in the country, for his wife’s family in 1957. He later on became the Hacienda’s administrator. In return for the family agreeing to distribute Hacienda Luisita’s land to small farmers by 1967, the purchase received preferential treatment from the Philippine government, which included a loan package from the Philippine Central Bank and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS). However, the family successfully resisted the distribution of land to small farmers, including during the period of Marcos government (1965-1986). According to London School of Economics Professor Dr. James Putzel who did extensive research on agrarian reform in the Philippines, the controversies that would hound the hacienda for decades can be traced to the family’s efforts to retain control of the land long after the deadline for land distribution passed in 1967.

You see why it was imperative upon Ninoy Aquino to bring then President Marcos down just like why his nincompoop son who later on became President also had the late Chief Justice Renato Corona impeached? Yeah baby, it was all about Hacienda Luisita.

In 1984 when Ninoy Aquino was in the United States, the interest of the natives on the opposition against President Marcos faded. The country was peaceful, and the natives became complacent. Really, with the Manila International Film Festival or MIFF, “bomba” and “pene” movies entertaining the natives and Club Coco Banana for the trendy social climber, who wanted to demonstrate against Marcos? Ninoy Aquino and his motley crew were largely forgotten.

Ninoy Aquino needed to spark the natives’ interest in his cause and what better way to do it than by coming back to the Philippines.

There were “careless whispers” that say the “assassination” was self-inflicted that went awry; he was not supposed to die, only wounded and from his hospital bed he would rally the natives for a final push to bring Marcos down. Somehow Ninoy Aquino stumbled as he was going down the stairs from the plane, the amateur “assassin” fired simultaneously as he stumbled hitting his head instead of the shoulders as was the plan.

Now what gives credence to this story is the fact that his wife and son became presidents and with all that power they could not find who had him assassinated.

And the rest is history. Ninoy Aquino never became President but his death inflicted upon us his incompetent wife Cory who became President and his nincompoop son Noynoy who also became President. (brotherlouie16@gmail.com/PN)