Ninoy's gift to the media

Today is the 29 th anniversary of the assassination of then Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. who was shot dead upon his arrival at the then Manila International Airport. Whoever ordered that murder never thought that the blast from the gun that snuffed the life of Ninoy Aquino would reverberate all throughout the country, and signal the start of the bloodless revolution that freed the people from the dictatorship that had stifled their freedoms for almost two decades.

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The shocking news of the assassination was at first spoken about in whispers that grew louder and stronger in the ensuing days. The slogan “Hindi ka nag-iisa,” first whispered to a brother of Ninoy Aquino by someone who came to the wake for the murdered senator, echoed and reechoed throughout the country, until that fateful day when the EDSA Revolution came about, and drove the ailing dictator and his cohorts out of the country.

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As for the DAILY STAR, that was then just a fledgling newspaper, that day was also a landmark, because, for the very first – and only – time, we were able to whip up an “EXTRA”, a special issue on the incident that seemed to have developed on its own momentum. It was then our free day, and we were not supposed to have an issue next day. But when Eli Tajanlangit, who was with me when we got the news at the office of the late Bishop Antonio Fortich, and I proceeded to the STAR office, then located at the Negros Press Club Building, we were surprised to see almost all the members of our printing staff there!

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It seemed they instinctively felt that they would be needed, and so we all proceeded to our printing office, then located at the former NFSP building, also at San Juan Street, where we rushed up an eight-page issue covering the incident. Thanks to the help of our friends in the international news services, we were also able to get the latest developments in Manila, to include in that issue. The “EXTRA” became a collector's item, and we were surprised to see the copies disappear so quickly from the newsstands. Later we found out that hundreds had been sent to Manila by readers in Bacolod. Some said later that the STAR had a more extensive – and accurate – report than the Manila newspapers that had been allowed by the dictatorship to exist.

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If there is any sector that benefited the most from the sacrifice that Benigno Aquino Jr. had made, it is the media. Among the first to be stifled by the dictator upon imposing Martial Law in the country, was the freedom of the press. Immediately, on the night it was declared, police and military operatives, acting on orders of the dictator's lieutenants, rounded up the top newspaper, radio and television executives and their most outspoken columnists and commentators, and detained them in provinces far away from Manila. Among those imprisoned, and held in solitary confinement was Ninoy Aquino. How ironic it is that it was also his death that had earned back for them the freedom they sorely needed to exist. Thank you, Ninoy, for the sacrifices you made to make us live!

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Meanwhile, the country is again mourning over the growing possibility that there is no more hope for our secretary of Interior and Local Government whose plane went down in the waters of Masbate Saturday afternoon. The willingness, even eagerness of so many groups and individuals to volunteer to help in the search and rescue operation for him and the two pilots of the ill-fated plane, confirms just how well-loved and admired Jesse Robredo has been. Many hearts bleed for his family, who must be devastated, knowing that he risked taking that smaller plane because he wanted to be with them for a happy occasion. May the Lord bless them with fortitude and the capacity to bear this great and irreparable loss.

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By the way, we cannot attribute any lapses in this accident to the pilot or the owner of the aircraft, because, as it turned out, it was the owner himself who was flying that plane then. Pilot Jessup Bahinting was the owner and chief pilot of the Aviatour Company, that was also a flying school. So he wouldn't have taken chances with the plane, since he was on it himself. Bahinting probably decided to take the helm himself, knowing how important his passenger was. Maybe he even felt it an honor to fly that plane himself. Let us also pray for him and his young co-pilot, who happened to be an aspiring flier from Nepal. It was just that their time had come together on that fateful day.*

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