PARDON OF AQUINO KILLERS-AN ACT OF A VENGEFUL REGIME

AJLPP Update
March 5, 2009

‘Pardon of Ninoy’s killers an act of vengeful regime’

By Jason Faustino
03/06/2009

Manila ----Makati Mayor and United Opposition (UNO) president Jejomar Binay yesterday described Mrs. Arroyo’s grant of pardon to the soldiers convicted of killing former Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino as an act of “petty vindictiveness.”

“Pinersonal na ni Mrs. Arroyo si Presidente Cory,” Binay said.

“Just to spite former President Aquino, Mrs. Arroyo has committed an injustice to the memory of Ninoy, the Aquino family and to the people,” he said.

The former President openly broke with Mrs. Arroyo in 2005, calling for the latter’s resignation after the contents of the so-called “Hello Garci” recordings were made public. Mrs. Aquino had been a key figure in major protest actions until she was sidelined by cancer.

Binay asked for prayers for Mrs. Aquino “so she may have the strength to weather this injustice inflicted on her by a vengeful regime.”

For his part, former Makati Rep. Agapito “Butz” Aquino yesterday expressed disappointment over the release of his brother’s convicted murderers.
He said he is leaving the fate of the convicted murderers of his brother Ninoy to God.

“Ako tanggap ko na ang desisyon nasa Panginoon na ang katarungan pagdating diyan,” he said.

The 10 convicts — Rogelio Moreno, Ruben Aquino, Arnulfo Artates, Romeo Bautista, Jesus Castro, Arnulfo de Mesa, Rodolfo Desolong, Claro Lat, Ernesto Mateo and Filomeno Miranda — stepped out of the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City last Wednesday as part of an executive clemency granted by President Arroyo on March 2.

They were the remaining convicts out of the 16 military men the Sandiganbayan court found guilty on Sept. 28, 1990 for the murders of Ninoy and Rolando Galman, who the Marcos administration pointed to as the gunman.

The other six convicts had either died in prison or were pardoned by previous administrations.
These men were part of an escort contingent that led Ninoy out of the China Airlines plane that took him back to the Philippines after years of exile in the United States on Aug. 21, 1983. He was shot dead on his way down to the tarmac of the Manila International Airport. Moreno was the identified gunman. They also killed Galman in the operation.

“Alam mo iyan ay desisyon ng Pangulo ng administrasyon na pagkatapos ng 26 years, eh pabayaan na natin magdesisyun sila. Hindi natin gusto ang nangyari gusto natin magsisi muna, naalala mo walang nakiramay sa kanila ganun pa man kung iyan desisyon sige na nga kumilos na tayo, move on,” Butz said.

Kris Aquino, daughter of Ninoy, in a statement she issued over ABS-CBN, expressed her anger over the release of her father’s convicted murderers as she appealed to the public not to forget his sacrifices to restore democracy in the country.

“My dad was killed by those men who were freed today,” a teary-eyed Kris said last Wednesday in ABS-CBN’s Showbiz News Ngayon, an entertainment-oriented daily news program she hosts.

Kris said she had wanted to keep mum on the issue and let her brother, Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, speak for the family. But watching the freed convicts on newscasts lament losing years of their lives while in detention at the Muntinlupa prison made her break her silence.

“Gusto kong mapaalala po sa inyong lahat na kung sila matagal silang nahiwalay sa pamilya nila, magmula Aug. 21,1983 ako ba at mga kapatid ko may tatay ba kaming nayakap?” the TV host-actress said.

“My mom as everybody knows has cancer. Sa lahat ng paghihirap na pinagdadaanan ng mommy ko, meron ba siyang asawa na kahawak kamay niya ngayon at puwedeng nagbibigay suporta sa kaniya? Wala ‘di ba? (After all the sufferings my mom went through, does she have a husband to hold hands with and offer support? None,” she added.
Ninoy’s death spurred the popular people power revolt that catapulted his widow to the presidency.

“Nung presidente ang nanay ko, hindi po kami naningil ng buhay kapalit ng buhay ng daddy ko,” Kris said, adding the pardoned convicts should not fool the public by claiming their innocence.

They were still convicted of killing her father, even if they claim they just “followed orders,” she said.

“Pinatay nila si Ninoy Aquino... hindi ko mapapatawad ang sarili ko bilang anak ni Ninoy Aquino kung hindi ako magsasalita,” she stressed.