The Aquino family emphasized on Saturday that the legacy of the late Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. remains undiminished, despite the decision to move the observance of Ninoy Aquino Day.
This statement followed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s move to shift the commemoration from August 21, a Wednesday, to August 23, a Friday, citing “holiday economics.” The adjustment creates a four-day weekend, as National Heroes’ Day is observed on August 26, a Monday.
“Moving a day of commemoration will not diminish the fact that Ninoy died fighting for the country and the people he so loved, and his death sparked a revolution that ended [Ferdinand] Marcos Sr.’s authoritarian rule,” the Aquino family said in a statement.
Ninoy Aquino was assassinated at the Manila International Airport, now named after him, on August 21, 1983. His death is widely regarded as a catalyst for the EDSA People Power Revolution, which led to the fall of Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and the rise of Ninoy’s widow, Corazon Aquino, as President in 1986.