A celebration for concern

| Sophia Delos Trinos

Today is August 21st, Ninoy Aquino day—but is it only just a holiday—or is it time to finally call out those who manipulate us today?

Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. was assassinated on this very day in 1983. He stood to fight against Ferdinand Marcos Sr., who was the president and dictator at the time.

His actions led to him being imprisoned for eight years when Martial Law was declared in our country. While in pri son, he continued to fight for democracy in our country and against the oppression enforced by the Marcos family through the Martial Law.

His assassination marked an attempt to silence the voices, this led to the People Power Revolution in 1986 which pushed his wife, Corazon Aquino, to presidency.

We often don’t look at history, we see a holiday and the thought ends at that. Aquino spoke out in a time where it was forbidden to and now, it’s our turn to speak out.

We’re allowing ourselves to become spectators to the mess that happens in the government, where political apathy is becoming a rising trend amongst Filipinos.

Especially as activism is seen as terrorism, where the lines are now being blurred by government officials. Those who protest or complain about the government are redtagged which often puts them at a high risk of danger and potentially killed.

We allowed someone from the same bloodline that stripped us of our freedom to become our president. Thus far, he has only made promises that he hasn’t fulfilled, even being two-thirds into his presidency. Our vice president is not that different either, from her impeachment trial, to her confidential funds.

The UniTeam has only united the people into seeing their true colors. They are the two representatives of our country and all they’re showing is their unprofessionalism when it comes to running our country.

Yet, many people in the Philippines are still blindly following the words of these politicians, to the point of idolatry. We often have the mindset that we have to stick with them and defend them through every bad action they’ve done.

The government has gotten away with a lot more than what is reported and we need to demand for transparency. We, Filipinos, have suffered enough.

However, we may never be free from the shackles placed on us, the riches robbed from our country that were never returned.

So now—more than ever—our choices carry impact.

We should not stand still while our country suffers from the bad choices of those who are supposed to protect and nurture it.