NINOY AQUINO's Greatest Speech: Ninoy Aquino's historic speech in Los Angeles (1981)

Summary

The transcript recounts the experiences of a Filipino political figure, who, after being labeled 'lucky' due to the corruption of the ruling couple, endures seven years of solitary confinement. Despite the harsh conditions, he remains hopeful and resilient, even when faced with a critical health situation. His story is a testament to the struggle for freedom and justice, advocating for Christian socialism and the importance of non-violent resistance against dictatorship. The narrative concludes with a commitment to fight for liberty and the dismantling of oppressive rule.

Takeaways

• 🗣️ The speaker uses humor to describe a Japanese person's difficulty with pronouncing 'Philippines' as 'Philippines'.
• 👤 The narrative is from a Filipino perspective, discussing the perception of the Filipino people as 'lucky' due to their resilience despite corruption.
• 🏔 The speaker recounts a personal experience of being held captive in a mountain hideout with minimal resources.
• ⏳ The experience of isolation is vividly described, emphasizing the passage of time and the toll of loneliness.
• 🌙 The speaker was deprived of seeing the moon and stars for seven years, symbolizing a loss of freedom and hope.
• 🚶 The physical and mental struggle of pacing in a confined space to cope with the monotony of imprisonment is highlighted.
• 👨‍⚕️ A health crisis prompts the speaker to request medical attention, revealing the severity of his condition and the initial dismissive response.
• 🏥 The diagnosis of blocked arteries and the need for a triple bypass surgery underscore the critical state of the speaker's health.
• 🛫 The decision to undergo surgery in America, not in the Philippines, reflects a lack of trust in local medical facilities controlled by the Marcos regime.
• 📜 The speaker makes a covenant with Marcos, promising not to speak against the regime while in America, in exchange for medical treatment.
• 🕊️ The concept of Christian socialism is introduced, advocating for equal opportunities, majority rule with minority respect, and centralized economic planning.
• 💔 The speaker expresses hope for Marcos's enlightenment and a non-violent approach to political struggle, drawing parallels with historical dictators and their downfalls.
• 🔙 A commitment to return to the Philippines and dedicate efforts to restoring freedom and dismantling Martial Law, despite personal risks and past imprisonment.

Q & A

What is the humorous anecdote about the Japanese pronunciation of 'Manila' mentioned in the script?

The Japanese gentleman mispronounced 'Manila' as 'manira' and referred to the Filipino people as 'Rocky' instead of 'lucky,' which initially surprised the audience.

What does the speaker describe as his experience in the mountain hideout?

The speaker describes his experience as extremely isolating, with only his brief and t-shirt, no reading material, and the realization of loneliness as he counted every second, minute, and hour of his confinement.

How did the speaker cope with the monotony and loneliness during his imprisonment?

The speaker coped by walking back and forth in his small room, hoping to tire himself out so he could sleep, knowing that the next day would be the same.

What health issue did the speaker face while in prison?

The speaker developed a severe chest pain, which was later diagnosed as blocked arteries requiring an emergency triple bypass surgery.

Why was the speaker reluctant to have his surgery performed in the Heart Center of Imelda Marcos?

The speaker was reluctant because he did not want to be operated on by doctors who were hand-picked by Imelda Marcos and potentially had conflicts of interest.

What were the two covenants the speaker made when writing to Mr. Marcos requesting to be brought to America for surgery?

The speaker's covenants were that if he lived, he would return to the Philippines, and while in America, he would not speak out against the regime.

What is the speaker's definition of Christian socialism?

Christian socialism, to the speaker, means equal opportunity for advancement, majority rule with respect for minority rights, opposition to exploitation, centralized economic planning, and preventing monopolies in basic industries.

How does the speaker view Mr. Marcos in terms of his humanity and potential for change?

The speaker views Mr. Marcos as a human being with a conscience, believing that it is possible to reach him and enlighten him about the potential errors of his ways.

What is the speaker's stance on using violence against Mr. Marcos?

The speaker is against using violence against Mr. Marcos, citing Gandhi's teachings and arguing that non-violence would put Mr. Marcos in the wrong before public opinion and God.

What lessons does the speaker urge Mr. Marcos to learn from history?

The speaker urges Mr. Marcos to learn from the fates of other dictators, emphasizing that no dictator has lived forever and that he should study history to avoid the same fate.

What is the speaker's commitment regarding his return to the Philippines and his political future?

The speaker commits to returning to the Philippines and dedicating himself to the restoration of freedom and the dismantlement of Martial Law, even if it means going back to jail, and states that he has no appetite for office and is not seeking any political position.

Outlines

00:00

🗣️ Misunderstandings and Isolation in the Philippines

The speaker begins by recounting a humorous anecdote about a Japanese visitor's difficulty with English pronunciation, which led to the Filipino people being described as 'Rocky' instead of 'lucky.' This light-hearted introduction leads into a serious discussion about the speaker's personal experiences of political imprisonment in the Philippines. The narrative describes the harsh conditions of solitary confinement, the psychological impact of isolation, and the speaker's struggle with the concept of time. It also touches on the political corruption and the speaker's defiance in the face of an unjust military court, vowing to maintain his principles despite the threat of a death sentence.

05:01

🏥 Health Crisis and Political Maneuvering

In this paragraph, the speaker details a critical health episode that led to a turning point in his imprisonment. Suffering from severe chest pain, he was initially misdiagnosed by military doctors but eventually was taken to the Philippine Heart Center for proper medical attention. The narrative reveals the political maneuvering involved in getting approval for treatment, including the unexpected death of his advocate, Colonel Bayani Garcia. The speaker's health crisis becomes a catalyst for his eventual release and transfer to the United States for an emergency triple bypass surgery, with conditions attached to ensure his silence on the regime's wrongdoings.

10:02

🤝 Christian Socialism and the Path to Freedom

The final paragraph shifts focus to the speaker's political philosophy, outlining the principles of Christian socialism as he understands it. He emphasizes equal opportunity, the importance of the ballot over the bullet, and the need for centralized economic planning to prevent exploitation and monopolies. The speaker also addresses his views on Marcos, considering him a human being capable of change, and calls for non-violent resistance as the means to achieve freedom. He concludes with a commitment to fight for the restoration of freedom and the dismantling of martial law, despite his personal reluctance to return to politics.

Keywords

💡Philippines

The Philippines is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia, which serves as the geographical and cultural context for the video's narrative. It is the setting for the political events and personal experiences described in the script, highlighting the nation's political climate and the speaker's connection to it.

💡Manila

Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, is mentioned humorously to illustrate a language barrier issue. It underscores cultural differences and serves as a light-hearted moment in an otherwise serious discussion about political and personal struggles within the country.

💡Rocky

In the context of the video, 'Rocky' is used metaphorically to describe the resilience of the Filipino people. It is a term of endearment that highlights their ability to endure hardships, as illustrated by the speaker's own experiences and the broader political situation in the Philippines.

💡Imprisonment

Imprisonment is a central theme in the video, representing the speaker's personal struggle with injustice and his fight for freedom. It is used to convey the harsh realities of his confinement and the psychological impact of being isolated from the outside world.

💡Loneliness

Loneliness is a key concept that encapsulates the emotional toll of the speaker's long-term imprisonment. It is depicted through his descriptions of isolation and the absence of human contact, emphasizing the mental challenges he faced during his time in confinement.

💡Martial Law

Martial law, a period of authoritarian rule in the Philippines under Ferdinand Marcos, is a critical historical backdrop to the video. It is the source of the political unrest and personal persecution that the speaker endured, shaping the narrative of his struggle for democracy and freedom.

💡Freedom

Freedom is a recurring motif in the video, symbolizing the ultimate goal of the speaker's struggle against oppression. It is juxtaposed with his experiences of imprisonment to underscore the importance of political liberty and the sacrifices made in pursuit of it.

💡Christian Socialism

Christian Socialism is presented as the speaker's political philosophy, advocating for social justice and equitable distribution of resources. It is defined in the script through principles such as equal opportunity, majority rule with minority rights respect, and opposition to economic exploitation and monopolies.

💡Dictatorship

Dictatorship is a term used to describe the oppressive regime under which the speaker was imprisoned. It is a key element in the video's critique of authoritarian rule and the historical patterns of dictators who have fallen from power.

💡Nonviolence

Nonviolence is a principle that the speaker advocates as a means to achieve political change. It is presented as a moral stance against the use of violence by the regime, drawing on the teachings of Gandhi and emphasizing the importance of peaceful resistance.

💡History

History is invoked in the video as a lesson and a warning, urging the dictator to learn from the fate of other despots. It is used to argue for the inevitable downfall of those who abuse power, reinforcing the speaker's belief in the power of justice and the importance of learning from the past.

Highlights

The speaker humorously describes the difficulty Japanese people have pronouncing 'the Philippines', turning it into 'the Rocky people'.

The speaker recounts being imprisoned in a mountain hideout with only a brief and t-shirt, refusing to eat for fear of being poisoned.

Describing the intense loneliness and isolation of 7 years in prison without seeing the moon or stars, and the monotony of twiddling thumbs and pacing in a small room.

The emotional impact of being tempted to give up during the 7,285 days in prison, highlighting the human struggle.

The speaker's experience of chest pain and the realization of having blocked arteries, leading to an emergency triple bypass surgery.

The ethical dilemma of undergoing surgery in the Heart Center of Imelda Marcos, and the reluctance to be operated on by the director chosen by Marcos.

The crisis and negotiations with the Deputy Minister of Defense regarding the speaker's decision to have the surgery in America instead of Manila.

Writing a letter to Marcos with two covenants - to return if alive and not to speak against the regime while in America.

The unexpected visit from Imelda Marcos herself, announcing a plane leaving for the surgery and discussing Christian socialism.

Defining Christian socialism as equal opportunity, majority rule respecting minority rights, and opposition to exploitation and monopolies.

The belief in Marcos' humanity and conscience, and the hope to enlighten him about the potential wrongs of his actions.

A call for non-violence, citing Gandhi, and the importance of not justifying Marcos' violent actions with violence.

The speaker's commitment to the restoration of freedom and dismantling martial law, despite having lost appetite for office.

A warning to Marcos to study history and learn from the fate of other dictators, emphasizing the inevitability of change.

The speaker's willingness to return to the Philippines and possibly face jail again for the cause of freedom.

Reflections on the speaker's vow never to enter the political arena again, but dedication to the cause of freedom.

Transcripts

I have been asked by many people

what is the actual situation in the

Philippines I think this Japanese

explained the situation in the

Philippines very well

I sure very well know the Japanese have

a difficulty pronouncing their ass

Manila becomes manira

and so this Japanese gentleman stood up

and said

my dear Filipino people

you are very Rocky

and I consider he said the Filipino

people the most Rocky people in Asia

[Music]

and the people were of course surprised

and they wanted to know why why they

were lucky

he said you know why you are rocky you

have a president who robs you

and you have a first lady who robs you

more

they brought me to a mountain hideout in

the sharamada and placed me in a box I

had only my brief and my t-shirt

I refuse to eat because I thought they

were poisoning me there was nothing in

the room barely nothing

and I had nothing to do but twiddle my

thumb and for the first time in my life

I heard the ticking of every second and

I was counting every second into minutes

and as the minutes marched into hours

and the hours into days and days into

weeks I knew what loneliness meant

for seven years I was not allowed to see

the moon and the stars

there were days where they left me all

alone by myself

I had no reading material

I had nothing I was twiddling my thumb I

Would Walk and Walk and walk across my

room just a room of about four meters by

five meters

hoping that I'll get tired

and then when I get tired I will fall

asleep

knowing that tomorrow will be the same

[Music]

be practical Italian

foreign

that I was tempted in my 7 000 almost 7

285 days in prison to do just that

I'm the human

[Music]

when my wife and children would visit me

and they would leave me a task after one

hour

I also would like to enjoy the Embrace

of my children

and the Peace of my home

[Music]

but if I gave faith in that conviction

if I refuse to accept the jurisdiction

of a military court and because I refuse

to defend myself they will give me the

death sentence

I vowed to myself

that because you have elected me to the

Senate and I gloried in its pump

therefore it is now time that that's my

I am that I must suffer the consequences

of my Ark

and because I knew

because God pray that before me I never

saw them in my life and yet they were

pointing fingers at me accusing me of

crimes I never committed they admitted

to crimes they said they were Communists

they said they were number three in the

Communist hierarchy and yet the

government

set them free

and I was in jail

but I knew

that somehow

I will regain my freedom

maybe not in this world but elsewhere

and I knew

that sometimes somewhere Mr Marcos and I

will meet

and in that meeting I will have my

satisfaction

they allowed me to run and they made a

little Corral for me they brought me out

between 11 and 12 o'clock

every day they brought me out to

exercise

on that particular day of March as I was

walking around my little Corral all of a

sudden I developed a chest pain

and then the pain was so terrible that I

sat down and I asked my guard to massage

my chest and asked him to bring me back

I called for the Army doctors they

checked me and they said

that's nothing just take a rest

and so I rested

but after 40 days I was so weak I could

not even take a bath I was shaking and I

told my doctor I said look doctor

I don't know I said your diagnosis or

its accuracy but I am very very weak

please bring me to the Philippine Heart

Center and get me an examination

that doctor fortunately on that morning

after 40 days on April 10 to 828 his

name is Colonel bayani Garcia came to my

office and said yes

I will now recommend that they bring you

to the Heart Center because apparently

you're not getting well Mr Marcos has

just arrived from Honolulu I will make

my recommendation and I wrote a letter

and I told them if you do not bring me

to the Heart Center I will be

constrained to appeal to the Supreme

Court

and so he said no sir I will talk to the

Commanding General

at one o'clock that day

and knock on my door came and I was

given a letter from the Commanding

General

I thought it was the approval of my

request when I opened the letter it was

handwritten a note and he said my dear

Senator Aquino it is with deep regret

that I inform you your doctor colonel

bayani s Garcia died of a massive heart

attack an hour ago

if you were in my place

here is your doctor telling you this is

how do you feel

[Music]

finally on May 5 1980

almost midnight they took me from myself

and they brought me to the Heart Center

that was a Monday

the doctors in the Heart Center met me

two preliminary tests and they told me

senator they said tomorrow we will begin

the battery of tests

and so I slept

but I could not sleep that was the first

time I was brought out of myself in

almost seven years and seven months

and there are beautiful nurses and the

first time I was seeing women in seven

years in seven months and naturally I

was watching my heart as it was

palpitating

but as I sat down after that x-ray I was

just about to sip my coffee all of a

sudden I get I got hit again by a

terrible chest pain that was almost

choking me and my arm was getting

paralyzed so I told the nurse I said

Miss please bring me to bed so they

brought me to bed and they put all of

those gadgets and all of a sudden the

needles were squiggling and they called

the doctor the doctor looked at the

tracings and then after one hour they

came back to me and said Mr Senator we

are canceling all all tests I said why

because we already know what's wrong

with you I said what's wrong with me you

have blocked arteries and you must

undergo an emergency triple bypass

otherwise you may die in six days to six

months

[Music]

I told them

where can I have my operation

and that's the Heart Center of Imelda

Marcos

[Music]

and I asked

who can do the operation for me the

director said

there are two other assistants if you

want but I'm the only one performing in

the center he was director

he was the director of the Heart Center

hand-picked also by Imelda

I said Doctor

[Music]

thank you

I said

if they cannot operate on me in America

please bring me to myself

put this I did not want them to touch me

in Manila and so there was a crisis

second Deputy Minister of Defense came

to my room he tried to talk me out of my

decision I said no

and so finally he said are you willing

to write a letter to Marcos requesting

to be brought to America I said yes

[Music]

so I wrote my letter to Mr Marcos and

made two Covenants

that if I live I shall return

and to

that while in America I shall not speak

out against this regime

[Music]

and I also said I will only bring three

of my children with me

that's also true

but of course the other two were already

abroad

foreign

and then my friends that was a Wednesday

when I wrote that letter

all of a sudden on Thursday morning May

8th

my wife visited me early in the morning

and she told me the hospital is crawling

with metal form cars guards all over the

place

then all of a sudden my guards started

jumping putting their barong Tagalog

hiding all of their guns

and then lo and behold the beautiful one

ascended into my Suite

she came

and she was really beautiful

she has enough age there's a plane

leaving at six o'clock you can be in

that plane

very simply Christian socialism means to

me an equal opportunity for advancement

and the full development of the human

being

this means that the poorest person in

the land must be given the equal

opportunity for education

number two the Christian socialist

believes that the great legitimizer of

government is the ballot not the bullet

and therefore because we believe in the

ballot we believe in a majority rule so

that if the majority should opt and

should win in a contest then the

minority should accept the majority

Monday but we put

that the majority even if it wins must

respect minority rights number three we

do not believe in the exploitation of

Man by man meaning we do not believe in

unbridled capitalism where the rich will

get richer and the poor will get poorer

in a developed country in America you

may have capitalism but in a country

like the Philippines with very big

resources in a developing economy we

must harness our meager economy and

maximize the benefit and therefore there

should be centralized economic planning

and the government must actually give

the direction as to prevent any overlap

finally I do not believe in the Monopoly

of basic Industries Why should one

family monopolize one electric company

in the Philippines or why should one

family monopolize the ownership of one

airline company in the Philippines or

why should one company monopolize the

telephone company in the Philippines

since the government is funding all of

this to begin with these families are

borrowing from government institutions

and must depend on government guarantees

then I say let the government own them

and let the people share in the prophet

Christian socialism therefore is nothing

more than democracy

Mr Marcos is a human being and Mr Marcos

has a conscience I may even consider

that in his own fashion he thinks he's

doing right it is therefore our duty and

Our obligation to Enlighten him it is

our duty and Our obligation to tell Mr

Marcos that maybe he is wrong but

definitely Mr Marcos is a human being

and I have not lost hope that we can

still reach him in the recesses of his

conscience I've always said that Mr

Marcos is the original terrorist

he is right now employing State violence

but if we use violence against him he

will only justify the use of more

violence against us and since he's more

he's a more violent man he has more

forces of repression we will be the

loser in other words as Gandhi said if

he uses violence against you do not give

him a reason to justify his violence

because if you are not violent then

before the bar of public opinion and

before God he is the only sinner

this struggle can only mean victory for

all of us

it will mean Victory because

we are different from those that we

oppose

those that we oppose are happy with the

material wealth but for how long

I have written Mr Marcus letters upon

letters and I told him

read your history my friend

I have no hatred for you I only have

pity because if you do not see and you

do not remove the calluses from your

eyes if you do not remove your blinders

you will meet the same faith of all the

dictators of History

his wife is now in jail what happened to

piran isabelita is now in jail

what happened to Franco is now forgotten

what happened to happen to the Shah for

all of the things that he did The

Monuments to his greatness have already

been torn down

there has never been a single dictator

in history that has lived forever

and so I tell Mr Marcos

Mr Marcos

study the lessons of History before it

is too late

I am going back to the Philippines and

if I have to go back to jail so be it

while it's true Mr Marcos I said that

after my eight years in prison I have

lost appetite for office

I am no longer seeking the presidency of

this land I'm not seeking any more any

office in this country

but believe me I said when I tell you

that while I have vowed never to enter

the political Arena again

I shall dedicate the last drop of my

blood to the restoration of freedom and

the dismantlement of your Martial law