Ferdie and Ninoy, Brothers at Odds
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Sen. Benigno Aquino, Jr. and President Ferdinand Marcos (Source: History: Ferdinand Marcos and Benigno Ninoy Aquino's Untold Stories)
Following the American system, under the then existing Philippine Constitution, a President was limited to two four-year terms. There were two dominant political parties, Nacionalista and Liberal. Ferdinand Marcos, a member of the Nacionalista Party, was first elected as Philippine President in 1965 and won his re-election for a second and final term in 1969. He was expected to step down in 1973.
There was a scramble among many leading politicians vying to run for the office of the President. But among all, the leading candidate under the banner of the Liberal Party, was a bright, politically astute, articulate, energetic, and charismatic senator from the province of Tarlac, who had been a vociferous opponent of then-President Ferdinand Marcos. He was considered by many political pundits as a “shoo-in” to replace Marcos as President.
Having completed my economics degree from the University of the Philippines (UP) in 1969, I was immediately hired as an economic analyst for a subsidiary of Ayala Corporation, the leading financial and real estate conglomerate in the country. My involvement with Ninoy Aquino started in 1971.
I had just left Ayala Corporation after receiving my MBA degree from UP when I was approached by my former supervisor, a Netherlands School of Economics-trained economist, to become part of a small think tank, along with a well-known Jesuit economist, to help draft Ninoy’s Economic Plan under his impending presidency. I accepted the challenge and was ensconced in Ninoy’s private offices, occupying his desk at the First United Bank building on Ayala Avenue. This was where I first met him. What immediately struck me was his deep empathy for the country’s poor, and a strong vision and determination as to where to lead the country to pull it out of its poverty.
At UP, I had joined the oldest Greek-lettered fraternity in Asia, the Upsilon Sigma Phi. Both Senator Ninoy Aquino and President Ferdinand Marcos were Upsilonians. I was proud to call Ninoy “brod,” for brother.
On September 23, 1972, President Marcos declared martial law under the guise of rampant lawlessness and a growing communist insurgency. A week prior to the declaration, Senator Ninoy Aquino, in a privileged speech in the Philippine Senate, exposed the existence of OPLAN Sagittarius, which turned out to be an elaborate plan to replace the fledgling democracy with a dictatorship. Planning the takeover of the country must have been conceived as early as 1971. Around that time my wife, Tess, and I were enrolled in MBA courses at UP where almost a quarter of our class were military officers from all services of the Philippine Armed Forces. Not that we had suspected anything was afoot then, but clearly, it was a carefully prepared contingency plan to take over industry in case of an economic collapse.
On the night of September 23, 1972, Ninoy was arrested and imprisoned in the military barracks of Fort Bonifacio.
Fast forward to 1975. I was restless. With a newborn son and another on the way, Tess and I decided it was time to leave the country. Canada opened its doors to us.
NINOY AQUINO IN EXILE: Political Activism
Sometime in 1980, Ninoy had a heart attack and was released by the regime, presumably under pressure from the US government, to undergo a triple bypass heart operation in the US. According to an account narrated by former Congressman Roquito Ablan in 2016 to Business Mirror journalist LA Castro, it was Marcos who personally interceded and made sure Ninoy Aquino was sent safely into exile for his medical procedure. Why Marcos released Ninoy, I can only surmise, but it was an expedient way to remove a festering thorn on his side.
After Ninoy’s recovery, he was offered a fellowship at Harvard’s Center for International Affairs in Boston. One evening in 1981, while we were working to meet our publishing deadline for the Toronto newspaper Atin Ito, a mysterious individual popped into our newspaper offices introducing himself as Momong. I recall he was wiry, tough-looking and sunburnt, someone who spent many years toiling under the sun. Not the type of person you would want to meet in a dark alleyway. None of us had met him before. After the brief introduction, he offered to arrange a meeting with Ninoy at Cornell University where he was scheduled to give a talk. Why and how Momong found us was obviously not an accident. Intrigued, we accepted.
Cornell University 6:30 AM in the morning with Ninoy before his talk. From left flanking Ninoy: Tony Cruz ‘64, Vic Cruz who replaced Ruben ‘57 as editor, Jimmy Borres ‘63, Rogie Concepcion ‘66, Eddie Lee ‘53. Noel Cruz ‘66 was taking the photo.
Jimmy Borres, Eddie Lee, Tony Cruz, Noel Cruz and I, who belong to the same fraternity, had co-founded Atin Ito, along with another Upsilonian, journalist Ruben Cusipag. Ruben left earlier over an editorial disagreement to set up his own newspaper.
Noel Cruz ‘66 in background just right of Ninoy.
Momong drove us to Cornell one evening at midnight. We arrived in Ninoy Aquino’s hotel at 3 a.m., and knocked on his door.
Ninoy was initially apprehensive but quickly warmed up when he found out we were Upsilonians. I would never forget that morning. From 3 to 7 a.m., before his scheduled lecture, we listened to him. He was an unstoppable force. He spoke clearly about his vision for the country. I was transfixed and convinced that he was the “messiah” that the country badly needed, languishing under martial law's corrupt aftermath. He was on a mission.
We drove from Toronto at midnight and arrived at around 3 pm in Ninoy’s hotel. My station wagon was driven by Momong who had introduced himself as one of Ninoy’s bodyguard and driver. Camera shy, Momong popped up one day to ask if we wanted him to arrange a meeting with Ninoy. As mysteriously as he appeared, he disappeared as quickly. We never saw him again after that meeting.
After that Cornell meeting in 1981, I became reacquainted with Ninoy. We brought him to Toronto to give a talk to the Filipino community in a symposium and arranged for widespread news coverage with leading Canadian newspapers, and television and radio programs.
My wife, Tess, and I would visit Ninoy and Cory on several occasions in Boston where I would meet many other prominent Filipino politicians who were also visiting. Cory was not generally involved in these political conversations, but I could sense that she was his closest confidant on political matters. While we talked, Tess would go with Cory to shop.
A grassroots movement for the termination of martial law started with these meetings, to apply intense international pressure and persuade Marcos to lift martial law by exposing the abuses and corruption of the regime. I became involved.
A few days before his ill-fated flight, I was away on a business trip to Calgary. Ninoy called me at home.
Tess picked up the call, “Tess, nandiyan ba si Rogie? Can I talk to him?”
Tess answered, “Wala, Ninoy, nasa Calgary.”
Ninoy: “Mabuti pa siya, nasa Calgary, ako nasa Calvary (He’s better off, he’s in Calgary; me I’m in Calvary.”
It was an odd and seemingly innocent and tortured remark, but looking back now, he knew and was well aware of the risks involved in going back home. It was a premonition.
I returned Ninoy’s call on the eve of his departure for Manila. I asked why he was returning home. I thought this to be extremely dangerous, given that he was considered a serious threat to the regime.
He knew it was extremely risky, but he was compelled to go as it was his duty. His concern was the failing health of Marcos. He said that his informants told him that Marcos was extremely ill and may not survive, and he feared that the country could collapse into chaos. He had to be there when it happened at “siguradong magkakagulo” (chaos surely will ensue) and to rally the opposition.
I asked, do you not fear for your life? His reply is now indelibly seared in my brain; “I would rather die a martyr than have an inglorious death run over by a car”.
But Ninoy miscalculated the brazenness of the regime’s response. Since he was in a plane full of international journalists, he believed he would be protected from any serious harm. He was wrong and the rest is history now.
We organized a symposium for Ninoy in Toronto.
A Curious Relationship
There have been several accounts of the relationship Ninoy Aquino had with Ferdinand Marcos. This is now a footnote in Philippine history, but I had a firsthand glimpse of the curious relationship between the two political foes. But there was a hidden third leg to this relationship, former Congressman Roquito Ablan, also a member of Upsilon Sigma Phi. The interview with the latter conducted by Leandro Anton Castro in 2016 reveals that he played a central role in the relationship.
As to whether Roquito’s narrative can be accepted is the question. There may be some embellishments in his account of events, and likely certain deeper secrets not revealed. But in substance I am inclined to believe Roquito’s narrative, knowing how relationships intertwine between members of the fraternity on opposite sides of the political spectrum. Roquito was very close to Ninoy. Not only were they classmates at the College of Law, but they were also initiated together as partners under a “buddy system” into the same fraternity batch of 1950.
At the same time, Roquito was also a loyal protege and a close political ally of Marcos.
Although Aquino and Marcos were fierce and formidable political foes, Ninoy intimated that he had continual conversations with “Ferdie” even when he was incarcerated and after he was released and exiled. They would always address each other as “brod.” They had never lost their respect for one another, so it appeared. [Ed note: In a brief clip that recently circulated in social media, a young Bongbong Marcos, appearing in a younger Kris Aquino’s talk show, revealed he once eavesdropped on a meeting between his dad and Ninoy. They called each other “brod,” he said.]
Both Senator Ninoy Aquino and President Ferdinand Marcos were Upsilonians. I was proud to call Ninoy “brod,” for brother.
Ambassador Jose “Joey” Ampeso was the diplomat who issued Ninoy multiple passports under many names. Typical Ninoy’s humor, he chose the passport he would use in returning to Manila with the made-up name of Marcial Bonifacio, “Marcial” for martial law, and “Bonifacio” for Fort Bonifacio where he was incarcerated.
Joey surreptitiously met with Ninoy in New York City, without the knowledge and approval of his immediate supervisor and the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila, likely at the behest of Roquito. To enable him to issue Ninoy his passport, he brought all his tools and documents from New Orleans where he was then based. Ampeso is also an Upsilonian, and a protege of Roquito.
By returning to Manila with international media, Ninoy gambled and miscalculated, but also won in the end.
I think he would not have blamed Marcos for the brutality of his assassination or even for his death.
During my personal conversations with Ninoy, he related several times his continuing dialogue with Ferdie. They were playing an intriguing form of power chess.
I did not sense any animosity or bitterness on Ninoy’s part, nor did he indicate any on Marcos’ part either when Ninoy described their interactions. He argued and tried to convince Marcos that it would be to the country’s benefit if he were to lift “martial law” and allow for a return to democracy by conducting free elections. Both were well aware of their place in Philippine history. They were creating history.
It was fascinating to watch both protagonists play powerful roles; their legacies still dominate Philippine politics even after five decades. And they were “brothers” in our Greek-lettered fraternity at our alma mater.
Reference: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2016/07/29/roquito-ablan-jr-upsilonian-brother-to-aquino-and-marcos/
For more on the Marcos-Aquino-Ablan connection: Out of the Closet, Into the Streets: A Different Take on Ferdinand Marcos and Ninoy Aquino (outoftheclosetintothestreets.blogspot.com)
Rogie Concepcion is a Toronto innkeeper with a passion for meeting extraordinary humans. Creative thinker with eclectic interests in music, art, and theoretical physics+cosmology. Will pursue and hone writing as his next iteration to the end or until he loses his marbles.
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/the-innkeepers-of-toronto
