FACT CHECK | Video claiming that Ninoy Aquino’s assassination was only a ploy is misleading

February 14, 2022 , 08:24 PM

(February 14, 2022) – A video has been circulating on social media platform Facebook claiming the late senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr had deliberately sent himself to death to remove the late dictator from power, installing a political party to power and “fooling” the people in the process.

The video had quotes from the martyred senator as saying that he was expecting two men stationed in the airport assigned to gun him down in the tarmac as he returned to the Philippines from the United States after three years of exile. He was allowed to leave the country for a heart procedure after seven years of detention.

The quote is legitimate, but the source of the quote was him discussing with an ally the three possible scenarios he was alerted about, and did not suggest that he was certain that he was about to be assassinated.

There is also no reputable evidence that solidly backs claims that Aquino sacrificed his life to engineer the ousting of then president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. The claim is misleading.

CLAIM:

A video uploaded by Facebook page named “True Change” claimed that Benigno Aquino Jr, a staunch critic of dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr, deliberately planned his assassination in 1983 to paint himself as a hero and remove then dictator from power to catapult his political party Liberal Party into Malacanang.

The video also alleged that this was part of a conspiracy between relatives of Aquino’s wife Corazon Aquino – who later replaced Marcos after a popular uprising in 1986 – as well as “oligarchs,” the Liberal Party, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the United States to depose the dictator and empower themselves “for the next 30 years” until Rodrigo Duterte was elected president in 2016.

“Lumalabas na ang pagkamatay ni Ninoy ay isang plano at drama. Niloko nila ang taong bayan at pinaniwala, yon pala magkakasabwat sila,” a text from the video spelled out.

The vlogger cited a recorded quote from Aqiuno saying that he was expecting two men who were stationed to gun him down the moment he arrived at the airport and receive “assurances” afterwards, speculating that these men might have received rewards from the Aquino camp.

“They have two guys stationed to knock me out at the airport. And they will try them for murder, they’ll convict them, but they have assurances,” Aquino said in the cited recording.

RATING: MISLEADING

FACTS:

The quote from Aquino legitimately came from an audio recording of his phone conversation in the airport before his fatal return to Manila, very likely with Steve Psinakis, a former company executive and a close friend of the then senator.

But it was not about a supposed conspiracy. The senator instead was saying that he was alerted of three possible scenarios by an informant if he arrived in the Philippines from the U.S. after undergoing heart surgery.

The first two scenarios involved his plane being possibly forced to turn back, either by closing the airport on the day of his arrival, or by intercepting his trip. The third scenario was the assassination.

Aquino was nonetheless uncertain about Marcos’ next move, but he was banking on the possibility that the regime would just detain him upon arrival so he could prepare for a dialogue with Marcos, whom he mistakenly thought was dying, to persuade him to restore democracy.

“If I get into my prison, there is no doubt, like a 100%, I will be brought directly to prison. I may not even get a chance to talk to anybody there on the ground. But it’s okay. As long as I’m alive and in prison, I can start using my trump cards,” Aquino said, referring to his information he received from foreign leaders and Moro rebels as “trump cards.”

Aquino did not say specifically what he thought were “assurances”, but based on the context of the discussion he might likely just be saying that Marcos might protect the two snipers from legal consequences in some form.

Claims on the number of years that the Liberal Party has ruled for has been previously fact-checked. There’s also no substantive evidence of the alleged conspiracy between President Aquino’s relatives, “oligarchs,” the CPP, and the US.

WHY THIS MATTERS:

Aquino’s assassination is a frequent subject of disinformation on social media. Historians have decried the attempt to rewrite history to rehabilitate the image of the Marcoses.

News5 is part of #FactsFirstPH which brings together various sectors that are committed to promoting truth in the public space, and exacting accountability on those who harm it with lies. For those interested to join the initiative, email info@factsfirst.ph.

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