but this doesn't mean i'm buying her Kris Aquino Magazine ha! iba yun! chos.
Freedom of Ninoy convicts angers Kris
MANILA, Philippines—The youngest and popular daughter of the late senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. was angered over the release of her father's convicted murderers, as she appealed to the public not to forget his sacrifice to restore democracy.
"My dad was killed by those men who were freed today," a teary-eyed Kris Aquino said Wednesday in ABS-CBN’s "Showbiz News Ngayon," an entertainment-oriented daily news program she hosts.
The ten convicts—Rogelio Moreno, Ruben Aquino, Arnulfo Artates, Romeo Bautista, Jesus Castro, Arnulfo De Mesa, Rodolfo Desolong, Claro Lat, Ernesto Mateo and Filomeno Miranda—stepped out of the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City on Wednesday as part of an executive clemency granted by President Macapagal-Arroyo on March 2. They were the remaining convicts out of the 16 military men the Sandiganbayan court found guilty on September 28, 1990 for the murders of Aquino and Rolando Galman, who the Marcos administration pinpointed as the gunman communists hired to carry out the murder. Those who comprise the other six convicts have either died in prison or were pardoned by previous administrations.
These men were part of an escort contingent that led Aquino, a staunch critic of strongman Ferdinand Marcos and a leading opposition figure, out of the China Airlines plane that took him back to the Philippines after years of exile in the United States on August 21, 1983. He was shot dead on his way down to the tarmac of the Manila International Airport. Moreno was the identified gunman.
They also killed Galman in the operation.
Aquino’s youngest child said she had wanted to keep mum on the issue and let her brother, Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, speak for the family. But watching the freed convicts on newscasts lament losing years of their lives while in detention at the Muntinlupa prison made her break her silence.
"Gusto kong mapaalala po sa inyong lahat na kung sila matagal silang nahiwalay sa pamilya nila, magmula August 21,1983 ako ba at mga kapatid ko may tatay ba kaming nayakap? [I just want to remind everyone that if they had been separated for a long time from their families since August 21, 1983, have I and my siblings embraced a father?]," the TV host-actress said.
"My mom (former president Corazon Aquino) as everybody knows has cancer. Sa lahat ng paghihirap na pinagdaadaanan ng mommy ko, meron ba siyang asawa na kahawak kamay niya ngayon at puwedeng nagbibigay suporta sa kaniya? Wala ‘di ba? [After all the suffering my mom goes through, does she have a husband to hold hands with and offer support? None.]" she added.
Aquino’s death spurred the popular People Power revolt that catapulted his widow to the presidency.
"Nung presidente ang nanay ko, hindi po kami naningil ng buhay kapalit ng buhay ng daddy ko, [When my mother became president, we did not avenge my father’s death by taking another life]," the actress also said, adding that she feels bad because it appeared the country has forgotten his father's martyrdom.
Aquino said the pardoned convicts should not fool the public by claiming their innocence. They were still convicted of killing her father, even if they claim they just “followed orders,” she said.
"Pinatay nila si Ninoy Aquino...hindi ko mapapatawad ang sarili ko bilang anak ni Ninoy Aquino kung hindi ako magsasalita, [They killed Ninoy Aquino…As his daughter, I won’t forgive myself if I don’t speak]," she added.
For 26 years they claim innocence.
ReplyDeleteThe courts have convicted them.
Does that mean that that is true?
Kris Aquino twists the mind of the masses and condemns the 10 former soldiers with her emotional but irrational speech.
What if they really were innocent? Trial by press isn't really fair, especially since they did not have the 26 years leverage to build up a nationwide following.
With nothing but evidence to back them up, they want to reopen their case, but was refused.
Why do you think so? Or why do you think they want it reopened? Perhaps their conviction was fixed before, but the truth can be released now?
What if, they really were innocent? After being in prison for 26 years, after being pardoned, why not admit already their guilt if they are indeed guilty?
Kris Aquino was only a baby then. She has nothing to go for except what everyone else says, and of course what she gets is heavily biased against the 10 soldiers.