FilAms in California mark Ninoy Aquino's 40th death anniversary with solemn ceremony | TFC News
* AI ("Artificial Intelligence") subtitles on Tagalog.com are generated using "Whisper" by OpenAI (the same company that created ChatGPT and DallE2). Results and accuracy may vary.
* The subtitles do include errors occasionally and should only be used as a tool to help with your listening practice.
* You can request this website to create a transcript for a video if one doesn't already exist by clicking the "Request AI Subtitles" button below a video. Transcribing usually takes 30-40% of the length of a video to complete if there are no other videos in
the queue. For example, a 21 minute video will take 7-8 minutes to transcribe.
* Running a super fast cloud GPU server to do these transcriptions does cost money. If you have the desire and financial ability, consider
becoming a patron
to support these video transcriptions, and the other tools and apps built by Tagalog.com
00:04.3
There was a great sense of pride honoring a man whose ultimate sacrifice
00:09.5
was to die for his countrymen.
00:11.8
It's been four decades since former Philippine Senator Benigno Ninoy Aquino Jr.
00:17.4
was assassinated on the tarmac of the Manila International Airport,
00:21.9
sparking a people power revolution that ousted the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
00:28.9
Those feelings of fury and anguish for losing a patriot are still very much felt by Filipinos
00:36.0
who recently gathered in a solemn ceremony in the San Francisco Bay Area,
00:41.2
marking Ninoy's 40th death anniversary.
00:44.6
Ken Kashiwahara read a letter he penned for Ninoy,
00:47.9
expressing how he felt after he witnessed his own brother-in-law's brutal murder.
00:53.7
It took me a long time to get over the trauma of August 21st.
00:58.4
I have never felt such anger and bitterness as I did when I heard those gunshots at the airport,
01:04.9
nor such sadness for your friends, your country, and our family.
01:10.5
Event organizer Donny DeLeon hails from Concepcion, Tarlac, Ninoy's hometown.
01:15.8
He was only eight years old in the late 60s when he first encountered Ninoy,
01:20.6
who was then campaigning for senator.
01:23.1
Even back then, Ninoy had a bigger-than-life persona.
01:27.0
From the sky, a helicopter descended and out emerged a youthful,
01:38.2
handsome, and a captivating politician.
01:42.5
For Lupita Aquino Kashiwahara, Ninoy's sister,
01:45.9
it was heartwarming to see those who have witnessed Ninoy's rise to influence come together,
01:52.3
and share stories to keep his memory alive for generations to come.
01:57.6
Ninoy is now 90 in November.
02:00.1
So many of the people that have saw him live and die are also going themselves.
02:05.8
But it just goes to show you 40 years memorial shows exactly how Ninoy is loved in return.
02:15.1
Ninoy's legacy will live on just like truth will never die.
02:20.1
So I need to say it will be very nice to continue on his legacy.
02:26.8
The younger Aquinos say they are doing what they can
02:29.6
to get their generation to carry on Ninoy's fight for democracy,
02:34.4
especially given the current political climate in the Philippines.
02:38.4
We're trying as much as possible to get younger people involved.
02:43.3
As you can see, it's a lot of, it's another generation.
02:49.2
That's the majority of the attendees.
02:52.2
You want everybody from all different ages to come together to celebrate what
02:59.9
my Lolo Ninoy has done for the Philippines.
03:03.2
For Rob Bonta, the first Filipino-American Attorney General of California,
03:08.2
the same things that Ninoy fought for then are still being fought now.
03:13.3
It's important to remember the sacrifice, the courage, the commitment.
03:20.2
The tragedy is painful, but it's also a story full of inspiration for the future.
03:26.2
40 years after his death, this community of Filipino-Americans and their allies
03:31.2
continue to take to heart Ninoy's ultimate sacrifice,
03:34.8
still believing that the Filipino is truly worth dying for.
03:39.3
Hennia Espinoza, ABS-CBN News, Daly City, California.
04:04.8
Hennia Espinoza, ABS-CBN News, Daly City, California.
