What happened on August 21, 1983 I have learned to accept as part of God’s plan. I sincerely believe that God alone knows what is best for us and it is this belief that has given my children and me the courage to continue what Ninoy had sought to do and that is to work for the restoration of peace and freedom.
I never asked for this [Agrava] Commission. The Filipino people did not ask for this Commission. There was, indeed, a rising clamor for an investigation of my husband’s murder and the punishment of his killers. But there was none for this particular Commission. For already, after the Fernando Commission, there was well-nigh unanimity that there can be no justice from any body constituted by Marcos.
Honor and Pain, Courage and Faith
Delivered at the Mount Saint Vincent College, New YorkMay 19, 1984 I like to think of courage as a spiritual staying power which enables a person to die for the one he or she loves. It is a quality which transcends fear. But it is not simply a patience which passively suffers until the storm is past. Rather, it is a spirit which bears things, with resignation yes, but above all with blazing and serene hope. And for me this blazing and serene hope is founded on Faith, faith in One who died for love and rose again and who has always been a part of my life.
The Agrava report confirms what we knew all along – that it was not Galman who shot and killed Ninoy – but that it was a military conspiracy. But the report does not answer the question which has troubled me since August 21, 1983 – “Why was Ninoy assassinated by the military?”
Indeed, I believe that a people get the government they deserve, but I also believe that we deserve a government better that what we have today. We must prove this on February 7. Sobra na! Tama na Palitan na!
