21/08/2025
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ
It has been over four decades since the bullet that killed former senator Benigno โNinoyโ Aquino Jr. rippled through Philippine history. To this day, the sound of that same bullet resonates with a 42-year-old question: who really pulled the trigger?
After his assassination at the Manila International Airport on August 21, 1983, the Marcos government immediately pointed fingers at Rolando Galman as the gunman behind the assassination, labeling him a communist gunman. However, forensic findings contradicted the official narrative. The bullet fragments recovered from Aquinoโs body do not match the weapon allegedly used by Galman, raising suspicions of a cover-up.
Two months later, the Agrava Commission was formed to further investigate the assassination. Its split conclusions, however, only contributed further to the confusion. While most indicated military involvement, a minority report cleared General Fabian Ver, a close ally of then-dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. In 1985, the accused soldiers were acquitted by the Sandiganbayan. After the Marcos dictatorship ended in the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, the case was reopened. Four years later, 16 members of the military were convicted. Yet, despite all the trials and investigations, the man behind Aquinoโs death remains masked. The truth remained out of reach.
Four decades later, Aquinoโs assassination is remembered not only for the loss of a prominent opposition leader but also for the miscarriage of justice that followed. Despite decades of grueling trials and investigations, the case seemed indecipherable. Was it because the accused were simply politically heavy? Perhaps it was the limitations of forensic technology during the time of his assassination? Or was it simply that many in power had too much to lose if the truth surfaced? To this very day, we are left stuck on mere speculations.
And yet, Aquinoโs death was not in vain. His death sparked the outrage that gave birth to the People Power Revolution, toppling a ruthless dictatorship and restoring the democracy of our motherland. However, while the political system continues to change, the unnamed bullet that struck Aquino continues to echo. It prompts that justice, when delayed or denied, leaves a lasting scar on a nationโs conscience.
It has been over four decades, and the Philippines continues to live with the weight of this mystery. The bullet that felled Aquino did more than kill a man; it left behind an unsolved mystery that continues to haunt the country. Until the truth is fully uncovered, Ninoy Aquinoโs death will remain unfinished, and the bullet will remain lodged, not in history alone, but in the nationโs very soul.
Opinion and graphics by Kyle Samson
