Assassination of Ninoy Aquino

Assassination of Ninoy Aquino
Aquino in 1973
Location	Manila International Airport, Parañaque, Philippines
Date	August 21, 1983; 40 years ago (1983-08-21) c. 13:00 PST (UTC+08:00)
Target	Benigno Aquino Jr.
Attack type	Shooting
Weapons	.45 caliber pistol
Deaths	Benigno Aquino Jr. Rolando Galman
Assailant	Disputed[1]
Accused	Rolando Galman[2] Pablo Martinez[3] Rogelio Moreno
Convicted	16 (including Pablo Martinez and Rogelio Moreno)

Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., a former Philippine senator, was assassinated on Sunday, August 21, 1983, on the tarmac of Manila International Airport (now named Ninoy Aquino International Airport in his honor). A longtime political opponent of President Ferdinand Marcos, Aquino had just landed in his home country after three years of self-imposed exile in the United States when he was shot in the head while being escorted from an aircraft to a vehicle that was waiting to transport him to prison. Also killed was Rolando Galman who was accused of murdering Aquino.

Aquino was elected to the Philippine Senate in 1967 and was critical of Marcos. He was imprisoned on trumped up charges shortly after Marcos's 1972 declaration of martial law. In 1980, he had a heart attack in prison and was allowed to leave the country two months later by Marcos' wife, Imelda. He spent the next three years in exile near Boston before deciding to return to the Philippines.

Aquino's assassination is credited with transforming the opposition to the Marcos regime from a small, isolated movement into a national crusade. It is also credited with thrusting Aquino's widow, Corazon Aquino, into the public spotlight and her running for president in the 1986 snap election. Although Marcos was officially declared the winner of the election, widespread allegations of fraud and illegal tampering on Marcos's behalf are credited with sparking the People Power Revolution, which resulted in Marcos fleeing the country and conceding the presidency to Mrs. Aquino.

Although many, including the Aquino family, maintain that Marcos ordered Aquino's assassination, this was never definitively proven. An official government investigation ordered by Marcos shortly after the assassination led to murder charges against 25 military personnel and one civilian, all of whom were acquitted by the Sandiganbayan (special court). After Marcos was ousted, another government investigation under President Corazon Aquino's administration led to a retrial of 16 military personnel, all of whom were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Sandiganbayan. The Supreme Court affirmed the decision and rejected later motions by the convicted soldiers for a retrial.^[1] One of the convicts was subsequently pardoned, three have died in prison, and the remainder had their sentences commuted at various times; the last convicts were released from prison in 2009, the same year Corazon Aquino died.