NLast of 2 parts

INOY Aquino was not present at the Plaza Miranda proclamation rally of Aug. 21, 1971. He was not a candidate anyway. But as the “wonder boy” of the Liberal Party, he was expected to support his party mates.

It was established already that Ninoy was at the Jai Alai building for the despedida de soltera of Salvador “Doy” Laurel’s daughter. Recently, the Salvador H. Laurel Museum and Library facebook page quoted an excerpt from Celia Laurel’s book on Doy: “That night the two friends had a happy reunion out of politics. Ninoy was really enjoying making Cocoy (Doy’s son) sing all his favorite songs. Minutes after he left, we heard the shocking news of the bombing. We were so relieved to know that Ninoy was not in the rally.” A few months ago, I met Ma’am Suzie Laurel and I remember her telling me it was indeed to her party that Ninoy went.

It was sad that he was always designated the last speaker to keep the crowd waiting for his “bomba” (bombastic) speeches. This was why it was said that Ninoy decided TO fiRST GET HIS BULLETPROOF VEST AT home before going to the rally.

Ruben Guevarra, the communist guerrilla who sentenced to death the one who allegedly admitted to having carried out the bombing, Danilo Cordero alias Ka Kris, revealed in his 1998 book The Story Behind the Plaza Miranda Bombing, an uncited report (although the book is well-cited) that Ninoy allegedly warned two party mates not to join the rally. If ever he went, he said he would just make a “dramatic entrance.” And dramatic entrance he did, in the hospitals where his party mates were brought, clutching a gun and wearing his bulletproof vest.

If he had known about the bombing beforehand and even wanting to get his bulletproof vest, then he must have prior knowledge and was complicit, right?

Despite this, Sen. Jovito Salonga, one of those who were wounded and with whom those who had knowledge of the bombing confessed about it, never implicated Ninoy in any of his statements. This could be natural because he had a great admiration for his fallen friend.

But surprisingly, even Gueverra, despite his monograph being published by Katotohanan at Katarungan Foundation Inc., a known publisher of authors who defend the Marcos legacy, himself planted a seed of doubt about Ninoy’s complicity. He pointed to a claim that Ninoy knew through a Tarlac cadre who was part of the Communist Party of the Philippines central committee, Ruben Tuazon, who was said to be his link to them. But during the time of the Plaza Miranda bombing, Tuazon could not have known since at that time he had been stripped of his position, and was only able to regain it afterwards. Guevara said that the claim “betrays a lack of understanding of certain CPP-NPA rules.” One of them is the practice of compartmentalization. Not everyone in the party knows the plan, and if there were people who knew, they only knew portions of it and not the whole lot.

And their alleged alliance with Ninoy was only tactical since Ninoy was still part of the “bureaucrat capitalists,” hence despite his association with them, he is still considered part of the enemy class. If most of the party would not know of the plot, why would Ninoy, who was not a party member and part of the enemy class, know about it?

Also, the complicity of Ninoy Aquino in the Plaza Miranda bombing cannot be established without a shadow of doubt because of another important factor — Sen. Eva Estrada Kalaw.

One of the victims of the bombing, Kalaw was Ninoy’s cousin and they were very close. According to stories her relative Dr. Leloy Claudio heard from her, Ninoy was searching for her after the bombing, “Where is prima? Is she OK?”

Luckily, Kalaw left a memoir which discussed the events of August 21, but there was no hint she even suspected Ninoy. She even wrote, “Ninoy Aquino had not been at the Plaza Miranda rally as he had just returned from Marinduque where he had proclaimed their Liberal Party candidates that same afternoon. He had been resting at home when he got a phone call warning him, ‘Pagbumomba ka pa sa Plaza Miranda mamaya ay iyan na ang huling beses mo na bubuksan ang iyong bibig.’ Since he was used to getting crank calls, NINOY HAD flIPPANTLY REPLIED: ‘Pagbutihin mo na lang,’ then hung up.” She then also recalled him being at Suzie Laurel’s despedida de soltera. I am inclined to believe Ninoy told this story to her himself. This is probably the reason for his prior knowledge.

“Prima” is key. I have reasons to personally believe Ninoy would not have put his friends, and more so his beloved cousin, to such fatal danger. There are many ways of skinning a cat and reaching your ambitions without endangering your loved ones. Dr. Joseph Scalice, who scoured into all the primary sources, although establishing Ninoy’s alliance with the CPP, publicly said he would not put his money down in Ninoy’s complicity.

And if he was guilty, he would never have highlighted August 21, the anniversary of the Plaza Miranda bombing, as the date of his arrival from America in 1983. I believe he would have avoided the association.

I will be the first to say Ninoy was a brilliant politician, but a not so pleasant character. That is, before he was imprisoned, where he found God and had a spiritual transformation.