History as snapshots
Launched on Aug. 30 at the Ayala Museum was the milestone book, A Death Foretold: The Ninoy Aquino Assassination Remembered.
Published by Good Intentions Publishing, Inc., the concept was proposed by Rissa Aquino Oreta, daughter of Ninoy’s sister Tessie and Antolin Oreta Jr., with the aim of commemorating the 40th year after the momentous martyrdom. Judiciously selected to head the project, multimedia writer Sarge Lacuesta formed a team of creative writers, journalists, editors, and designers to complete the book in time for August 2023.
Disclosure: This writer joined in as a contributing editor, together with Susan Lara and Mara Cepeda, in support of general editors An Mercado-Alcantara, Mookie Katigbak-Lacuesta and Sarge, along with project managers Christine Chung and Mark Aserit, photo editor Francine M. Marquez, print producer Karen Odcenada, and art director and designer Tom Estrera III.
The initial task was to identify possible interviewees who may have had significant recollections of that historic day of infamy, Aug. 21, 1983. It didn’t matter what political persuasion marked the interviewee. This explains the eventual inclusion of individuals who were not of the so-called “Dilawan,” such as Colonels Irwin Ver and Greg Honasan.
Most who wound up sharing their recollections, from pithy to effusively detailed, were journalists and editors, photographers, and other media practitioners. Politicians, professionals, academics, and students at the time were joined in by what we imagined would represent the man-on-the-street, as well as regional and indigenous voices, to avoid a concentration of Metro Manilans. Of course, we also had to rely on Aquino and Cojuangco relations to provide more telling glimpses of the tragedy’s unfolding.
A good number of these contributors are now living abroad. But their voices of memory are heard in the book, helping layer the narrative with personal snapshots of incremental history that were either of a proximate nature or simply expressed as gut reactions to the news of the assassination. A common articulation was, of course, shock and horror, abject disgust, anger, and fear for the future.
The mystery of the Aquino assassination remains unsolved. Perhaps it will never be solved. But the collective experience of Ninoy’s death, and of his public and colorful life before it, remains.
In 280 pages, a factual timeline and flowing narrative weave through 150 individual accounts, complemented by 200 photographs and other relevant visuals.
The modest hall that served as a venue for the simple launch program proved too small for the expected crowd that primarily included only those involved in the book, as well as some relations. Contrary to subsequent false reports that the Aquinos snubbed the affair, in truth, they were amply represented, with the typically low-key presence of Ballsy and her son Jiggy (who hosted the program), Viel and her son Miguel (who gave a brief speech), Ninoy’s brother Paul Aquino and niece Jackie Aquino-Gavino, and Maur Aquino Lichauco’s son George. On the Cojuangco side, in attendance were Rapa Lopa and Rina Teopaco. Rissa also spoke, before Manolo Quezon shared his insights on the day that left Filipinos aghast over the brazenness of the act.
Some excerpts from the book’s Introduction:
“We gather intimate recollections and impressions of individuals who were there when it happened, whether they were home or away, whether they were politically allied or opposed, or indifferent. Because the distance of time comes with the privilege of perspective, we also sought insights from those whose minds or lives were changed over the years that followed—or whose age or youth gives them a unique viewpoint.
“… The mystery of the Aquino assassination remains unsolved. Perhaps it will never be solved. But the collective experience of Ninoy’s death, and of his public and colorful life before it, remains.
“In understanding and accepting this experience, we understand in turn that there is value in the lived experience. There is value in remembering, in gathering memories, impressions, and insights. In doing so, we preserve the value of human experience, and its ascendancy in speaking the truth.”
The milestone book may be ordered through the Good Intentions Publishing page on Facebook.