Aquino family reacts to moving of Ninoy Aquino Day celebration to Aug. 23
The Aquino family has given their reaction to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s decision to move Ninoy Aquino Day, a special non-working day, from Aug. 21 to 23.
Malacañang announced the change for the coming holiday through Proclamation No. 665 amending the previous announcement of regular and special holidays for 2024.
In a statement sent to the media, the Aquino family stated that "moving a day of commemoration will not diminish the fact that Ninoy died fighting for the country and the people he so loved and his death sparked a revolution that ended Marcos Sr.'s authoritarian rule."
According to the proclamation, the holiday was moved "to provide for a longer weekend thereby promoting domestic tourism, the celebration of Ninoy Aquino Day may be moved from 21 August 2024 (Wednesday) to 23 August 2024 (Friday), provided that the historical significance of Ninoy Aquino Day is maintained."
Observed annually on August 21, Ninoy Aquino Day commemorates the life and legacy of former Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino.
A leader in the opposition, Aquino was arrested when the the late Ferdinand Marcos Sr. declared martial law in 1972 and spent eight years behind bars.
Aquino was assassinated on Aug. 21, 1983 on the tarmac of the Manila International Airport (later renamed Ninoy Aquino International Airport) as he arrived from the US to be transported to his detention cell in Fort Bonifacio.