THE FILIPINO IS WORTH DYING FOR

An Excerpt
By Benigno B. Aquino, Jr.
I have spent almost eight lonely years in military confinement. The problem of Martial
Rule and its injustices have nagged me all these years.
During those eight years, I learned the true meaning of humiliation, of courage, of
hunger and endless anxiety. Rather than be bitter, I have learned to accept my
sufferings as a cleansing process and a rare opportunity to really grapple with the
problems of the Filipino.
I have asked myself many times. Is the Filipino worth suffering, or even dying, for? Is a
Filipino more comfortable under an authoritarian leader because he does not want to be
burdened with the freedom of choice? Is he unprepared or, worse, ill-suited for a
presidential or parliamentary democracy?
I have carefully weighed the virtues and the faults of the Filipino and I have come to the
conclusion that he is worth dying for because he is the nations greatest untapped
resource.
He is not a coward. He values life and he tend to give his leader the maximum benefit of
the doubt. Given a good leader because he is a good follower, the Filipino can attain
great heights.
It would seem that he is more comfortable in being told what to do than to think for
himself. But this is only a superficial impression because deep down in his being, he
loves freedom but puts the highest premium on human life and human dignity. Hence,
he would try to adapt till his patience runs out.
Is the Filipino prepared for democracy? Definitely. Even before the arrival of the Spanish
Conquistador, he had already practice participatory democracy in his barangay. He
values freedom, but because he values human life more, he will not easily take up arms
and would rather wait till his patience runs out.

Yes, I have gained valuable insights in prison and like an average Filipino, I would like to
tell Mr. Marcos this:
I can forgive you for what you have done to me over the last eight years because this I
can do, but I can never forgive you for depriving our people of their freedom because it
is not mine to forgive.
I have waited patiently for you to restore democracy you took away from us that night of
September 23, 1972. Like the average Filipino, please do not mistake my patience for
docility, my conciliatory demeanor for cowardice and lack of will.
I have chosen to suffer long years of solitary confinement rather than urge my followers
to put our country to the torch because, like the average Filipino, I put the highest value
on human life. And I dread the weeping of mothers whose sons will surely be sacrificed
at the altar of revolution. But please do not misinterpret this conduct for timidity and
subservience.
I have faced death a couple of times in prison. In 1975, I went on a hunger strike for
forty days and forty nights and I was near death when your jailers rushed me to the
Veterans Hospital.
I faced death in your detention camp when your army doctors diagnosed my heart
ailment as mere muscle spasms, only to be told by the doctors in the United States that
I could have died from heart attacks while I was languishing in your jail.
Mr. Marcos: Please believe me when I tell you that, like the average Filipino, I will again
willingly face death in a freedom struggle if you will not heed the voice of conscience
and moderation.
You were a soldier once, and you have repeatedly said, many times, it is an honor to die
for ones country and for ones freedom.
I hope you will now believe in what you preach and I pray that you shall at last desist
from further trying the patience and resolve of your countrymen.
Mr. Marcos: Give us back our freedom or suffer the consequences of your arrogance.