(UPDATE) SEN. Alan Peter Cayetano said no one holds a “monopoly” on heroism as he clarified that he did not intend to compare himself with the late senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.
Some groups associated with Aquino, including the August Twenty-One Movement (ATOM), have called him out for comparing his struggles in the Senate “to that of the fight of Senator Ninoy Aquino against the Marcos Sr. dictatorship.”
Cayetano has refused to relinquish the Senate presidency despite being ousted by the former minority group who installed Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate president pro tempore.
ATOM also criticized him for flashing the “L” or “Laban” (fight) sign in his video message, a gesture associated with Aquino’s widow, Corazon Aquino, who took power after president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. fled the country in 1986.
“So let me be clear about Ninoy. No family holds a monopoly on his name, because no one holds a monopoly on heroism. Heroism is not inherited; it is earned,” Cayetano wrote on Facebook Saturday.
“I am proud of what they did and what they sacrificed. I do not compare myself, or our group, to them — but I do identify with what they fought for,” he said.
Cayetano said the 1986 People Power revolution proved as much. “It was not the triumph of a single family, but of ordinary Filipinos who decided that truth mattered more than fear. The revolution is unfinished. Who will fight for the truth?” he said.
The senator said he and his allies in the “old” majority bloc are determined to uncover the mastermind behind the flood control fund scandal.
“Some now ask who has the right to invoke Ninoy’s name. With respect, that is the wrong question. We do not claim to be him, and we do not compare ourselves to his heroism,” Cayetano said.
ATOM reminded Cayetano that “Ninoy fought against fascism, corruption, and lack of accountability, qualities which are evident among their camp’s patrons.”
“We remain consistent with our call to Cayetano: Resign now! You have become a disgrace not only to the Senate but to the whole country as well, with your antics reaching the international community,” it added.
Cayetano said heroes were “not perfect” men. “Rizal was not. Bonifacio was not. Ninoy was not. They had their fears and their failings, as we all do.”
“What made them worthy of remembrance is that when history asked something of them, they answered — choosing truth over comfort, principle over convenience, country over self,” he said.
BERNADETTE TAMAYO
“That is the challenge before us now: not to claim the legacy of our heroes, but to deserve it. Because the greatest tribute we can offer them is not to speak in their name. It is to continue their work,” he said.
