BACOLOD CITY — Decades after the assassination of former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., his legacy continues to resonate among marginalized communities in Negros Occidental, with an urban-poor organization in Bacolod repeatedly using Ninoy Aquino Day to call for courage, democracy and standing up against abuses of power.
The Federation of Urban Poor (FedUp) in Negros Occidental marked Ninoy Aquino Day in 2022 by laying wreaths at the foot of Aquino’s statue along Araneta Avenue in Bacolod City.
According to the original report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, 64 FedUp members, wearing yellow shirts, participated in the commemoration. FedUp head Joy Jarabelo said the group wanted to remind Filipinos that heroism is demonstrated through standing up for what is right, particularly during periods of repression.
The group’s commemoration was not limited to a ceremonial wreath-laying. Its members invoked Aquino’s sacrifice as a reminder of the importance of defending freedom and democracy.
“Thank you Ninoy for showing us that indomitable spirit to stand for what is right and for freedom and democracy in our country,” Jarabelo said in the 2022 report.
From remembrance to a continuing political message
FedUp’s observance of Ninoy Aquino Day did not end in 2022.
In a separate 2024 report, Inquirer Visayas said the Negros group again honored Aquino on the 41st anniversary of his assassination. Members attended an early morning Mass at Lupit Church before walking to Aquino’s statue in Bacolod City for a floral offering.
Jarabelo said the group was honoring Aquino’s sacrifice while urging Filipinos to defend the country against threats and to stand against abuses of power.
The 2024 commemoration also reflected contemporary political concerns raised by the group, including Philippine offshore gaming operators, tensions in the West Philippine Sea and allegations involving individuals accused of putting foreign interests ahead of the country’s welfare. These statements represented FedUp’s position and should not be treated as independently established findings.
Digicast Negros likewise reported in 2024 that FedUp members continued to commemorate Aquino by attending Mass and laying flowers at his statue in Bacolod. The group framed the occasion as a reminder of Aquino’s courage and his willingness to stand for what it believed was right.
Why Ninoy Aquino Day remains significant
Ninoy Aquino was assassinated on August 21, 1983, at the then Manila International Airport after returning to the Philippines following about three years of self-imposed exile in the United States.
His assassination became one of the defining events in the final years of the Marcos Sr. administration and helped fuel the political opposition that eventually culminated in the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, which removed Ferdinand Marcos Sr. from power.
The commemoration therefore carries significance beyond the memory of one political figure. For groups such as FedUp, Aquino’s story has become a symbol of resistance, political participation and the defense of democratic institutions.
Ninoy Aquino Day in 2026
The national observance remains in place today.
Under Presidential Proclamation No. 1006, issued in September 2025, August 21, 2026, is a Friday and a special non-working day nationwide in observance of Ninoy Aquino Day. The proclamation forms part of the government’s official 2026 holiday calendar.
That means the anniversary remains both a national holiday and an opportunity for Filipinos to revisit the historical events surrounding Aquino’s assassination and the political developments that followed.
For Bacolod’s urban-poor community, however, the recurring commemorations show that the discussion is not simply about history.
It is also about what Aquino’s example means to people confronting poverty, political inequality and questions of governance today.
The yellow shirts, flowers and gatherings at Aquino’s statue may appear symbolic, but the message behind them remains direct: remembering Ninoy Aquino is also a reminder that democracy requires citizens willing to speak, participate and stand up for what they believe is right.
And that is perhaps why, more than four decades after Aquino’s death, his name continues to be invoked on the streets of Bacolod.
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