Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" Aquino Jr.

[2][3][4][5] (November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983) was a

Filipino politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines (1967–1972) and governor of the
province of Tarlac. He was the husband of former Philippine President Corazon Aquino and
father of former Philippine President Benigno Aquino III. Aquino, together with Gerardo Roxas
and Jovito Salonga, formed the leadership of the opposition towards then President Ferdinand
Marcos. Shortly after the imposition of martial law, he was arrested in 1972 along with others
associated with the Communists' armed insurgency and incarcerated for seven years. He founded
his own party, Lakas ng Bayan, and ran in the 1978 Philippine parliamentary election, but all of
the party's candidates, including Aquino, lost in the election. In 1980, Aquino was permitted by
Marcos to travel to the United States for medical treatment following a heart attack. He was
assassinated at the Manila International Airport in 1983 upon returning from his self-imposed
exile. His death catapulted his widow, Corazon, into the political limelight, and prompted her to
run for president as member of the UNIDO party in the 1986 snap elections.

Among other public structures, Manila International Airport has since been renamed Ninoy
Aquino International Airport in his honor, and the anniversary of his death is a national holiday