Aquino remained there with his family for three years, receiving research grants

from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Two years after

martial law was lifted in the Philippines, he flew home, intending to campaign in
promised elections. He was shot in the head while leaving the airplane at Manila Airport
under security guard.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Benigno-Aquino-Jr

Life in the US

During his exile in the US, Aquino accepted fellowships from Harvard University
and Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for International Affairs. The three
years he spent with his family were blissful, according to various accounts, but
according to one of his daughters, Ballsy Aquino-Cruz, “We knew it was just a transition
period, we knew it would not be forever.”

Ballsy described their life in Massachusetts as frugal, with their mother, Cory
Aquino, making ends meet through careful budgeting. She said the only regular income-
earner in the family was her sister Pinky, who worked for IBM. Their relatives and some
admirers of their father would also send them money.

During his fellowships, he would lecture in various institutions against the Marcos
dictatorship. His influence rose, to the point where Marcos started accusing him of being
the mastermind behind a spate of bombings that rocked Metro Manila.

Aquino stated, during his legendary speech at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los
Angeles, that he would return to the Philippines, regardless of personal risk, to
commemorate the courage which others have shown in the fight for freedom.

“This courage has energized the batteries of my life,” he concluded his speech,
“and I shall bring it to whatever fate will lead me.” This gave way to a series of events
that led to his assassination on August 21, 1983. — KBK/BM, GMA News
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/pinoyabroad/pinoyachievers/664940/ninoy-aquino-
as-a-freedom-fighter-in-exile/story/

The Making of a Hero

Was it his sheer audacity to come back to the Philippines after more than 3 years
of exile - knowing the dangers that awaited him - that makes him a hero?

No. This audacity had been there long before the exile. How he fought for freedom and
justice didn't happen just like that.

His life in politics started early. Very, very early. He was the youngest mayor at 22, the
country's youngest vice-governor at 27, then governor of Tarlac 2 years later. He
became the youngest senator in Philippine history at 34. His many achievements,
despite his few years of experience, earned him the moniker, "Wonder Boy".

His popularity was greatly due to his daring criticism of the Marcos regime. Ninoy
frequently challenged the dictatorship. Ninoy once referred to the Cultural Center of the
Philippines, an extravagant P50-million project of the Former First Lady, as "a
monument to shame" in his speech, A Pantheon for Imelda. Consequently, he was
called a "congenital liar" by an outraged President Marcos, while the Philippine Free
Press hailed him as one of the country's most outstanding senators.

https://www.ninoyaquino.ph/the-making-of-a-hero.html