The Filipino is Worth Dying For

Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr.

Before-Reading Questions:
1. Who is Ninoy Aquino? What is his importance in Philippine history?
2. Why was Ninoy imprisoned, tortured, and eventually killed? What was his position before he
was imprisoned?
3. What was his relationship with then President Ferdinand Marcos
4. Are there any similarities between martial law, as it was then, and today's times? What are
they?
5. Do you think the Filipino is worth dying for? Why or why not?

I have spent almost eight long and 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 suffering 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 he not a coward who would readily yield to
any colonizer, be he foreign or home-grown? 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 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 nation's greatest untapped resource. He is not a coward. He
values He and he tends 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.

While Reading Questions:

1. Why did he ask these questions?
2. What is it about the Filipino people under martial law that prompts him to ask these
questions?
3. What does this tell us about how he felt about his experience, and how the Filipino people
were under martial law?

It would seem that he is more comfortable in being told 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 practiced participatory
democracy in his barangay. He values his freedom but because he values human life more, he
will not easily take up arms and would rather wait til 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 the democracy you took away from us on 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 lite. And I dread the
weeping of mothers whose sons will surely be sacrificed at the allar 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, went on a hunger strike for forty
days and forty nights and I was near death when your Jollers rushed me to the Veterans
Hospital. I faced death in your detention camp when your army doctors diagnosed my heart
ailment as mere muscle spasm, only to be told by doctors in the United States that I could have
died from the heart attacks while I was languishing in your Jall, 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 one's country and for one's
freedom.
I hope you will now believe in what you preach and 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.

After-Reading Questions:
1. How did the speech use pathos to persuade the audience that the Filipino was worth dying
for? What paragraphs did he use to show this? Explain.
2. How did the speech use logos to persuade the audience that the Filipino was worth dying for?
What paragraphs did he use to show this? Explain.
3. How did the speech use ethos to persuade the audience that the Filipino was worth dying
for? What paragraphs did he use to show this? Explain.
4. in paragraph 6. Aquino describes the Filipino and says, “he loves freedom but puts the
highest premium on human life and human dignity.” Do you agree with Ninoy, given today's
situation? Why or why not?
5. Do you think that Filipinos are still largely passive when it comes to perceived violence done
by the state? Why do you think this is?
6. What is it about Ninoy's speech that inspired people? Do you feel inspired as well? Why or
why not?
7. What made the speech more persuasive, the use of ethos, pathos, or logos? Explain.
8. In paragraphs 12, 13, and 14 Aquino repeats the words death and dying several times. What
effect does it have on the audience why do you think these were used?
9. How would you describe the last paragraph? Why do you think the speech ended that way?
10. Do you agree with Ninoy, that the Filipino is worth dying for? Why or why not
learning Task Planning Your speech for the class