Ninoy Aquino's final journey home

Formerly Aquino's Senate consultant, journalist Sol Vanzi remembers the fallen freedom fighter

- SOL VANZI

In the early 1960s, Ninoy Aquino was a promising young politician from a prominent family in Tarlac. Dashing and adventurous, he stood out even in gatherings of veteran national leaders, with his wit, charm, and uncanny ability to tackle local and international issues in English, Tagalog, Capampangan, and Ilocano. His marriage into the equally prominent Cojuangco clan further improved his position in the country’s political arena, where he was expected by many to one day run for the highest office.

I was working in the PR staff of Atty. Lumen Policarpio when I first met Ninoy. My client was campaigning to be the Nacionalista Party's candidate for senator, and my job called for mingling with journalists, politicians, and their staff. Ninoy's boyish smile and down-to-earth views immediately put me at ease. He was different from any public figure I had met. He made everyone feel comfortable.

He was genuinely interested in how ordinary people lived.

When he ran for the Senate, he asked if I could be a consultant in a private capacity so as not to avoid conflict with my regular gig as features writer for a weekly magazine. He won by a landslide despite questions raised about his age qualification. The Supreme Court ruled in his favor and the stage was set for the next step: run for president.

As a consultant, I answered his questions about food prices, the rice crisis, dollar restrictions, the public school system, public transport, and other concerns. My inputs gave him a sense of how the other half lived.