Ahead of the anniversary marking the assassination of former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., the August Twenty-One Movement (ATOM) organized a commemorative walk on Sunday to demand accountability from government officials.
The advocacy group attributed the prevailing culture of impunity in modern politics to an ongoing failure to penalize the excesses, human rights abuses, and systemic corruption associated with the regime of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
”The reason why we are in this sorry state right now in our country — maraming korapsyon and everything — wala po kasing accountability,” ATOM President Volt Bohol said.
Bohol pointed out that false narratives continue to circulate, specifically pointing to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s recent assertion that his family possesses no ill-gotten wealth.
”Hindi po totoo yun at matagal na pong naglalabas ng mga historical distortion ang pamilya Marcos,” Bohol said.
ATOM emphasized that falsehoods propagated by political figures must be met with verified facts and truth. The organization reaffirmed its long-standing advocacy for bolstering public commitment to truth while countering official disinformation.
Gathering at the Ninoy Aquino Monument in Makati City, the marchers also honored former Senator Agapito “Butz” Aquino, Ninoy’s brother and founder of the movement.
Bohol noted that Butz played a pivotal role in motivating ordinary, non-political citizens to “[take] it upon themselves to really do something about the state of our nation, especially the fight against the Marcos dictatorship.”