On the 43rd death anniversary of former senator and democracy hero Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., his grandson Bimby Aquino urged younger generations to actively study the late leader’s life through independent research.
Bimby, the youngest son of host Kris Aquino and a co-host on the noontime program Eat… Bulaga!, gathered with family on August 21 to attend a commemorative mass at his grandfather’s tomb.
Reflecting on the fact that youth today have no firsthand memory of Ninoy, Bimby called on his peers to explore historical accounts and digital archives to form their own understanding.
”Research po. There’s a lot of videos of Lolo on YouTube. You’ll really get to know him as a person. We never had a conversation with him. But just research and trust reliable sources,” Bimby said.
His cousin, activist Francis Joseph “Kiko” Aquino Dee, echoed the sentiment, noting that the younger family members share the same discovery process as the general public.
”We’re learning about him the same way most Filipinos do. Hindi namin siya naabutan. So, we hope that people can get to know him the way we did,” Francis said.
Asked what message he would pass to his late grandfather, Bimby offered a heartfelt message of gratitude for Ninoy’s public sacrifice and private role within their family.
“Words cannot express the amount of things I want to say to him. But [I would say] thank you, thank you for doing what he did for our country and for being a good dad to my mom and to my titas and Tito Noy.”