"Stand up now and be a leader! And when all of us are leaders, we will expedite the cause of freedom."

- Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr. (November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983) was a Senator and a former Governor of Tarlac. Aquino, together with Gerry Roxas, formed the leadership of the opposition to the Marcos regime in the years leading to the imposition of martial law in the Philippines. In 1973 he was arrested and incarcerated for 7 years, but was allowed to depart for the United States to seek medical treatment after he suffered a heart attack in 1980. He was assassinated at the Manila International Airport upon returning home from exile in the United States in 1983.