Benigno Aquino Jr. facts for kids

Benigno S. Aquino Jr.
Quick facts for kids Benigno S. Aquino Jr. ; QSC CLH
Senator of the Philippines
	In office; December 30, 1967 – September 23, 1972
Presidential Adviser on Defense Affairs
	In office; 1949–1954
Governor of Tarlac
	In office; February 17, 1961 – December 30, 1967
Preceded by	Arsenio Lugay
Succeeded by	Eduardo Cojuangco Jr.
Vice Governor of Tarlac
	In office; December 30, 1959 – February 15, 1961
Mayor of Concepcion, Tarlac
	In office; December 30, 1955 – December 30, 1959
Personal details
Born	Benigno Simeon Aquino Jr. ; November 27, 1932; Concepcion, Tarlac, Philippine Islands
Died	August 21, 1983 (aged 50); Manila International Airport, Metro Manila, Philippines
Cause of death	Assassination (Gunshot wounds to the head)
Resting place	Manila Memorial Park – Sucat, Parañaque
Nationality	Filipino
Political party	Liberal (1959–1983); LABAN (1978–1983)
Other political; affiliations	Nacionalista (1955–1959)
Spouse(s)	Corazon Cojuangco (m. 1954)
Relations	See Aquino family
Children	5 (incl. Benigno III and Kris)
Parents	Benigno Aquino Sr.
Alma mater	University of the Philippines Diliman; Ateneo de Manila University
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Journalist
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Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., QSC (November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983) was a Filipino journalist and politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines (1967–1972) and governor of the province of Tarlac. He was the husband of Corazon Aquino—who, after his death, eventually became President of the Philippines—and father of a later President, Benigno Aquino III. Aquino, together with Gerardo Roxas and Jovito Salonga, helped form the leadership of the opposition towards then President Ferdinand Marcos. He was the aggressive leader who together with the intellectual leader Sen. Jose W. Diokno led the overall opposition.

Shortly after the imposition of martial law, Aquino was arrested in 1972 along with others associated with the New People's Army's armed insurgency and incarcerated for seven years. He founded his own party, Lakas ng Bayan and ran in the 1978 Philippine parliamentary election, but all the party's candidates lost in the election. In 1980, he was permitted by Marcos to travel to the United States for medical treatment following a heart attack. During the early 1980s he became one of the most notable critics of the Marcos regime, and enjoyed popularity across the US due to the numerous rallies he attended at the time.

As the situation in the Philippines worsened, Aquino decided to return to face Marcos and restore democracy in the country, despite numerous threats against it. He was assassinated at the Manila International Airport on August 21, 1983, upon returning from his self-imposed exile. His death revitalized opposition to Marcos; it also catapulted his widow, Corazon, into the political limelight and prompted her to successfully run for a six-year term as president as a member of the United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO) party in the 1986 snap election.

Among other public structures, Manila International Airport has since been renamed Ninoy Aquino International Airport in his honor, and the anniversary of his death is a national holiday.

Images for kids

Benigno Aquino Jr. (right) with President Ramon Magsaysay in August 1951
President Ferdinand Marcos meets Aquino
The room where Aquino was detained from August 1973 to 1980
Aquino delivers a prepared statement against the Marcos regime
Sen. Ninoy Aquino's grave (right) is next to his wife Corazon Aquino's (left) at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque, Philippines.
Ninoy Aquino on a 2000 stamp of the Philippines