President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called on Filipinos to uphold freedom by respecting the dignity and rights of others and working together to build a better nation as the country commemorates Ninoy Aquino Day.

“This day reaffirms that freedom carries with it a collective duty to respect the dignity and rights of others and to contribute to the good of our nation,” Marcos said in his message commemorating the late Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.

The former senator was shot dead as he descended on the stairs of a China Airlines plane in the tarmac of the old Manila International Airport on Aug. 21, 1983.

In 1990, the Sandiganbayan convicted 15 military personnel to life imprisonment for involvement in the Aquino assassination.

The shooting of Aquino, combined with an economic slowdown, helped usher in opposition that resulted in the Edsa People Power Revolution in February 1986. PND-PHS