What's inside the newly reopened Aquino Center and Museum in Tarlac?

TARLAC CITY–After undergoing renovation in the past two years, the newly reopened Aquino Center and Museum in Tarlac City promises to be an interesting place for history buffs and the curious.

The museum features memorabilia from the lives of the late Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr., and his widow former President Corazon “Cory” Aquino. It also features the achievements of their only son, the late former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

Kiko Aquino-Dee, grandson of Ninoy and Cory, said the renovation of the museum in the last two years was its first renovation in two decades.

GMA News Online attended the opening of the Aquino Center and Museum and found these top 10 must-see things in the refurbished historical site:

1. Ninoy, a journalist

What were you doing when you were 17 years old? Ninoy arguably had a more adventurous time during his teenage years, serving as a correspondent for The Manila Times covering the Korean War in the 1950s. Aside from the photos, the museum features the camera he used during his eventful stint in covering the war. His work was widely recognized by both the Korean and the Philippine authorities.

2. Ninoy as negotiator for the surrender of Hukbalahap leader

Filipinos know Ninoy as a staunch critic of the Martial Law imposed by then-President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., but before he became an opposition senator, he served as one of the assistants of then-President Ramon Magsaysay. In this capacity, Ninoy negotiated for the surrender of Luis Taruc, the leader of the rebel group Hukbalahap, in 1954.

3. Wedding photos of Ninoy and Cory

Behind every successful man, there stands a woman. In Ninoy's case, there was Cory. Little did they know their wedding vow of “until death do us part” would come in a most painful way when Ninoy, returning from a three-year-long exile in the United States, was assassinated shortly after his plane landed in Manila on August 21, 1983.

4. Ninoy’s cell in solitary confinement in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija  

Perhaps the museum’s most visual representation of Ninoy’s struggle is the section that highlights his solitary confinement in Fort Magsaysay in Laur, Nueva Ecija. While in detention, Ninoy went on a hunger strike to protest against Martial Law and the Military Commission’s decision to sentence him to death by firing squad.

The area replicates Ninoy's cramped detention cell. Visitors will see his small bed, a bookshelf, a small table with a typewriter as well as personal items that include a pair of his slippers and a face towel embroidered with his name. To add to the realism, a portion of his cell's actual wall is on display and bears inscriptions Ninoy carved himself as he counted the days when he would be free again.

5. Father and son

Many of Ninoy’s family photos featured him with Cory and their five children. The new museum also features photos of Ninoy as a father with his only son, Noynoy, during their younger days.

Also preserved is a touching letter that an incarcerated Ninoy wrote to Noynoy in 1973. Ninoy apologized to his then 16-year-old son for not being around to take care of their family. On the same note, Ninoy expressed his faith in Noynoy that he would be able to take his father's place in taking care of his four sisters and their mother, in case something happens to him in the hands of the government.

Ninoy also shared a piece of advice that many would agree his son took to heart: “Live your life with honor and follow your conscience.”

6. The family car in Boston

When Ninoy suffered two heart attacks while in prison in 1980, he was allowed by the Marcos Sr. administration to get medical treatment in the United States. While recovering on American soil, it was also a time for the Aquinos to experience what they were meant to be: a family. A symbol of the time they spent together, the small, blue-green Volkswagen car driven by Ninoy while he and his family lived in Massachusetts was transported to the Philippines in 1986.

7. Worth dying for

"If it is my fate to die with an assassin’s bullet, so be it. But I cannot be petrified by inaction, or fear of assassination, and therefore stay in the corner. I have to suffer with the people, I have to lead them because of the responsibility given to me by our people." 

These were Ninoy's final words before he disembarked the China Airlines plane that flew him to Manila.

Ninoy's words proved prophetic. Despite a horde of security personnel, he was felled by a gunshot to the head,
in broad daylight, while he was being escorted to a waiting vehicle that would take him to prison.

In the hundreds of thousands, Filipinos came out to grieve and protest. The blood-soaked clothes Ninoy wore on the fateful day, alongside his shoulder bag, his plane boarding pass, and the rosary he was wearing, are on display in the museum.

8. One million signatures for Cory

Cory was initially reluctant but eventually agreed to carry the torch of an emboldened opposition after more than one million Filipinos signed a petition urging her to run for president.

Cory became President on February 25, 1986. The Marcos family left Malacañang amid the EDSA People Power Revolution. She would later narrate this unprecedented victory of the people in a speech before the US Congress in Washington D.C.

9. Cory: Faithful to Constitution

Overseeing a transition period after the EDSA Revolution, Cory fulfilled the mandate of the 1987 Constitution that enshrined freedom of speech, among other rights, a Charter approved by the majority of Filipinos.

Upholding civilian authority over that of the military, the Aquino administration survived nine coup de etat attempts in six years. Cory stepped down as president, ensuring a peaceful transition of power.

10. Noynoy: A legacy of his own

The newest section in the museum chronicles the presidency of Noynoy Aquino. Looming larger than life is the image of his inauguration on June 30, 2010, where "PNoy" told his countrymen, “Kayo ang boss ko."
(My boss is the Filipino people)

This part of the museum will show visitors Noynoy's path to the presidency. On display are campaign trail outfits of the late president, including pairs of shoes that he used so often that one already formed a hole in one of the soles.

Witnesses to history include the chair that former president Noynoy used in his private office in Malacañang as well as landmark measures that was enacted into law during his administration: the signing of the peace deal between the Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the Sin Tax Reform law, the Marcos compensation law for victims of violations of human rights during the Marcos, Sr. regime, and the Reproductive Health Law.

Not yet final

Aquino-Dee, however, said the museum has not yet reached its final version.

“This is the first renovation in 20 years, but for sure, it will not be another 20 years before we edit again. So we have a lot of ideas and things we want to update,” Aquino-Dee, who also serves as the Executive Director of the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation (NCAF) that manages the museum, told reporters.

“For example, in this last section, we started soliciting testimonials from people who were inspired by PNoy, Cory, and Ninoy. And in the final version of the museum, you'll see the same thing. Because the last section says, “We”, it's like we're the ones who will continue to do the rest. They're not there anymore, it's just their clothes that they left. But we want to show how other people have continued their legacy,” he added. — KG/RF, GMA Integrated News