BURLINGAME, California – Like every afternoon on the 21st of August, Ken and Lupita Aquino Kashiwahara heard Mass to remember the martyrdom of Lupita’s brother Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., who was assassinated on that date in 1983 on his final flight from exile back to his homeland.

This year they were reminded yet again that the man who famously said “the Filipino is worth dying for” is not forgotten, as family and kindred spirits gathered at the chapel of Our Lady of Angels here to pray together in gratitude for the political opposition leader’s ultimate sacrifice for freedom and democracy.

It’s been 42 years since the couple first offered holy Mass to honor Senator Aquino, whose assassination awakened his country from complacency and cynicism to change the course of Philippine history.  

But so much has happened in the Philippines, begging the question: Did Ninoy die in vain?

In thanking attendees this year, retired ABC news correspondent Ken Kashiwahara, Ninoy’s fateful flight seatmate and brother-in-law, recalled that he and Lupita wondered after the first death anniversary Mass in San Francisco if people would come and pray with them in succeeding years.

The 40th anniversary event was a grand reunion, but attendance has varied through the two years and two decades. Time has thinned the ranks of the “Friends of Friends of Ninoy,” Lupita’s reference to her brother’s allies.  Some have moved elsewhere and some have passed on, some are less able to be present physically than in spirit.  

And just when it seemed that Ninoy’s heroism may have faded in collective consciousness, a reminder to the contrary emerged from a Filipino born almost 30 years after the assassination.

In a stirring acclamation, Muntinlupa Science High School student Neo Fresnedi, 13, praised Ninoy with a challenge to his generation to take on the torch Aquino had carried to death. The tribute text was reprinted and reposted, the video shared widely until it reached Aquino U.S. confidantes who sent it to the Kashiwaharas, inspiring Ken to read the entire piece to punctuate his usual liturgy-culminating reflection.  

Former Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye had featured the tribute in his Manila Bulletin column, describing the young author as a “an active member of the Key Club of MUNSCI Servant Leaders, a sponsored youth organization of the Kiwanis Club of Muntinlupa Rizal” and “grandson of Muntinlupa former mayor and now Congressman Jaime R. Fresnedi and Lady Lor Fresnedi.”

Following are the heartfelt thoughts of the teen patriot proving Ninoy Aquino’s gift endures:

The man who came home

By Neo Fresnedi 

I’m Neo Fresnedi. Thirteen years old. A junior high student — just like many of you. Today is August 21. It looks quiet on the calendar. But history remembers it loudly.

Forty-two years ago, a man stepped off a plane. He never made it past the tarmac. His name was Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. And on that day, he came home, knowing he might never walk again.

This isn’t just a story about death. It’s about courage. Conviction. It’s about a man who believed that freedom is louder than fear.

Let me take you back. Ninoy was a trailblazer — Mayor at 22, Governor at 29, Senator at 34.

He had power, charisma, ambition.

But when Martial Law hit, he didn’t hide. He spoke up. 

And for that, the regime shut him down. Seven years in prison. Alone. Waiting. With a death sentence hanging above him.

Eventually, they let him leave — for heart surgery in the US. He could’ve stayed there. Safe. Comfortable. Quiet.

But he chose differently. He said, “If it’s my fate to die by an assassin’s bullet, so be it. The Filipino is worth dying for.”

So Ninoy came back. Wearing a bulletproof vest. Clutching a rosary. Carrying hope. 

But before his feet even touched the tarmac — he was shot. In the back of the head. In front of soldiers. In front of cameras. In front of history.

But they didn’t silence him. Instead, they amplified him.

His death woke up a nation. His funeral turned into a movement. Three years later, millions gathered in the streets. The People Power Revolution rose — and the dictator fell.

Cory Aquino, his widow, became president. Ninoy’s name became a symbol. And his sacrifice lit a fire that still burns today.

But let’s not turn him into something he wasn’t. Ninoy wasn’t a saint. He was human. Flawed. Complicated. Just like us.

What made him heroic wasn’t perfection — It was his choice. He chose to come home. To speak truth. To fight for a Philippines that hadn’t yet awakened.

Now, it’s our turn. We — students, dreamers, the generation that lives online — we must choose to stay awake.

Because remembering Ninoy isn’t just about reposting quotes or wearing yellow. It’s about asking ourselves: What do we stand for? What do we speak up for? What do we live for?

Ninoy came home. Not to be honored. But to remind us — freedom is fragile. Democracy is something we choose every single day.

So today, don’t just perform your patriotism. 

Live it. Be brave. Be honest. Be Filipino. Because the Filipino is still worth dying for. And even more — worth living for.

I am Neo Fresnedi. 13 years old. A student. A Filipino.