Summary
Highlights
Ninoy Aquino recounts a Japanese individual humorously describing Filipinos as "very rocky" (lucky), explaining it's because they have a president and first lady who 'rob' them. This sets the tone for his critique of the Marcos regime.
Aquino describes his solitary confinement in a mountain hideout, enduring seven years without seeing the moon or stars, experiencing profound loneliness and deprivation of basic human interaction and comforts.
He explains his refusal to accept the jurisdiction of a military court, knowing it would lead to a death sentence. He felt an obligation to uphold the trust placed in him by the people who elected him to the Senate, even if it meant suffering the consequences. He highlights the injustice of being jailed while alleged communists were set free.
Aquino details a severe chest pain while exercising, leading to a heart attack. After a period of weakening health, he requested to be brought to the Philippine Heart Center. Tragically, his military doctor, Colonel Bayani S. Garcia, who was to recommend his transfer, died of a massive heart attack hours before.
He was eventually brought to the Heart Center, where doctors diagnosed blocked arteries requiring emergency triple bypass surgery within six months. Fearing political manipulation and trusting no one in Manila, he refused treatment by the director of Imelda Marcos's Heart Center, insisting on being operated on in America or returned to his cell.
Under duress and after negotiations, Aquino wrote a letter to President Marcos. He agreed to two covenants: to return to the Philippines if he lived, and not to speak against the regime while in America, bringing only three of his children with him (the other two were already abroad).
Imelda Marcos dramatically visited him at the hospital, arranging for him to leave on a plane that same day for his medical treatment abroad, amidst heavy security presence.
Aquino outlines his political philosophy of Christian socialism, advocating for equal opportunity in education, belief in the ballot over the bullet, respecting minority rights, rejecting exploitation in capitalism, and centralized economic planning. He also opposes private monopolies of basic industries, suggesting government ownership for the people's benefit.
He expresses a belief in Marcos's conscience and the duty to enlighten him. He denounces Marcos's state violence, urging non-violence in opposition to avoid justifying further oppression. Aquino warns Marcos to study history, noting that no dictator has lived forever, and that those who cling to power through violence will meet the same fate as other fallen dictators.
Aquino declares his intention to return to the Philippines, willing to face jail again. Despite having lost his appetite for political office after eight years in prison, he vows to dedicate the last drop of his blood to restoring freedom and dismantling martial law.