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Assassination of Ninoy Aquino

SOLVED1983Ninoy Aquino International Airport (formerly Manila International Airport), Pasay, Philippines3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026

Documents violence · ongoing investigation — written to inform, not to shock.

Illustrative

Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., a former Philippine senator and prominent critic of President Ferdinand Marcos, was shot in the head and killed on the apron of Manila International Airport on August 21, 1983. He had just landed on China Airlines Flight 811 following three years of self-imposed exile in the United States and was being escorted toward a van intended to return him to military custody. Rolando Galman, whom the government accused of being the gunman, was also shot dead at the scene by security personnel.

Aquino had been a vocal opponent of Marcos since his election to the Senate in 1967 and was imprisoned on charges of murder and subversion shortly after Marcos declared martial law in 1972. He was convicted in a military trial in 1977 and sentenced to death, but was released in 1980 on humanitarian grounds after suffering a heart attack, traveling to the United States for medical treatment and subsequent exile. He returned to the Philippines in August 1983 despite warnings of threats to his life.

Following the shooting, government officials initially claimed Galman acted alone as a communist hitman, a version later challenged during investigations. President Marcos established a fact-finding board — the Agrava Board — which conducted extensive hearings and took testimony from 193 witnesses, including a passenger, Rebecca Quijano, who testified she saw a uniformed man shoot Aquino in the back of the head. The board's majority report implicated several military officials, including Chief of Staff Gen. Fabian Ver, AVSECOM commander Gen. Luther Custodio, and METROCOM chief Gen. Prospero Olivas, and unanimously rejected the theory that Galman was the shooter. A separate minority report by the board's chair cleared Ver.

In 1985, 25 military personnel and one civilian were charged with the murders of Aquino and Galman before the Sandiganbayan special court, which acquitted all defendants in December 1985. After Marcos was ousted in 1986, the Supreme Court found the earlier trial had been a "sham" orchestrated by the former president and ordered a retrial. In 1990, sixteen military defendants were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment; the Supreme Court affirmed the convictions in 1991. Over subsequent years, some convicts were pardoned, others died in custody, and sentences were commuted; the last remaining convicts were released from prison in March 2009.

Aquino's assassination galvanized widespread opposition to the Marcos government and elevated his widow, Corazon Aquino, to national political prominence. She ran against Marcos in the 1986 snap election, and following the People Power Revolution, Marcos resigned and fled the country while Corazon Aquino became president. Although many, including Aquino's family, have long believed the assassination was ordered by Marcos, this has never been conclusively proven in court.

Key facts

Victims
Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., Rolando Galman
Date
1983
Location
Ninoy Aquino International Airport (formerly Manila International Airport), Pasay, Philippines
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1967

    Aquino elected to the Philippine Senate.

  2. 1972-09

    Marcos declares martial law; Aquino is imprisoned.

  3. 1977-11-25

    Aquino convicted on murder and subversion charges and sentenced to death by a military tribunal.

  4. 1980-05-08

    Aquino released from prison on humanitarian grounds and flies to the United States for heart surgery, beginning self-exile.

  5. 1983-08-21

    Aquino is shot and killed on the tarmac of Manila International Airport shortly after landing; Rolando Galman is also shot dead at the scene.

  6. 1983-08-24

    Marcos creates the Fernando Commission fact-finding board.

  7. 1983-08-26

    Authorities publicly identify Rolando Galman as the alleged assailant.

  8. 1983-08-31

    Aquino's funeral held at Santo Domingo Church, followed by a 12-hour procession to Manila Memorial Park.

  9. 1983-09-21

    "National Day of Sorrow" rally ends in a standoff at Mendiola Bridge resulting in 11 deaths.

  10. 1983-10-14

    Marcos issues Presidential Decree No. 1886 creating the Agrava Board.

  11. 1983-11-03

    Agrava Fact-Finding Board convenes.

  12. 1983-11-11

    Rolando Galman's funeral held in Manila.

  13. 1984-10-23

    Agrava Board chair submits a Minority Report clearing Gen. Fabian Ver; the board majority submits a separate report implicating several military officials.

  14. 1985

    25 military personnel and one civilian charged with the murders of Aquino and Galman before the Sandiganbayan.

  15. 1985-12-02

    Sandiganbayan acquits all defendants.

  16. 1990

    Retrial results in conviction of sixteen military defendants, sentenced to life imprisonment.

  17. 1991

    Supreme Court affirms the 1990 convictions.

  18. 2007-11

    Convicted defendant Pablo Martinez released from New Bilibid Prison on humanitarian grounds.

  19. 2009-03

    Last remaining convicts released from prison.

Best coverage

No approved coverage links are attached yet.

People

  • Felizardo Taran

    CONVICTED

    Convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

    citation on file

  • Rodolfo Desolong

    CONVICTED

    Convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

    citation on file

  • Fabian Ver

    ACQUITTED

    AFP Chief of Staff; charged in 1985 and acquitted by the Sandiganbayan that December; cleared by the Agrava Board's Minority Report.

    citation on file

  • Rogelio Moreno

    CONVICTED

    Identified as the gunman among the sixteen military personnel convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

    citation on file

  • Jesus Castro

    CONVICTED

    Member of the military 'boarding party' convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

    citation on file

  • Arnulfo de Mesa

    CONVICTED

    Member of the military 'boarding party' convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

    citation on file

  • Rolando de Guzman

    CONVICTED

    Convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

    citation on file

  • Mario Lazaga

    CONVICTED

    Member of the military 'boarding party' convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

    citation on file

  • Filomeno Miranda

    CONVICTED

    Member of covert security operations convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

    citation on file

  • Claro Lat

    CONVICTED

    Member of the military 'boarding party' convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

    citation on file

  • Ernesto Mateo

    CONVICTED

    Convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

    citation on file

  • Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr.

    VICTIM

    Former Philippine senator shot and killed at Manila International Airport on August 21, 1983.

    citation on file

  • Arnulfo Artates

    CONVICTED

    Convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

    citation on file

  • Pablo Martinez

    CONVICTED

    Convicted in 1990 as an alleged gunman; released from prison in November 2007 on humanitarian grounds.

    citation on file

  • Luther A. Custodio

    CONVICTED

    AVSECOM commander; convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders, after earlier being acquitted in a 1985 trial.

    citation on file

  • Cordova Estelo

    CONVICTED

    Convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

    citation on file

  • Romeo Bautista

    CONVICTED

    Convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

    citation on file

  • Ruben Aquino

    CONVICTED

    Convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

    citation on file

  • Rolando Galman

    VICTIM

    Shot dead at the scene; accused by the government of being Aquino's killer, a theory unanimously rejected by the Agrava Board.

    citation on file

  • Prospero Olivas

    ACQUITTED

    Chief of the Philippine Constabulary Metropolitan Command; charged in 1985 and acquitted by the Sandiganbayan that December.

    citation on file

Places

Ninoy Aquino International Airport (formerly Manila International Airport), Pasay, Philippines

14.5086, 121.0198

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
Former Philippine senator and Marcos opponent Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. was shot dead on the tarmac of Manila International Airport on August 21, 1983, moments after returning from exile. Rolando Galman, blamed by the government for the killing, was also shot dead at the scene. Sixteen military personnel were ultimately convicted of the murders.
Where did the crime happen?
Ninoy Aquino International Airport (formerly Manila International Airport), Pasay, Philippines.
Who was convicted?
Felizardo Taran (Convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.), Rodolfo Desolong (Convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.), Rogelio Moreno (Identified as the gunman among the sixteen military personnel convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.), Jesus Castro (Member of the military 'boarding party' convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.), Arnulfo de Mesa (Member of the military 'boarding party' convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.), Rolando de Guzman (Convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.), Mario Lazaga (Member of the military 'boarding party' convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.), Filomeno Miranda (Member of covert security operations convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.), Claro Lat (Member of the military 'boarding party' convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.), Ernesto Mateo (Convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.), Arnulfo Artates (Convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.), Pablo Martinez (Convicted in 1990 as an alleged gunman; released from prison in November 2007 on humanitarian grounds.), Luther A. Custodio (AVSECOM commander; convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murders, after earlier being acquitted in a 1985 trial.), Cordova Estelo (Convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.), Romeo Bautista (Convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.), and Ruben Aquino (Convicted in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.

Sources

  1. Assassination of Ninoy Aquinowikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. Aquino's Final Journeynews · The New York Times · 2026-07-07
  3. Contemporaneous coverage of the Aquino assassination trialnews · Los Angeles Times · 2026-07-07
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