AHEAD of the 25th anniversary of the assassination of Philippine opposition leader Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. on Aug. 21, 1983, a new book will be launched on Tuesday, July 15, that attempts to explain the political murder that led to the downfall of the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 in the context of US responsibility for the assassination.

Lips in the Philippines continue to the sealed on the responsibility of Marcos, his wife Imelda Marcos, his close political associates and his most trusted military confidant, Gen. Fabian Ver, the Armed Forces chief of staff. Written by Steve Psinakis, a close associate of Aquino in the anti-Marcos Movement for Free Philippines in the United States during the Marcos dictatorship (1972-1986), the book, titled, “A Country Not Even His Own,” is a political memoir of an anti-Marcos activist, who is also closely associated with the politically influential Lopez family whose economic empire was dismantled by the dictatorship. Psinakis, a consultant of the Lopez group of companies, including its flagship, Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), married Presy, the only daughter of Eugenio Lopez Sr., the patriarch of the Lopez family.

The book puts forward the thesis that “the US government played a very important part in the assassination … with its inaction.” It argues, “By doing nothing to ensure his safety, it allowed willingly or unwillingly, knowingly or unknowingly those who planned it to execute their plan unhindered and undisturbed. Inaction in this case is as inexcusable as the crime itself.”

The book does not attempt to introduce hard evidence or pinpoint the triggermen and those involved in the plotting of the assassination. It acknowledges that “although hard evidence was very hard to come by and consequently the blame was assigned to several soldiers and security agents who were convicted for murder, the mastermind was never named. However, the evidence we gathered, the circumstances under which the crime was perpetrated and common sense, led us and countless other experts, political analysts, journalists, detectives and laymen to some inescapable conclusions, which we will call opinions for precision sake.”

Lacking forensic evidence, this interpretation examines the political interest of the US administration at the time of the assassination of Ninoy Aquino. It says that the elimination of Aquino was “very convenient to the US administration at the time (that of President Ronald Reagan).” The murder, the book argues, was convenient to Marcos “as Ninoy was his nemesis and strongest opponent.”

More factual is the assertion that “not one official from any US government service contacted Ninoy to even discuss his return to the Philippines, even though there had been public warnings made against his life. On occasions, the US had displayed great concerns and gone to great lengths to ensure the safe return of other political figures to their countries.”

The book says that Marcos did not want Ninoy to return to the Philippines and participate in the April 1984 parliamentary election. In reality, Marcos had no intention of holding real elections—he merely wanted to put on “a show of democratic process.” Despite the glaring headline in Manila challenging Ninoy to come home and run against Marcos, “all private messages to Ninoy from Marcos were: ‘Do not return to Manila.”’

Once Ninoy decided he would return to Manila, the book says, he made a public announcement in Washington that it was not just a plan anymore but it was a “promise to the Filipino people and a challenge to the regime.”

Ninoy dismissed suggestions by Psinakis to approach Philip Habib, the acting US secretary of state, to ask him to provide security for Ninoy’s return. Ninoy told Psinakis, “I don’t want to ask for any favors. The US government knows where I am and when I am going to Manila. If they want to provide me with some security considering the threats that have been floating around, they should offer the assistance. It’s humiliating for me to ask for it and be denied.”

The book points out that a couple of years after 1983, security arrangements were provided by the US government to South Korean opposition leader Kim Dae-jung. The Department of State issued a statement that called for tight security during Kim’s return trip to South Korea and provided him with several US agents to escort him home. Upon his safe arrival, Kim was placed under house arrest.

According to the book, the US government and the Philippine dictatorship “preferred things to remain as they were for several reasons,” thus neither government welcomed the change that Ninoy Aquino personified.

The book examines the Marcos government’s claim that Aquino was gunned down by a lone assassin. It points out that despite Marcos’ announcement that the government had uncovered a “sinister communist plot and despite the fact that all security forces were on full alert, still this lone assassin strolled leisurely past all security measures onto the tarmac without anyone from the multitude of trained security forces ever questioning him about who he was and what he was doing, wandering in the midst of all armed agents with drawn weapons.” The book continued, “But this assassin somehow evaded all these measures and was able to reach the stairway of the surrounded plane…. stick his gun between the steps, literally shove it between the faces of the two guards that were holding Ninoy on either side and shoot him point-blank once in the back of the head, killing him before he even touched the ground.”

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