Tarlac, Philippines. The Ninoy & Cory Aquino Foundation (NCAF) re-opened the Aquino Center and Museum after two years of renovations, in time for the 39th anniversary of the EDSA People Power.
The museum is dedicated to honoring the lives of martyred Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., former President Corazon “Cory” Aquino, and their son, former President Benigno “PNoy” Aquino III.
The newly refurbished museum now features an updated section on the 1987 Constitution, a display on Cory Aquino’s post-presidency, and a wing dedicated to the younger Aquino president.
NCAF executive director Kiko Aquino Dee said it was the first time that the museum was renovated since its construction in 2001.
Museum-goers are given choices to follow different paths based on the historical figures’ choices in the course of their lives.
“Tito Non (PNoy) has an idea to make the narrative device of the exhibit a choice. Their story starts with a choice,” Dee said. “What we wanted to do with the center is really tell their story, the story of Ninoy, Cory and PNoy. ”
The ceremony also featured the launch of the photobook “PNoy: Filipino,” a memoir of the younger Aquino.
The 200-page photo book shows published and unpublished photographs of the late president, mostly taken by presidential photographer Gil Nartea and other Palace photographers.
Dee took on the museum renovation project in 2022 as his “coping mechanism” following the presidential elections that returned the Marcoses to power.
“We closed. We had the last tour of the Cory version of the exhibit in 2022 and then it was a two-plus-year process until we got here,” the grandson of Ninoy said.
“They are gone. But hopefully the exhibit inspires us to keep the story alive.”
The Aquino Center and Museum is open to the public starting on Tuesday, Feb. 25.
For Dee, a political scientist, commemorating the historic 1986 EDSA People Power revolution provides a platform to demand accountability from current administrations.
“We want to use EDSA to call again, to call out our leaders and say that if you keep doing what you want, or if you keep doing things that only align with your self-interest, there is a consequence of it,” he said.
During Monday’s museum opening, the event served as a platform to oppose the Marcos Jr. administration’s policies on Charter change and the 2025 national budget, which he described as “the most corrupt” since the EDSA People Power revolution.
“We’re doing our best. We’re doing our part now to both tell this important part of history and make it speak to the struggles of this country,” Dee said. — PCIJ.org