Ninoy marker at NAIA draws ridicule over ‘crime scene’ silhoeutte

Many compare its glowing body outline to a crime scene chalk sketch or a basketball logo while others defend its historical reality.

A marker meant to commemorate the assassination of former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. at the country’s main international gateway is getting attention for a very different reason: its silhouette reminded many Filipinos of a crime scene chalk outline.

The marker, now prominently displayed outside Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1, features a glowing outline of Aquino’s body based on his position after he was shot dead upon returning to the Philippines on August 21, 1983.

Photos of the relocated marker quickly drew jokes and criticism online, with commenters questioning why such a grim image was chosen to honor one of the most consequential figures in modern Philippine history.

“Body silhouette talaga ng crime scene?! Pwede naman portrait nalang!” Vanz Lavado commented on a GMA News Facebook post.

Maycee Punay similarly wrote, “Parang scene of the crime,” while Jamil Christopher Aquino Galicia joked, “Kurdon na lang ang kulang para ma-complete ang crime scene.”

Others saw an entirely different resemblance. Several commenters compared the figure to a basketball logo, with jokes referencing the NBA, PBA and Michael Jordan’s famous Jumpman silhouette.

“Bola nalang ng basketball ang kulang,” Sheng Waleed wrote.

But some defended the marker and its unsettling imagery, arguing that remembering Aquino necessarily means remembering the violence surrounding his death.

“Ang mga monumento at makasaysayang marker ay paalala ng mga pangyayaring humubog sa ating bansa,” one commenter wrote, adding that remembering history should be about “pag-alala, pagkatuto, at pagpapatibay ng ating demokrasya.”

Aquino was assassinated shortly after stepping onto Philippine soil following years of exile in the United States. His killing became a defining moment in the opposition to the Marcos dictatorship and helped intensify the political movement that culminated in the 1986 People Power Revolution.

The marker was transferred to a location directly facing the “Ninoy Aquino International Airport” signage on the Terminal 1 facade. Members of the Aquino family visited the relocated memorial on August 20, a day before the country commemorated Ninoy Aquino Day.

Whatever its artistic intention, the reaction online showed that the monument’s imagery is difficult to separate from what it depicts: not simply Ninoy Aquino, but the violent final moment that transformed him into one of the Philippines’ most enduring political symbols.

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