By el Amigo
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Robinhood Padilla has drawn criticism from the Liberal Party of the Philippines (LP) and the August Twenty One Movement (ATOM) after bringing up the use of aliases by Filipino heroes during the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Padilla, a senator-judge in the trial, cited the case of Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. while discussing documents containing aliases that were presented in connection with the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
During the 19th day of the Senate proceedings, Padilla said Aquino used the alias “Marcial Bonifacio” on his passport when he returned to the Philippines in 1983.
Senator-judge Bam Aquino pushed back against the claim, saying his uncle had never handled confidential funds.
The LP said the comparison failed to consider the reason why historical figures adopted different names.
According to the party, heroes used pseudonyms as part of their work as writers, organizers and resistance figures during the struggle for Philippine independence. The party said this was fundamentally different from using an alias in documents connected to the receipt or disbursement of public funds.
The LP questioned whether aliases appearing in documents were intended to conceal the identities of people involved in confidential fund transactions or to avoid accountability for government money.
ATOM also condemned Padilla’s remarks, saying the senator had unfairly associated Ninoy Aquino with the controversy over confidential funds.
The organization said Aquino’s life was defined by his opposition to the Marcos dictatorship and questioned the relevance of confidential funds to his historical experience.
ATOM further reminded Padilla that numerous Filipino heroes, including Rizal, del Pilar, Jacinto and Lopez-Jaena, used pseudonyms during their efforts to advance the country’s cause.
The group argued that those aliases served purposes connected to their advocacy and resistance, rather than being used to conceal transactions involving public funds.
ATOM said drawing a parallel between those historical aliases and names appearing in documents related to OVP confidential funds reflected, in its view, a misunderstanding of Ninoy Aquino’s life and legacy.
ia/xf
