THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) announced on Tuesday the suspension of the number coding scheme on Wednesday, August 21, a public holiday in commemoration of the assassination of former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.
“Suspendido ang number coding scheme sa, August 21 (Miyerkules) bilang pakikiisa natin sa paggunita ng Ninoy Aquino Day. Planuhin na ang mga lakad at laging mag-iingat sa pagbiyahe,” said MMDA Chairman Danilo Lim in a Facebook post as he advised motorists to plan their trips ahead.
Aquino, husband of the late president Corazon Aquino, was shot dead on the tarmac of the then Manila International Airport in 1983 as he returned to the Philippines from a three-year hiatus in the US where he underwent heart surgery.
The late senator, considered the arch nemesis of then president Ferdinand Marcos, was jailed for seven years on trump charges following the declaration of martial law
His death provided the spark that led to the peaceful people power revolt in 1986, which ended the 20-year rule of Marcos and installed his wife, a key figure in the uprising, as president. JAN ARCILLA