As we observe Women’s Month, I encountered the nieces of the late martyred senator Ninoy Aquino: courageous sisters Roxanne Aquino and Jackie Aquino, and Mia Concio.
As a child and during her teens, like any Aquino kid, Roxanne Mendez Aquino, daughter of Sen. Butz Aquino (Senator Ninoy Aquino’s brother), became a witness to the struggles of her Uncle Ninoy. But more than just a witness, she wholeheartedly joined in her Uncle Ninoy’s cause.
For Roxanne, armed with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration (magna cum laude) from the University of the Philippines, it was not easy, but she looks back at those trying moments with gratitude.
“Through more than seven years that Uncle Ninoy was incarcerated in Fort Bonifacio, we, his nieces and nephews, would celebrate his birthday by going to school only for half a day so we could join his family and friends to greet him a happy birthday,” recalled Roxanne.
The celebration in jail was simple but touching. “There was usually a Mass celebrated by Father Toti Olaguer, who delivered fiery sermons. Then we shared a lechon and some cakes sent by friends— not too many in those days, I must say.”
As Roxanne grew up, she became more aware of the problems that beset the country during the Marcos regime. When she was old enough, she couldn’t help speaking her mind against government policies she did not agree with. She was not afraid to be heard. She was very vocal and read what foreign newspapers were saying about the country at that time, and they were not flattering, especially to the Marcos administration.
“I joined relatives in xeroxing the articles and passing them around to people. Some read the articles with gusto, others were simply afraid even to receive them,” she related with alacrity.
For actress-TV host Jackie Aquino, or Jacqueline Suzanne Mendez Aquino, bonding with young cancer-stricken patients at East Avenue Medical Center was very memorable, heartwarming, and most humbling. I vividly remember that she, together with her daughter Andrea, found time to interact with the children with cancer.
Years ago, she volunteered her time at the Cupertino School for Special Children. She would often leave in tears but always came home remembering to count her blessings.
At UP Diliman, she joined ICTUS (In Christ Thrust for University Students), where she taught poor out-of-school youth in Marikina and Krus na Ligas near the UP campus.
She says that if she were to be born again, she would like to be a Santa Claus: “I want to make underprivileged children happy and provide good education for a better quality of life,” she says with a gleam in her eyes.
She followed in the footsteps of her father, Butz Aquino (who appeared in over a dozen movies, TV dramas, and commercials before plunging full-time into politics). She appeared in Moises Platon, Circle of Fear, Days of the Wild Ones, Dahil Mahal Kita, The Dolzura Cortez Story, Kuratong Baleleng, Mulanay, Kristo, Jon
She and her sister Roxanne, and brother Bobby, grew up—like any Aquino child—as witnesses and participants in Ninoy’s cause. She says she was not afraid to be heard. She was very vocal. She read what foreign newspapers were printing about the country, since it was subversive to print those articles locally. She would photocopy those articles and pass them around, especially to her grade school teachers. For her, it was not a time to sit down and relax but “a time to be vigilant.”
Multi-talented writer Mia A. Concio has been helping me cheer up less fortunate kids. I remember she was one of those personalities (OPM icon Jose Mari Chan often joined me) who brought joy to children with cancer at East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City. She even spent her birthday with them.
Born Aurora Crismina Aquino Concio, or simply Mia, daughter of ace director Lupita Aquino Kashiwahara (Ninoy’s sister and one of my favorite film directors), remembers what her mom Lupita would say about her Uncle Ninoy:
“Mia, look at your Uncle Ninoy. He didn’t do anything. Do not cry. Be brave. This Ninoy Aquino is a role model. Try to apply your life in that mold. Ang ating kahirapan ay maliit lamang kung ikukumpara mo riyan.”
Mia was then 12 or 13 years old when they used to visit their Uncle Ninoy in jail. They experienced being bodily searched and photographed.
“Uncle Ninoy made kuwento. He was smiling. I have 50 first cousins, but he made it a point to go to each one of us. He told me, ‘Kumusta ka na? Nagdadalaga ka na.’ I also remember his trials—he called the military court a kangaroo court. He didn’t eat for 40 days, and we went to Mass every day in Greenhills. You couldn’t break him, and he was indeed larger than life for us,” clearly recalls Mia, who obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Arts from Ateneo de Manila University in 1982 and later pursued an MBA course at the University of San Francisco in California.
When her Uncle Ninoy went to the U.S. for his bypass operation, he “would go to San Francisco to visit us.” She still recalls that they ate at her Uncle Ninoy’s favorite restaurant, Max’s Fried Chicken in San Francisco.
Mia returned to the Philippines a few days after the August 21, 1983 shooting, and she became active in street rallies. She went to the grassroots to understand how to address poverty and create economic opportunities for everybody. She was writing and going to the provinces—in the Cordilleras, Negros, Laguna, and the Cavite area.
She believes that her Uncle Ninoy’s assassination was the seed that later bloomed into flowers.
“Each of us should be like a seed. It doesn’t end at the EDSA revolt; it’s just the beginning. With confidence, courage, and faith, we can overcome everything. We can bring ourselves to God. Uncle Ninoy became very spiritual. Though he experienced isolation from the world, he didn’t crumble. Instead, he trusted his life to God.”
Mia A. Concio is a noted screenwriter of Kailan Ka Magiging Akin, Got 2 Believe, All My Life, and Everything About Her. She is the stepdaughter of actress and ABS-CBN executive Charo Santos-Concio.
Guesting in Jigo Live!
It was my third time to guest on the show of broadcast journalist Jigo Postolero. I appeared on the Jigo Live! show at Abante Radyo Tabloidista on March 13, 2026, Friday, at 10 p.m. The livestream can be watched on the Facebook and YouTube pages of Abante Radyo Tabloidista.
I was with Nirro Marcelo, chairman of the awards committee for the 4th Philippines Finest Business Awards and Outstanding Achievers.
Marissa Z. Burgos’ Early Birthday
From SM City BF Parañaque, I went to visit Marissa Z. Burgos of Don Galo, Parañaque—best friend of my sisters Victoria and Aurora—where we all grew up.
I brought a cake given to me by Ms. Lecille Badion of Artisan Baker, owned by Taiwanese Sam Yang. Marissa posted on her Facebook account:
“A friend visited me today after so many years of not seeing each other. Thank you, Oggie—or Rogelio Constantino Medina—for the early birthday cake and for greeting me in your column in Asian Journal News. I miss your sisters, my best friends Avic and Au. And I know you miss the ‘tapsilog’ of Don Galo.”