Aquino Fact Checks

FALSE: Ninoy Aquino killed by euthanasia

Rappler.com

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FALSE: Ninoy Aquino killed by euthanasia
Multiple sources say Aquino was assassinated
At a glance:
  • Claim: Former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr was killed by euthanasia.
  • Rating: FALSE
  • The facts: Multiple sources say Aquino was assassinated. He was killed by a bullet to the head.
  • Why we fact-checked this: The claim came from an op-ed piece published in The Manila Times. The official Facebook page of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) shared the article containing the false claim.
Complete details:

An opinion piece published in The Manila Times on Sunday, January 31, falsely claimed that former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr was killed by euthanasia.

This claim appeared in the first paragraph of the article, penned by columnist Mauro Gia Samonte. The rest of the article was an open letter to UP professor Clarita Carlos from Captain Sherhannah Paiso in relation to the Department of National Defense’s (DND) unilateral termination of the 1989 UP-DND accord. Samonte said Paiso sent the open letter to his email.

The claim that Aquino died due to euthanasia is false because Aquino was assassinated.

Aquino was gunned down on August 21, 1983 at the Manila International Airport (now Ninoy Aquino International Airport). He was returning to the country after 3 years of self-exile.

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An autopsy report said Aquino’s death was caused by “brain laceration and intracranial hemorrhage, secondary to gunshot wound at the head.” It also indicated that the fatal bullet was “fired at close range.”

The assassination of Aquino is also extensively documented in several news reports and videos by both local and international media outlets, including Inquirer.net, The New York Times, Associated Press, and TIME magazine.

Meanwhile, euthanasia refers to a relatively painless assisted suicide or mercy killing, according to several dictionary definitions.

Merriam-Webster defines euthanasia as an “act or practice of killing or permitting the death of hopelessly sick or injured individuals.” This is consistent with Encyclopedia Britannica’s definition, which says that euthanasia is the practice of “painlessly putting to death” persons suffering from incurable diseases “by withholding treatment or withdrawing artificial life-support measures.”

A 2014 article from the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care also defined euthanasia as the “hastening of death of a patient to prevent further sufferings.”

The official Facebook page of the AFP shared the article containing the false claim. The post was spotted on Facebook by the Rappler team. – Pauline Macaraeg/Rappler.com

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.

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