SunStar June 27, 2021 The point seemed like superstition. “Every time the nation needs saving, an Aquino dies.” It had the photos of former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., his wife Corazon or Cory and their son Benigno Simeon III or Noynoy. The first was martyred in the waning years of the Marcos dictatorship, the second died before the 2012 presidential elections while the third one died only recently. Cory became president months after her husband was murdered, Noynoy became president months after Cory died. Some people took that to mean another Aquino would become president next year. But for me that is missing the point of the symbolism. The point is actually that we could be on the verge of what Marxists call a “qualitative leap.” When Ninoy died, the people were ready to oust the Marcos dictatorship. His death merely pushed the momentum towards that qualitative leap forward. When Cory died, the people have had enough of corruption in high places and wanted a leader they could fully trust. With Noynoy’s death, there seems to be a demand for better and decent kind of governance. The leader may not necessarily be an Aquino but somebody worthy of representing the brand.