MANILA- Vice President Leni Robredo on Tuesday urged her countrymen to reflect on Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr's most famous declaration "The Filipino is worth dying for," as the country marks his 35th death anniversary.

In a tribute to the democracy icon, Robredo said Aquino's most famous utterance does not only teach sacrifice but is a lesson on faith as well.

"Of equal significance is the lesson it teaches on faith. Faith that despite years of silence, passivity, and acceptance, ultimately, the Filipino will choose to be truly free," Robredo said in a statement.

"Today, as we remember Ninoy Aquino, I pray that we find in ourselves the courage to claim for ourselves the freedoms Ninoy died for, and in that way, live up to the unshakable faith he had in us as a people," she added.

The Philippines on Tuesday observed the Ninoy Aquino Day, which marks the former senator's assassination at the Manila International Airport.

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Aquino's death sparked a popular revolt that ousted late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and paved the way for the installment of the country's first female president, his widow Corazon Aquino.

Robredo urged her countrymen to recall as well the "dark days" of the Marcos regime as she hailed Aquino's "invincible belief in the dignity and nobility of the Filipino spirit."

"Filipinos may cower under the fist of oppression, may fall prey to dazzling lies, may succumb to the alluring numbness of indifference. But ultimately, Filipinos will always find the courage to choose, and fight for, what is right," she said.

"This is what Ninoy saw in us. And on that day, 35 years ago, he reminded us of who we were, and the life we are capable of living," she added.

Robredo is currently facing a poll protest from the late dictator's son and namesake Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr who claims that she cheated the vice presidential elections.

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