About

The Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation (NCAF) traces its roots to the Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. Foundation (BSAF), established by the late Senator’s widow in November 1983 to perpetuate his legacy. Its activities were limited during the tumultuous years following Ninoy Aquino’s assassination and after Mrs. Aquino ascended to the presidency in February 1986.

When President Cory’s term ended, BSAF became her primary vehicle for continuing to engage non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and people’s organizations (POs) that played a key role in empowering communities and reviving democratic institutions alongside her administration.

BSAF, through the Institute for People Power and Development (IPPD), supported programs to strengthen cooperatives, human rights education among law enforcers, and microfinance institutions. The Foundation also granted scholarships to poor but deserving students, sponsored occasional symposia on democratic themes, and gave recognition to exemplary individuals and groups dubbed as “People Power People”.

On August 21, 2008, BSAF launched the iamninoy campaign with the help of creative and merchandise partners to introduce Ninoy Aquino to new generations of Filipinos as a fitting commemoration of his 25th death anniversary. Using the senator’s iconic eyeglasses as its visual signature, the campaign invited young Filipinos to look at society “through Ninoy’s eyes” and to surface the selfless hero inside them. The youth embraced the campaign, helping various advocacies and beneficiaries by purchasing iamninoy merchandise, expressing their selflessness in myriad ways on- and off-line, and doing volunteer work.

A few months after President Cory passed away in August 2009, the Foundation came to be known as the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation and the highly successful campaign was elevated into the iamninoy-iamcory Movement. In cooperation with various partners and networks, the movement envisions a more just, humane, equitable and sustainable society where the youth is empowered to play a central role in its realization. Its mission is to surface a new generation of Filipinos who are willing to step up as selfless heroes in their own right. From their ranks will emerge youth leaders who can realize their full potential through a process of spiritual transformation in the mold of Ninoy and Cory Aquino.

This has spawned the program, Ninoy and Cory Aquino Leadership Journey which seeks to identify, form, nurture and recognize individuals from different life stages who, through a process of self-transformation, can develop into a community of empowering, world-class leaders.