Managing the memory of heroes is not an easy task.

On Sept. 28, 1990, the Sandiganbayan handed down its decision finding 16 men guilty of the Aquino-Galman murders and sentenced them on two counts to life imprisonment or reclusion perpetua.

At that time, the sentence was the maximum punishment under the 1987 Constitution until it was amended to bring back the death penalty.

To refresh our memory, the 16 convicts in the Aquino-Galman murder case are best grouped into three.

In the first group are: Aviation Security Command (Avsecom) chief Brig. Gen. Luther Custodio (who died of cancer in prison); Capt. Romeo Bautista, Avsecom intelligence director and Sgt. Pablo Martinez, special operation squadron.

In the second group are the members of the boarding party: 2Lt. Jesus Castro, leader of the boarding party; Sgt. Claro Lat, TSgt. Filomeno Miranda, Sgt. Arnulfo de Mesa, CIC Mario Lazaga and CIC Rogelio Moreno.

The third group consists of the SWAT Team Alpha under Sgt. Romeo Desolong (leader), Sgt. Ernesto Mateo, Sgt. Rolando de Guzman, AIC Cordova Estelo, Sgt. Ruben Aquino, Sgt. Arnulfo Artates and Sgt. Felizardo Taran.

Except for Custodio, Bautista and Martinez, the rest were members of "the boarding party that led Aquino down the plane (one of whom, and not Rolando Galman, was supposed to have shot Aquino as he descended), and "members of Team Alpha that was in the waiting SWAT van near the airplane.

Members of Team Alpha gunned down Galman, loaded the fallen Aquino into the van and brought him to Fort Bonifacio."

Three have already died: Lasaga who died of a stroke this year; AFC Cordova Estelo who was killed in a 2006 jail riot; and Brigadier General Luther Custodio, who died of cancer in prison.

Prior to last week’s release of sergeants Rolando de Guzman and Felizardo Taran, only Master Sergeant Pablo Martinez had been released after being given conditional pardon by President Arroyo.

This left 12 convicts of the original 16.

The 10 remaining jailed convicts in the murder of former senator Benigno Aquino Jr. bade goodbye to former sergeants Rolando de Guzman and Felizardo Taran who left the National Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa last Friday February 6 after their sentence was commuted.

Except for Sgt. Pablo Martinez who, years earlier, had tried to say something about his complicity but was largely and strangely ignored, the rest had nothing to say. Each one spoke for himself only: where he was, what he did and did not do.

By what code of omertà or silence they have pledged themselves, nobody knows and cares any more.

Also, except for Custodio and Bautista, all came from the lowest ranks of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The 20 other accused--high-ranking officials in the Marcos government and the military and some private individuals and John Does — all walked free.

Now, the prison doors are about to swing open so that these convicts could walk free. There is no loud uproar against their impending release. There are only regrets that no one else, other than Martinez, has given leads as to the mastermind.

The 13 convicts in the Aquino-Galman double murder case are qualified for release following a certification by the Department of Health (DoH) on their medical condition, the head of the Public Attorney’s Office said Monday.

The health department made the certification after a medical examination showed that they were suffering from several illnesses that include hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, respiratory tract infection, among others, Perside Rueda-Acosta said.

Acosta said that even if the 13 were under 70 years old, under Section 3-F of the Amended Guidelines of the Board of Pardons and Parole (BPP), they were qualified for release due to their "serious and life-threatening conditions."

Former president Corazon Aquino refused to issue a statement on the release of the convicts.

But Senator Benigno Aquino III accused the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of “petty vindictiveness” for commuting Taran and De Guzman’s sentences “to increase the hurt” and as “a way to get back at us.”

His filial piety for his fathers’ memory is admirable but his grasp of the pulse of the people is crudely partisan.

For where his father now stands as a martyred statesman, the senator-son remains caught in a time warp of his own making.

Managing the memory of his hero-father calls for more than remembrance of things past.

It also entails a vision of a future still unseen.

Senator Noynoy Aquino has to do better than this.