Acute rejection occurred; the transplanted kidney was removed forty-eight hours later. August 21, Aquino returned from self-imposed exile in the United States and was slain as he stepped off a China Air Lines plane at the Manila International Airport; his funeral drew millions of Filipinos to the streets in defiance of the dictator.
Tatlong taon na ang nakaraan mula nang sabihin ni Ninoy na karapat-dapat ipagsakripisyo ang bayang Pilipino. Pinatotohanan niya ito noong ika-21 ng Agosto sa tarmac ng MIA. Kainitan ng araw, kalalabas niya sa eroplano, pinapaligiran ng mahigit isang libong militar ni Marcos, nang pataksil siyang barilin at patayin ng isang ex-convict at communist agent daw, na napatay din.