MANILA (UPDATED) - Steve Psinakis, known for his role in the movement against the Marcos dictatorship, died Tuesday due to a lingering illness.

Psinakis, a Greek-born American who led the San Francisco council of the Ninoy Aquino Movement (NAM), was previously cited for "his commitment in the struggle to restore democracy in his adopted country (Philippines)."

Psinakis had close ties with former Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., an anti-Marcos opposition leader who was assassinated on August 21, 1983.

In the foreword of his 2008 biography, "A Country Not Even His Own," the late President Cory Aquino wrote of her husband Ninoy's close friend: "Steve's steadfast commitment all those years to the struggle to restore democracy in the Philippines was admirable and inspirational.

"For him, the Filipino cause took precedence over everything else and never did he waver in making whatever sacrifices were necessary."

After the 1986 EDSA People Power uprising, Psinakis monitored the investigation into the alleged ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses.

A retired mechanical engineer, Psinakis was a former Lopez Group executive and one of those who built the Rockwell power plant in Makati.

He was married to Presentacion Lopez-Psinakis, the only daughter of the late Eugenio Lopez Sr., whom he met while working for Meralco.

The novena masses for Psinakis will be at 7:00 p.m. everyday until Monday, March 21, at the Capilla Del Senor in Sanctuario de San Antonio Parish in Forbes Park, Makati City.

The funeral mass will be at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday.