The burial of late Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos at the country’s heroes’ cemetery will take place on Sept 18, China’s Xinhua news agency reported, citing local media reports today. “I wanted to get votes from Ilocanos”, he said.
Advertisement
In a statement yesterday, Robredo stressed that President Duterte’s decision allowing a hero’s burial for Marcos would not bring unity to the country.
In a separate statement, Bayan Muna partylist Rep.Carlos Zarate said that Marcos has always been buried in Batac, Ilocos Norte and his remains should stay there.
Marcos was elected president in 1965 and re-elected four years later but imposed martial law a year before his second term ended.
He made the statement after Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana issued a memorandum addressed to the Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff, General Ricardo Visaya, to make the necessary preparations and “coordinate closely with the Marcos family regarding the date of interment and the transport of the late former President’s remains from Ilocos Norte to the (Libingan ng mga Bayani)”.
President Rodrigo Duterte said Sunday that Marcos is qualified to be buried at the military-run cemetery as a soldier and as a former president.
Duterte has argued that those buried at the cemetery were not all heroes, and said he would leave it up to the military whether to bestow full funeral honors. During his 20-year rule, he amassed an estimated US$10 billion fortune and oversaw widespread human rights abuses by security forces.
“There are certain criteria that has to be satisfied and I believed based on these regulations, he (Marcos) is qualified”, he added. The government has recovered less than US$5 billion (S$6.7 billion) in cash, stocks, real estate, artworks and jewellery from the Marcoses and their cronies.
Marcos was ousted by a five-day people power revolt in 1986 and forced to flee into exile in Hawaii, where he died in 1989.
In 1995, a USA district court in Hawaii awarded more than $2 billion to almost 10,000 victims of human rights abuses, including relatives of many who were killed and tortured who filed a class suit against the Marcos estate.
On Monday, more government officials expressed disapproval of the plan to bury Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, with Vice President Leni Robredo saying he was “no hero.” “If other Filipinos don’t want that, fine”. Hold demonstrations, go ahead. You can use the streets.
“The only requirement of the law is for one to be president. that law provides for the burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani”, Castro said.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR), National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), Catholic bishops, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III and Sen.
Advertisement
Former militant party-list congressman Walden Bello joined Zarate in opposing the move, saying it was an “insult to the more than 50,000 who were killed, tortured, raped and uprooted by the Marcos dictatorship”.
