Palace: If no TRO, Marcos burial to push through

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Wednesday said the burial of late President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani would push through in September unless the Supreme Court  (SC) issues a temporary restraining order (TRO) against it.

“It seems that everything is starting to move according to arrangements so unless somebody or a TRO or anything like that [stops it], it will proceed as planned,” Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a televised press briefing after he was asked if the burial would push through if no decision was released after the oral arguments on Aug. 24.

But he added that the president would abide by the decision of the court regarding the petition to stop Marcos’s burial.

“If there are any motions and any cases filed, let it proceed and then president will respond as he sees fit. The president will abide by the rulings,” Abella said.

"The process is ongoing, nobody's rushing anything,” he said, adding that the court just has to respond accordingly.

Sept. 18 is the date eyed for Marcos' burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. Abella, however, clarified that there is no official date yet for the burial.

Asked if Duterte considered the burial of Marcos in Batac, Ilocos Norte, based on the previous agreement between the Marcos family and the administration of Fidel Ramos, Abella said he is not aware if the president thought about it and added that the “agreement belong to a different administration.”

The presidential spokesperson said the president believes that the nation ought to move on.

Abella also said there are no details yet regarding the expenses of the burial, but he informed that the budget would go through various departments.

On Tuesday, the SC acted on the petitions filed by martial law victims and scheduled an oral argument on Aug. 24, Wednesday. The high court also ordered the respondents, Department of National Defense, Armed Forces of the Philippines and Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos, to submit their comments regarding the plea.

RELATED: Martial Law victims ask SC to halt Marcos burial at Libingan ng mga Bayani | SC sets oral arguments on petition vs Marcos burial