Palace: Aquino can't be blamed for seeking revenge over Ninoy's death

MANILA, Philippines - President Benigno Aquino III cannot be blamed for seeking to get back at those behind the assassination of his father, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the assassination of Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. was a “difficult ordeal” for the president but it did not affect the way he governed the country.

“You can’t take it away from the President as an ordinary human being. His father was brutally murdered. If this happens to anyone of us, we will experience the rage,” Lacierda said in a press briefing.

“If your relative was brutally murdered, you would feel the same. He mentioned that he tried to devoid his speeches of emotionalism. It is very clear that he is governing the country as an objective politician,” he added.

Despite the painful experience, Lacierda said finding the mastermind of the murder of his father was not among Aquino’s priorities when he assumed the presidency.

“He has other priorities. There are other priorities. The number one priority is to govern the country and make sure he improves the lives of entire Filipinos,” the Palace official said.

“From a governance point of view, from any perspective, his focus is on governance,” he added.

Last Monday, Aquino admitted that he had wanted to exact revenge on then President Ferdinand Marcos for the death of his father.

“As the only son, I felt an overwhelming urge to exact an eye for an eye. Mr. Marcos and his ilk were like rabid dogs who had lost all reason,” Aquino said in a speech delivered in Boston College.

“There was no longer any potential for dialogue; the only solution when confronted by a rabid dog is to put it down,” he added.

Aquino, who was 23 years old when his father was killed, said he could still remember the oppression his family suffered under the Marcos dictatorship.

“I knew that (Marcos) was a formidable foe, but regardless of this, in those moments, all I wanted was to do to Marcos as he had done unto us,” he said.

Nothing personal

Meanwhile, Malacañang claimed that there is nothing personal with Aquino’s refusal to provide military honors to Marcos.

Lacierda said the decision was a product of consultations with victims of human rights abuses and other stakeholders.

“It was not borne out of a personal reason,” he said.

Lacierda reiterated that the President’s stand on the issue has not changed.

“The president has made a decision. What the Marcoses would like to do with former President Marcos is up to them but as to the issue of being buried in Libingan ng mga Bayani, that has been well discussed and fairly discussed few years back,” he said.

“As far as were concerned, the issue is closed.”

When asked whether the Aquino family will oppose any effort by the next administration to give Marcos a hero’s burial, Lacierda said: “I wouldn’t be able to comment on that. What the next admin would like to do is entirely up to them.”

Marcos was ousted through a popular revolt in 1986 after a 20-year presidency. He died of kidney, heart and lung ailments on Sept. 28, 1989 while in exile in Honolulu, Hawaii. His remains were returned to the Philippines in 1993.

Some lawmakers believe Marcos deserves to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani as a former president and as someone who has not been tried of any crime.

Aquino has rejected calls to give Marcos a hero’s burial, saying it would be an injustice to the victims of martial law.