Duterte on Marcos burial: Hero or not, he was a soldier

MANILA, Philippines -- President Rodrigo Duterte is standing by his decision to allow the interment of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani days after the Supreme Court provided temporary relief to groups opposed to the burial.

 

“This issue has divided the nation,” Duterte said in a press conference.  “It’s a nation that refuses to heal a wound.”

 

Duterte vowed to comply with whatever decision the court will hand down but insisted that he is just following the law.

 

“The law says that Marcos is qualified to be buried there, as a soldier. They are contesting whether Marcos was a hero. I don’t care. Whether he was a hero or not, he was a soldier… (With regard to the term) hero, politics is involved,” he said.

 

“Why would I dilly-dally when other presidents refused (to bury Marcos)?”

 

Duterte said Ilocanos were hurt by previous administrations' refusal to bury Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

 

“All Ilocanos are Filipinos too. They are hurting because of what happened. Yellows like my mother refused (to bury him). My mother is dead. It’s over. It’s about politics," he said.

 

Duterte’s mother Soledad was a leader of the Yellow Friday Movement in Davao City. The movement backed the presidential bid of the late Corazon Aquino, who assumed power after Marcos was ousted by the historic 1986 People Power Revolution.

 

The yellow ribbon, which is identified with assassinated opposition leader and senator Benigno Aquino Jr., has also been identified with the Liberal Party and their supporters. It has also been used by some as a pejorative for those perceived to be critical of the Duterte administration.

  

The Supreme Court has issued a 20-day status quo ante order on the the Defense department order to prepare for the Marcos burial, which has remained a controversial issue decades after the former president’s death.

 

The decision means that there can be no Marcos burial at the heroes’ cemetery for 20 days or until Sept. 12. The high court’s order will lapse six days before the scheduled burial on Sept. 18. The oral arguments on the case will be held on Aug. 31.

 

Six petitions challenging the legality of the Marcos burial have been filed before the Supreme Court.

 

Petitioners include Martial Law victims who believe that the interment is “illegal and contrary to law, public policy, morals and justice.”

 

Marcos died of kidney, heart and lung ailments in 1989 while in Hawaii. His body was brought back to the Philippines in 1993 and is now inside a glass coffin in Ilocos Norte.