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Villar open to hero’s burial for Marcos


LAHUG, CEBU CITY — Nacionalista Party (NP) presidential bet Senator Manuel Villar Jr. sees no problem with allowing the late Ferdinand E. Marcos to get buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Grave) in Taguig City, saying the former strongman has a place in Philippine history. "I don’t see a problem with that. President Marcos’s accomplishments should be viewed with a proper perspective," Villar, who was campaigning here on Sunday, told reporters. During a press briefing earlier in the day, Rep. Ferdinand “Bongbong" Marcos Jr. openly clashed with fellow NP senatorial bets Reps. Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza about the issue of finally giving his father a hero’s burial. Gilberto Teodoro Jr., the administration’s presidential candidate in the May 10 elections, earlier said he was open to extending a state-sponsored funeral for the elder Marcos, who imposed martial rule on the country for nine years starting in 1972. Amidst the rising wave of lawlessness and the threat of a communist insurgency, Marcos ruled by decree, curtailed press freedom and other civil liberties, closed down Congress and media companies, and ordered the arrest of opposition leaders and militant activists, including his staunchest critic, the late Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. Marcos and his family went into exile in Hawaii after he was toppled by a popular street uprising in February 1986, an event the nation is celebrating on Monday. Three years later, he died at 72 due to complications from lupus. His body was refused entry to the Philippines, so his wife Imelda kept him in a refrigerated mausoleum in Oahu. The Philippine government later allowed Marcos’s corpse to return to his homeland and Imelda with it, but blocked his burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. His body is now in a refrigerated crypt in the Marcos family mausoleum in the village cemetery in Batac, Ilocos Norte province. ‘Justice delayed’ "[Teodoro’s position]… is very much appreciated by the Marcos family. I'm gratified to see that this issue is finally finding common sense and that all presidential aspirants have seen fit to take a position wherein his rights as a President and soldier [are] recognized," Marcos Jr. told a briefing at the Waterfront Hotel in Lahug. "We feel that it is justice delayed but nevertheless, the wheels of justice turned slowly but they turned well," he added. Ocampo, a human rights victim during the Marcos regime, and Maza, who were in the panel with Marcos Jr., stood by their position that the late dictator should not be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. "When this proposal was made during the time of President Joseph Estrada, we opposed [it] and we don’t find any reason to change our position now. It’s a principled position of the hundreds, or thousands maybe, who suffered under martial law and continue to believe that many issues remain unresolved," Ocampo of Bayan Muna said. Maza of the Gabriela Party-list group said they would continue to seek justice for the victims of human rights violations during the Marcos dictatorship. "We cannot consider Ferdinand Marcos a hero and we stand by this position up to now," the militant lawmaker said. Minor issue Asked how would he iron out the differences between Ocampo and Maza on the one hand and Marcos on the other hand, Villar brushed it aside as a minor issue. "There are minor issues that we don’t agree on but to me, the most important issue now is the poverty of millions of Filipinos. That is what we agree on and that is what’s important," Villar told reporters in Filipino. Ocampo and Maza, trying to be civil about the whole thing, said they had nothing personal against the younger Marcos. "Politicians with a similar mindset may decide favorably on the proposal. We just remain consistent with our position [as representatives] of the victims of martial law. It's nothing personal," Ocampo, also know for his militant stance, said. Maza said the issue of Ferdinand Marcos’s burial is bigger than her and Bongbong, and his place in Philippine history should be examined by the entire nation. Villar and his senatorial ticket visited Bantayan island and the Bogo public market earlier in the day to woo the votes of the Cebuanos. In the afternoon, Villar was scheduled to attend the yearly general conference of the United Pentecostal Church at the University of Mindanao in Matina, Davao City. His running mate, Senator Loren Legarda, will attend the gathering of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy's Kingdom of Jesus Christ at the Cebu International Convention Center. The Nacionalista Party will hold a grand rally with game show host Willie Revillame at the North Reclamation Area in Mandaue City at around 6 p.m. to cap their two-day visit to the province. "We expect a crowd of about 200,000 to 250,000… No promises, expectations only," party spokesman and senatorial aspirant Gilbert Remulla told the same briefing. — Amita Legaspi/NPA, GMANews.TV
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