Claims Marcos Sr. was a soldier, not a fact —NHCP

The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) has recommended to President Rodrigo Duterte not to allow the burial of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

NHCP chairperson Maria Serena Diokno told Unang Balita in an interview on Monday that as early as July 12, they sent the result of their review of facts on claims about Marcos' being a wartime hero.

The paper is titled "Why Ferdinand E. Marcos Should Not Be Buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani."

"Doon po makikita na ang mga sinasabing medalya na natanggap -- Distinguished Service Cross, Order of the Purple Heart, Silver Star -- ay hindi pala niya (Marcos) natanggap," Diokno said.

She added that the guerilla unit, Ang Maharlika, that Marcos supposedly had formed during the Japanese occupation, is not distinguished by the United States.

"Sa kasaysayan kasi kapag may claim o posisyon na napatunayang hindi totoo, iyon po ay hindi tinatanggap. Hindi siya fact," Diokno said.

Diokno explained that the NHCP initiated the review, through primary sources including historical archives and historians, based on Duterte's that Marcos should be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani because the late strongman "was a Filipino soldier, period."

Aside from the medals and the guerilla unit, the review also cast doubt on claims that Marcos "spent the first day of 1942 'by ambushing a company of Japanese cyclists' killing 40 and turning back the rest."

The claim adds that after the massacre, Marcos took a "samurai sword" that Gen. Douglas McArthur later presented to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The claim however could not be proven because the "recording of the event on British Pathe, a newsreel archive founded in 1910 containing 85,000 films from 1896 to 1976, however, makes no mention of the origin of the sword."

She said that it was her duty as NHCP chairperson to order a review and make a recommendation to Duterte following his statements regarding the hero's burial for Marcos.

Diokno reiterated that Marcos could not  be given such a recognition because his claims are doubtful and has not been proven.

"Hindi tamang magbigay ng ganoong klaseng recognition sa isang taong may maraming hindi totoo sa kanyang sinabi at marami rin duda," she added.

The NHCP said in the study that "grave doubts expressed in the military records about Mr. Marcos's actions and character as a soldier do  not provide sound, unassailable basis for the recognition of a soldier who deserves to be buried at the LNMB."

"On these grounds, coupled with Mr. Marcos's lies about his medals, the [NHCP] opposes the plan to bury Mr. Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani," the study concluded.

The Department of National Defense has sent a written memorandum to Armed Forces chief of staff Gen. Ricardo Visaya to undertake preparations for Marcos' burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

This comes after reports that Marcos will be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City on September 18.

Former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had said that the hero's burial is still in the planning stages.

He declined to disclose their planned date of the burial. —ALG, GMA News