Palace: No more family feud, but PNoy wants justice for Martial Law victims

Amid a renewed call to put the Aquino-Marcos family feud behind, a Malacañang official on Thursday said President Benigno Aquino III no longer harbor ill will against the Marcoses, but he wants justice for the victims of Martial Law.

"This  is not an issue between families, but... of justice," Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr told reporters at Manacañang on Thursday in responding to a question regarding an earlier call from Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to end the decades-old feud between his family and the President's.

"Hindi siya [Aquino] sang-ayon sa proposisyon na ito ... alitan sa pagitan ng pamilya," Coloma said.

"Sa nakikita ko, wala namang personal na alitan o mga usaping namamagitan on a personal level... Marami namang interaksyon kung saan wala naman tayong maaaninag na personal na alitan sa mga indibidwal na tinutukoy natin," he added.

Also, Coloma pointed out that the Marcoses had been invited to official functions in Malacañang attended by the President.

However, he said Aquino is determined to seek justice for victims of human rights violations during the dictatorship of the late President Ferdinand Marcos.

"Pinapaalala ni Pangulong Aquino ang kahalagahan ng paggawad ng katarungan para sa marami pang nakabinbin na [isyu] bunsod ng diktadurya, kabilang na ang human rights violations at alleged ill-gotten wealth," Coloma said.

End family feud

In a radio interview earlier in the day, Senator Marcos said the continuing feud between the Aquinos and the Marcoses should already come to an end for the good of the country.

The President's father, former Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr, was gunned down at the tarmac of the Manila International Airport on Aug. 21, 1983, during the Marcos dictatorship. The MIA is now called Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Aquino's assassination triggered a series of protests that led to the EDSA People Power uprising in 1986 that ousted Marcos and catapulted President Aquino's mother, Corazon, to the presidency.

Last September, President Aquino admitted that he wanted to exact revenge on the late dictator after Ninoy's assassination.

President Aquino has also consistently opposed giving a state burial to the late dictator. — LBG, GMA News