Bongbong: Hero’s burial for my father to bring closure, healing

A hero's burial for the late President Ferdinand Marcos would not only bring "closure" on the part his family but also healing to a divided nation, which he ruled with an iron fist for two decades, his son and namesake said Saturday.

At a press conference in Quezon City, defeated vice-presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. thanked President-elect Rodrigo Duterte for allowing the remains of the late leader to be buried at the Libingan Ng Mga Bayani in Taguig City.

Bongbong paid a courtesy call on Duterte in Davao City on Friday night to discuss his father's burial and a possible Cabinet position in the coming administration.

"I think this will bring closure not only to my family but to the nation as well," the senator said when asked if Duterte's decision would divide the country.

"This continuing partisan exchange that has been going on for over 30 years can finally be put to rest and I think that's the significance of the statement of incoming president Duterte," he added.

Bongbong said the initial plan for the burial rites will be in September, the late strongman's birth month.

"That will be up to the family to decide and principally my mother (Ilocos Norte Rep. Imelda Marcos)," he said.

Duterte's consent has enraged the kin, friends and supporters of the victims of Martial Law, who have shown strong opposition to the burial and asked the new president to reconsider his decision.

The victims argued that burying the dictator at the Libingan ng mga Bayani would "whitewash all crimes he (Marcos Sr.)committed against the people and would send the wrong message to the world that in the Philippines, crime pays."

Also, the surviving victims said that the Marcos was a "phony wartime hero" as most of the 32 medals he supposedly accumulated during World War II were found to be a fraud by the United States Army in early 1986.

On the other hand, Vice President-elect Leni Robredo, who defeated Bongbong in last month's polls, said that Martial Law victims are also waiting to secure justice.

"Tatlong dekada na ring naghihintay ang libu-libong pamilya ng mga biktima ng Martial Law ng kanilang katarungan at closure," she said in a statement on Saturday.

"Lalong hindi tayo makakapag-move on kapag kinalimutan natin ang karahasan sa ating kasaysayan," she added.

Still, Duterte believes Marcos deserves a place at the Libingan Ng Mga Bayani because the former leader fought for the nation's freedom from Japanese colonizers in the 1940s.

The Libingan Ng Mga Bayani was established as a fitting resting place for Filipino military personnel—from privates to generals, as well as heroes and martyrs.

After WW II, Marcos entered politics and became a House lawmaker and later a senator before winning in 1965 the presidency, a post he held for two decades until he was ousted by the People Power uprising in February 1986.

Since his death as an exile on September 28, 1989 in Honolulu, Hawaii, his remains have been kept at the Marcos Mausoleum in the heart of Batac town in Ilocos Norte, his home province.

—LBG, GMA News