‘Ferdinand Marcos will prevail’ – Imelda

The late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos will prevail over the controversies hounding his planned burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, his widow and Ilocos Norte Representative Imelda Marcos said over the weekend.

"Truth and justice sometimes drags very slowly but as a believer, I know truth and justice will eventually prevail," she said during the commemoration of the 99th birthday celebration of the former president on Sunday.

"Ferdinand Marcos will eventually prevail in all of these controversies," she added.

This comes after the Supreme Court (SC) extended the status quo ante order (SQAO) which blocked the preparations for the hero's burial ordered by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on August 7, as instructed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte.

The SC last week extended the SQAO to October 18. This was supposed to lapse on September 13, or 20 days after it was first issued on August 23.

Duterte supports Marcos' burial at the heroes' cemetery, saying the late dictator could be buried there because he had been a soldier.

Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio earlier said Marcos does not deserve a hero's burial because he was "dishonorably discharged" by the Filipino people in 1986.

"Marcos cannot be buried [at the Libingan ng mga Bayani]," he said in August, noting that Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) regulations disqualify those dishonorably discharged from service, or convicted by final judgment of a crime involving moral turpitude.

"But if the incumbent President says that '[Marcos] can still be buried there upon my instruction,' that cannot be done because it is against the Constitution because you are using public funds and property for a private purpose,"  he said.

For his part, Solicitor General Jose Calida said that the President's decision cannot be reviewed by the courts as it is a prerogative allowed by the law and the Constitution.

"The wisdom of interring Marcos at the Libingan is a political question...hence excluded from judicial review are questions of policy and wisdom otherwise referred to as political questions," he said.

Sought for comment, Marcos' daughter, Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos, said she hopes that the issue would be resolved soon.

"Hindi ako maaaring mag-komento sapagkat sub judice at alam mo na, 'yung ating mga abogado eh ayaw. Ang amin na lang, ipinagdadasal namin na magkaroon ng katapusan upang sa wakas, magkaisa ang Pilipino tulad ng hangarin ng ating mahal na President, Apo Duterte," she said. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA News