Duterte: Marcos was never a killer

President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos was not a killer. 

In a speech at a housing summit at the National Summit Authority (NHA) in Quezon City, Duterte recalled how he met Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco, a former rebel priest, and how the Marcos administration handled captured rebel communists. 

Duterte said that he handled the cases of two rebel priests arrested by the Philippine Constabulary then. One of them was Evasco and the other was a certain Fr. Tison of Leyte.

"Eh nahuli sila ata gabi na tapos tumawag sila because we were required then by President Marcos, ‘pag ka ‘yung mga komunista, there has to be an inquest fiscal," he said.

“Marcos was never really also a killer. He would have wanted processes to be followed,” he said.

During the campaign period, Duterte promised to allow Marcos to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, which happened unannounced in November 2016. 

He also once called Marcos “one of the best presidents” in his book, if not for the declaration of Martial Law. — Trisha Macas/RSJ/BAP, GMA News