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Marcos critics have to move on, says author of holiday bill


One of the authors of the House bill seeking to declare September 11 a regular holiday in Ilocos Norte to mark the birthday of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos has urged critics of the dead strongman to “move on.”

According to Cedric Castillo's report on "24 Oras", Ilocos Norte 2nd District Representative Angelo Marcos Barba claimed Marcos had proven that he did many good things for the country.

“Karapatan nila ‘yon, may sarili silang paninindigan pero magmove-on na tayo kasi unti-unti namang napapatunayan na maganda ‘yong ginawa niya eh,“ Barba said.

Barba is the son of Marcos' sister Fortuna.

House Bill 7137 was passed on final reading by the House of Representatives last week.

The other authors of the bill are Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Ria Fariñas, and Probinsyano Ako Rep. Rudys Caesar Fariñas, the bill received 197 affirmative votes, nine negative, and one abstention.

A counterpart bill has yet to be filed in the Senate.

Earlier, Senator Imee Marcos, daughter of the late president, thanked lawmakers in the lower house for passing such measure.

Malacañang said President Rodrigo Duterte respected the House's approval of the measure.

The House Makabayan Bloc urged the public to continue opposing “historical revisionism” amid the push for such a law.

Bayan Muna party-list Representative Carlos Zarate said a "dictator" should never be glorified

Marcos was elected president in 1965. He declared martial law in 1972 and was unseated through the EDSA People Power Revolution in 1986.

Ill-gotten wealth, rights violations

The Marcos administration was marked by massive corruption and human rights violations.

In 2003, the Supreme Court ruled with finality that the 10,000 human rights victims during Marcos’ martial law regime were entitled to this compensation from Marcos' $10 billion Swiss bank deposits, which the ruling also deemed to be ill-gotten.

In 2013, then President Benigno Aquino III signed the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013 which granted financial compensation to victims of human rights violations under Marcos' Martial Law regime.

using the late dictator and his family’s P10 billion in ill-gotten wealth, which was retrieved by the Philippine government from Swiss banks.

At least five ill-gotten wealth cases against the Marcoses were dismissed by the Sandiganbayan in 2019 but the Presidential Commission on Good Government had  recovered at least P171 billion worth of Marcos loot since 1987.

There are also at least 12 ill-gotten wealth cases pending against the Marcos family before the Sandiganbayan. —Ma. Angelica Garcia/NB, GMA News

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