MANILA, Philippines?The widow of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Monday voiced hopes for a reconciliation between her family and that of the late ex-President Corazon Aquino, who led the EDSA People Power Revolution that ousted the strongman in 1986.

Former first lady Imelda Marcos indicated her wish for a closure to four decades of bitter political feud between the two families following the death of Aquino. Her husband, opposition leader Benigno S. Aquino Jr., was the dictator?s archenemy who was killed by soldiers upon his return from exile in 1983.

?I can feel the pain, the loss of a loved one, so I am in prayer. If these two families reconciled, there will be a miracle for the Philippines,? Imelda said on Monday.

Sen. Benigno ?Noynoy? Aquino III, son of the late President, said his family appreciated the prayers offered by the Marcos widow for his mother, but he dashed hopes of reconciliation with the Marcos family.

In a talk with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the senator pointed out that the Marcos family had not apologized or even acknowledged the ?excesses? committed by its late patriarch.

?My father did not do anything wrong,? he quoted Marcos? daughter Imee as telling him.

Imelda earlier expressed sadness at the passing away of Aquino on Saturday at the age of 76. ?Let us now unite in prayers for Cory, the Filipino people and for our country,? the Marcos widow told reporters on Sunday at a church in Manila?s Tondo district.
When she turned 80 last month, Imelda told Agence France Presse that she bore no anger toward Aquino. She also publicly sought prayers for Aquino who was on the final stage of her battle with colon cancer, despite referring to her as a ?usurper? and a ?dictator? just weeks before.

Aquino?s youngest daughter Kris also thanked Marcos and her family for offering Sunday prayers for her mother.

?I never thought the time would come [that I would say this], but thank you to the Marcoses for really praying for mom. I felt the sincerity,? Kris said in an ABS-CBN network interview.

She also said her mother had forgiven all her political enemies.

Marcoses may attend wake

The Aquino family had said members of the Marcos family may attend the wake for the former President, but that they should not expect a warm welcome.

According to Marcos aides, the former first lady or her children may attend the wake later Monday, although there were no concrete plans.

A reconciliation between the Aquino and Marcos families would put closure to a bitter political rivalry that had played a major role in Philippine politics since the late 1960s.

Ferdinand Marcos was then on his second and last four-year term as President. Benigno ?Ninoy? Aquino, then a senator, had set his eyes on the presidency.

Refusing to give up power, Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in 1972 and jailed hundreds of his political foes including Ninoy. In 1980, however, the dictator allowed his rival to seek treatment for a heart ailment in the United States.

Cory Aquino rose to prominence after her husband was shot dead by soldiers upon his return from US exile in 1983. She accused the dictator of masterminding the assassination. Massive protests forced the dictator to call for a snap election in 1986.

Election fraud sparked the EDSA People Power Revolution that toppled the Marcos dictatorship and swept Cory Aquino to the presidency.

The Marcos family was forced into exile in Hawaii, where the dictator died in 1989.

President Aquino refused to allow the dictator?s body to be brought to the Philippines for ?the safety of those who would take the death of Mr. Marcos in widely and passionately conflicting ways.?

A year after Fidel Ramos assumed the presidency, however, he allowed the dictator?s remains flown to his hometown in Batac, Ilocos Norte. Marcos? remains has since been kept inside a refrigerated crypt in a mausoleum.

In June 1998, then President-elect Joseph Estrada announced he was allowing Marcos? remains to be buried at Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes? Cemetery) but he scuttled the plan in the face of protests led by no less than Cory Aquino.

The icon of Philippine democracy said that Filipinos should not forget the evils of the Marcos dictatorship, adding: ?Let us not change the definition of the word ?hero.? A hero is a hero; a dictator is a dictator.?

During her presidency, however, Aquino allowed Imelda and her children to return home.

The Marcoses are alleged to have plundered the government coffers of up to $10 billion, but none of them has been found guilty of any crime.

Imelda has often said she felt vindicated that the courts have not convicted her of any crime more than 23 years after the fall of the Marcos dictatorship. With reports from Agence France-Presse and Kristine L. Alave