MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino III said he has ruled out burying former dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Manila.
Aquino told The Associated Press in an interview Friday that he is finalizing a decision on Vice President Jejomar Binay’s proposal to bury the strongman with military honors not in the capital but in his northern Philippine hometown.
Marcos’ widow, Imelda, has pushed to have her husband buried at the heroes’ cemetery. She is opposed by pro-democracy and left-wing groups that say Marcos plundered the nation’s coffers and committed massive human rights violations during his two-decade rule.
Marcos was ousted in 1986 and died three years later in Hawaii. His body is now on display in a glass coffin in his hometown.