MANILA, Philippines — While agreeing that the sins of the father are not the sins of the son, Basilan Rep. and former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) governor Mujiv Hataman still has one question: Has Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. acknowledged father’s sins during martial law?
During the 1Sambayan TAPATan forum on Thursday, Hataman was asked about sentiments that Marcos Jr. should not be blamed over the “sins” committed during the reign of his father, the late dictator president Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
“Ang tanong ko simple lang naman, tama naman talaga, ‘yung kasalanan ng tatay hindi magiging kasalanan ng anak. Pero ang tanong ko, tinanggap na ba nila na mayroong kasalanan ang tatay nila?” Hataman said.
(My question is simple. It’s right that the sins of the father are not the sin of the son. But my question is, have they acknowledged that their father committed a sin?)
“May ginawang karahasan ang tatay nila dito sa mga Bangsamoro (Their father committed violence here in Bangsamoro),” he added.
During the forum, Hataman and 1SAMBAYAN convenor and former ambassador to Egypt Makabangkit Lanto tackled killings of Muslim Moros during the Marcos Sr. regime such as the Malisbong massacre and the Manili massacre.
Lanto said while he also agrees that the sins of the father should not be attributed to the son, it is hard to separate the two Marcoses.
“Ngunit ‘yun ang nangyayari dito tsaka ang perception namin dito sa Mindanao ay Marcos e, pare-pareho lang sila ng apelyido. Edi kung anuman ang nangyari dahil sa Marcos ay kasama na doon ang kanyang pamilya,” Lanto said.
(The perception in Mindanao on Marcos is they just have the same surname. So whatever happened because of a Marcos, that goes for the family too.)
“Si BBM (Bongbong Marcos) naman has been very active as the administrator of the state of the family kaya mahirap paghiwalayin yung dalawa,” he added.
(Bongbong has been active as the administrator of the state of the family so it’s difficult to separate the two.)
INQUIRER.net has reached out to Marcos Jr.’s camp for reaction to this story but has yet to receive a reply as of posting time.
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