Marcos says not his duty to apologize for martial law atrocities

APRIL 8, 2024
File photo of President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr
MALACAÑANG PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday said it is not his duty to be involved when asked to apologize to the victims of martial law under his father.

“I don’t think it’s a duty for a president to be involved, that is a personal matter for the Marcos family,” Marcos said during the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines forum held in Manila Hotel when asked if he’s going to issue an apology on behalf of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

When pressed further since he was a member of the Marcos family, he said: “Definitely. But my role as president is more important right now than my role as a member of the Marcos family.  So, I take that, that’s my first priority.”

Martial law was declared on Sept. 23, 1972 by Marcos to quell what he then said was growing threats from the Maoist insurgents and Islamic separatists.

At least 70,000 were wrongly imprisoned and 3,200 people were killed during Martial Law, according to Amnesty International.

The World Bank also said that Marcos Sr. stole between $5 billion and $10 billion from the country’s coffers.

This is said to include the $40-million Arelma assets of Marcos Sr.

The Arelma funds represented assets of the former strongman originally worth $2-million deposited with Merrill Lynch Securities in New York in 1972 under the Arelma S.A., a Panamanian corporation. The fund has increased from $2 million to about $40-million.

“I really haven’t looked at it in years…” Marcos said when asked about the Arelma funds.

Marcos, saying he has no time in dealing with such cases, said he is now leaving it to the lawyers.

READ: Marcos’ martial law: Golden age for corruption, abuses

“The cases, the previous cases that were filed post 1986, I have not touched,” Marcos said. “It would be highly improper for me to involve myself in that, besides I don’t have the time to do it, so I leave it to the lawyers.”

The 1986 Edsa People Power revolution, an uprising which gathered  millions of Filipinos along the main artery of Metro Manila, ousted Marcos Sr.