Binay: Marcos family agrees to bury former president in Ilocos Norte

Imelda Marcos and Vice President Jejomar Binay.

LAOAG CITY, Philippines – Vice President Jejomar Binay said the Marcos family has agreed to have the remains of strongman Ferdinand Marcos buried in his home province of Ilocos Norte.

Binay issued the statement in a press conference Tuesday in the presence of Ilocos Norte Representative Imelda Marcos, the strongman’s widow, who joined the vice president in a forum launching the government’s housing caravan in the Ilocos region.

“The [Marcos] family has already agreed that Ilocos Norte is the burial place. The issue of a hero’s burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani has become moot and academic,” he said.

Imelda, who was seated beside Binay, was silent when he issued the statement on Marcos’ burial.

Binay was tasked by President Benigno Aquino III to recommend the best way to resolve the issue of Marcos’ burial.

Marcos’ relatives and supporters insisted on a hero’s burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani while other groups opposed the move, saying Marcos, who ruled the country for 20 years, did not deserve the honor.

Marcos was ousted by a civilian-backed military uprising in 1986 and died in exile in Hawaii in 1989. His body was flown back to the country in 1993 and has since been preserved in a glass case inside a temperature-controlled mausoleum in the family’s compound in Batac City.

Binay said an official statement on Marcos’ burial will be released soon.

The official itinerary of Binay, who is also guest during the celebrations honoring the late Governor Roque Ablan Sr. in the province on Tuesday, did not include a visit to Marcos’ remains in Batac.