It’s final: Aquino won’t grant Marcos hero’s burial

Former Philippine first lady and now congresswoman, Imelda Marcos, kisses the glass case of her late husband president Ferdinand Marcos during a visit to the mausoleum on her 85th birthday in Batac town, Ilocos norte, north of Manila on July 2, 2014. AFP

MANILA, Philippines—The remains of former president Ferdinand Marcos won’t be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, at least while President Benigno Aquino III is still in office.

“As far as we are concerned the issue is closed. The President has made a decision,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said during a press briefing Tuesday.

In an interview back in 2011, Aquino said it would be the “height of injustice to render any honors to the person who was the direct mastermind of all this suffering (under martial law).”

He said he could not sanction a burial for Marcos, at least “not under (his) watch.”

“What the Marcos family wants to do…it’s up to them,” Lacierda said when asked where Marcos could instead be buried.

In 2011, Vice President Jejomar Binay was asked to study the issue and consult with stakeholders. He suggested that Marcos be buried with full military honors in Ilocos instead. However, the family declined, claiming that Marcos belonged at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Until now, the glass coffin of Marcos remains in Batac, Ilocos Norte.

Marcos is one of the most vilified presidents of the Philippines, especially after he declared martial law, which allowed him to stay in power for 20 years. Many of his critics were arrested, tortured and killed under his watch, including the President’s father, former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr.

RELATED STORIES

‘No hero’s burial for Marcos’

Marcoses still hopeful of hero’s burial for late strongman