LP: How can Poe stomach the thought of Marcos at Libingan ng mga Bayani?

“How can you stomach the thought of Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani ?” asked the ruling Liberal Party (LP) to presidential candidate Senator Grace Poe, hitting the senator’s indecisiveness on the issue of whether or not to allow the late dictator to be buried at the heroes’ cemetery.

“The President embodies the conscience and morality of the whole nation. We ask Senator Poe, is it just to bury an oppressive dictator along with those who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of all Filipinos?” LP spokesperson and Akbayan Rep. Barry Gutierrez said on Monday.

READ: Poe open to Marcos burial at ‘Libingan’

“If a real hero like Jesse Robredo was not buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani because of his family’s wishes, how can the Senator stomach the thought of Marcos being buried there? Senator, this is not a question of legality but of morality. We want to hear your answer—is Marcos a hero to you?”

The LP, which had earlier wooed Poe to be its vice presidential candidate, is prodding the lady senator to make a clear stand on the burial issue after it was raised during Poe’s press conference in Tacloban City last Friday.

Poe denied the report that said she’s open to allowing Marcos’ burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani and said in a clarificatory statement: “I have been consistent about this from the very beginning. Former President Ferdinand Marcos deserves to be accorded proper burial.

“As to where, I would like to clarify that I did not state in an earlier interview that I am open to allowing the burial, and I quote the report, ‘wherever that may be,’ and which would naturally include the Libingan ng mga Bayani.”

READ: Poe: Marcos burial must be ‘in accordance with law’

But Gutierrez scored Poe’s indecisiveness on the long-standing issue, pointing out that a leader must be willing to make difficult decisions even if it would be unfavorable to his or her allies.

“Is this the kind of leadership we can expect from Sen. Poe? In an issue of great importance to our nation and history, she would pass the buck to someone else?” Gutierrez said.

With Poe and her running mate Senator Francis Escudero downplaying the need for an apology from vice presidential candidate Senator Bongbong Marcos and his family, Gutierrez said Poe and Escudero are trivializing the systematic killing, torture of Martial Law victims.

The LP stressed that the parents of both Poe and Escudero have close ties with the Marcos family.

Marcos and his wife Imelda stood as sponsors at the wedding of Poe’s parents, the late movie actor Fernando Poe Jr. and actress Susan Roces, on December 25, 1968. Meanwhile, Escudero’s late father served as agriculture secretary of the late president.

“Is Marcos a hero to her? Marcos, who tortured and murdered thousands? Who stole billions of dollars from the treasury? Who brought our economy down and drove millions of Filipinos into poverty? Senadora, make a stand,” Gutierrez said. JE

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