CEBU CITY— Presidential candidate and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is in favor of burying the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
He told reporters after the Pilipinas 2016 debate at the University of the Philippines Cebu that it was time for the country to “move on.”
During the “Taas Kamay” segment of the debate where the candidates were asked to raise their hands on certain issues, only Duterte and Vice President Jejomar Binay raised their hands when asked if they favored burying Marcos at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani.
If elected President, Duterte said he would want to unite the country and not divide it.
The Ilocanos, he added, considered Marcos as their hero and wanted the President buried in Libingan ng Mga Bayani.
As long as the issue on the Marcos burial remains hanging, it would be a “divisive factor in our society, the Republic of the Philippines,” according to Duterte.
Asked if he was ready for the public criticism with his stand on Marcos burial, Duterte replied: “Why would I be criticized when I had not won?”
Asked if the Marcos burial would just trigger division, he added “I don’t think so.”
The mayor, however, denied that his friendship with the dictator’s son, Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. had something to do with his stand.
“I want to unite this country (but cannot do that) if all the Ilocanos nurtured this kind of sentiment,” he stressed.
“Someone has to give. Ilibing mo na lang yan para tapos na (Bury him so it will be over),” he added.
Duterte said he would consult the victims of human rights violations during Marcos’ Martial Law, but if they would not agree, he would use his judgment.
“I said we need to unite this country. Then I would submit it, a sort of a consensus and then a plebiscite. Then I will decide what is best for this country.” SFM