INCOMING President Rodrigo Duterte has continued to defend his plan to bury the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos at Libingan ng mga Bayani.
In a press conference that ran until very early Thursday morning, Duterte said that while many Filipinos disagreed with him, he believed Marcos deserved to be buried at the military cemetery not because he was a hero but because he had been a soldier.
As for the torture victims of Marcos who had won court-granted compensation from his recovered ill-gotten wealth, Duterte advised them to go back to the courts to seek the speedy release of the money.
“Look, there [are] the courts. Pumunta kayo ng korte kasi ’yung taong hinahabol ninyo, cadaver na (Go to the courts because the person you’re running after is a cadaver). What do you want more from the guy? Patay na nga (He’s already dead)… Sabi ninyo si Marcos, hindi dapat diyan (You said Marcos should not be buried there). That is [on] the question of his abuses. It is something that is attached to his persona forever. Marcos might not really be a hero, I accept that proposition, maybe. But certainly he was a soldier,” Duterte said.
He said he was at a loss on how to appease his critics.
“In addition to being a president, he was a soldier. So ’yung dinakip noong martial law, nandiyan ang korte (So those who were arrested during martial law, there are the courts). It’s just a matter of distributing the award. So anong problema? Patay na yung tao. Anong gusto ninyo (What’s the problem? The guy is dead. What do you want)? You want to burn his remains? Will that satisfy your hate?” he said.
Duterte said the late dictator’s sins should not pass on to his family.
“Do not allow the sins of the father, if there were any, to ever beset the children,” he said.
He said that nothing would make him change his mind about burying Marcos at Libingan ng mga Bayani.
“Alam ninyo kapag nagbitaw ako ng salita, ’yun na ’yun. Magpakamatay na ako riyan (You know, when I say something, that’s it. I will die by my word). I will not die if I do not become president. I will stake my honor, my life and the presidency itself. Bantayan ninyo ang salita ko (Mark my words),” he said.