Marcos to be honored as President at Libingan–AFP

Former first lady Imelda Marcos kisses the glass case that contains the frozen remains of former dictator and president Ferdinand Marcos on July 2, 2014. AFP FILE PHOTO

IT’S OFFICIAL: Deposed dictator President Ferdinand Marcos was to be honored not just as a former soldier, but as former head of state, in Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery) where, President Duterte announced in a memo on Sunday, he would be laid to rest.

This, as the Philippine Army, which oversees the cemetery for soldiers and dignitaries, officially received on Wednesday a directive from the Armed Forces of the Philippines to “provide all necessary military honors accorded a President” for the Marcos burial.

The military honors would include a vigil, a bugler or drummer, a firing party, a military host or pallbearers, escort and transportation, and arrival and departure honors.

Dated Aug. 9, the directive was signed by Rear Adm. Ernesto Enriquez, AFP deputy chief of staff for reservist and retiree affairs.

In a phone interview on Friday, Army spokesperson Col. Benjamin Hao said they had already appointed a protocol officer to meet with the Marcos family to discuss details of the interment although the burial date has yet to be announced.

Hao, however, said that as early as last week, a private contractor, through the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office, has began work on the 100-square-meter space allocated for Marcos in the cemetery’s “presidential” section.

The section currently hosts the final resting place for three former Presidents: Carlos P. Garcia, Elpidio Quirino and Diosdado Macapagal. Marcos’ plot would be next to Garcia’s, Hao said.

As early as June, civilians protesting the idea of the dictator’s interment at Libingan have been sneaking in on the guise of visiting their departed, to leave stones bearing the names of martial law victims on the then rumored Marcos burial plot.

Since then, security has been tightened at the cemetery. While Hao conceded that it was within the protesters’ right to express their sentiments, they should follow procedures and seek a permit from the Taguig local government if they want to hold protest actions outside the cemetery.

“This is a national shrine. Let’s maintain the solemnity of the place,” Hao urged the public. TVJ

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