Palace hopes Marcos burial issue will be laid to rest

Malacañang on Tuesday welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court allowing a hero’s burial for the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, saying they were hoping that the issue will be put to rest.

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the administration is hoping that the country will move forward following the ruling of “the final arbiter of all legal questions.”

“We acknowledge the decision of the Supreme Court to have the remains of former President Ferdinand Marcos buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani as it is the final arbiter of all legal questions,” Abella said in a statement.

READ: SC OKs Marcos burial at Libingan

“We hope the matter will finally be laid to rest, and that the nation finds the wherewithal to move forward and to continue forging a nation that is peaceable, just and fair to all,” he added.

Voting 9-5 with one abstention, the high court on Tuesday junked all petitions against President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive to bury Marcos in the heroes’ cemetery. SC ruled that there was no grave abuse of discretion on the part of President Duterte in exercising his mandate and that no law prohibits Marcos’ burial at Libingan.

Duterte, who has been very vocal about his alliance with the Marcos family, pushed for the Libingan burial as part of his campaign promise despite strong opposition from martial law victims and the general public. The Marcos regime was marred by human rights abuses, curtailed press freedom, corruption, forced disappearances, and unlawful arrest and killings of opposition forces. JE/rga