Palace: Duterte unaware of Marcos burial

Photos from OACPA HPA

Despite President Duterte’s access to intelligence gathered by the state, the burial of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos at Libingan ng mga Bayani on Nov. 18 went under his radar.

Believe it or not, Malacañang on Tuesday insisted that Mr. Duterte was unaware that the late tyrant’s burial was to be held a day before he left for Lima, Peru, to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit.

This contradicted an earlier statement of one of the President’s most trusted aides, Director General Ronald de la Rosa of the Philippine National Police, that Mr. Duterte had been informed of the burial.

The assistant presidential communications secretary, Marie Banaag, said Mr. Duterte was already in transit to Lima when reports on the rushed burial came out.

“We have been so consistent about that. It has been very clear that insofar as the President is concerned, he wanted that kind of burial for the former President. But as to the exact date, we don’t know because that is a family decision,” Banaag said at a press briefing in Malacañang.

Funeral wreath

She dismissed insinuations that Mr. Duterte was told beforehand of the burial date as he had sent a funeral wreath extending his condolences to the Marcoses, who had supported his candidacy in the May 9 presidential election.

“We’re not the ones who lost a loved one. It’s not the government or this administration that lost a loved one for us to decide on everything,” she said.

Banaag said the President’s plate was already full with other pressing concerns for him to think about sending funeral flowers for the deposed strongman’s burial.

“Our country is beset with many problems. We are not saying that the (Marcos) burial is not an issue. What we’re saying is that the President is attending to many other things,” Banaag said.

“I don’t really think the President still thought of sending the funeral wreath …. He just respects the dead and he only did what the law says,” she continued.

Unaware of exact date

Before flying back home on Monday night, the President told Filipino journalists who covered his attendance at the Apec meeting that he “knew nothing” about the exact date of the Marcos burial.

Said Mr. Duterte: “In all honesty, I’m telling you: ‘I knew nothing about it.’ They only asked me when would be the ‘appropriate time for me? I said, ‘do as you wish.’”

“I didn’t ask them and why would I ask? I allowed it already so what’s it to me? What would I get if I had known in advance whether he would be there for the interment on that day?” he added.

Protests, Ramos

The burial sparked protests from groups and individuals, who claim that Marcos did not deserve to be entombed at Libingan as he was not a hero.

Former President Fidel Ramos also opposed the move, describing it as an “insult to veterans.”

Ramos castigated the covert manner of the burial that he said was carried out with connivance among the Marcos family, military and police officials. He said the Duterte administration was “losing support, they are losing friends.”

“We respect the opinion of former President Ramos but the President’s position is very clear: The Supreme Court ruled on the basis of its appreciation of the legal aspect of the case, not on whether martial law led to human rights violations or some other political issue,” Banaag said.

As to whether Mr. Duterte has been losing friends because of the developments, she said she knew of no desertions.

“So far, there has been none. We know of no such development. The President will arrive and they will talk,” she said.

‘Big brother’

She said Ramos had been clear that while he might disagree with the President’s decisions or positions on certain issues, he remained a “big brother.”

Mr. Duterte credited Ramos for convincing him to run for President and appointed the former Chief Executive as a special envoy to China.

Banaag said that as long as the President trusted his Cabinet secretaries, she saw no reason for them to resign even if they opposed his decision to allow Marcos burial at Libingan.

“They may not agree on various fronts, but then let it not be said this would mean resigning, because they have other programs which they would want to implement together,” she said.

Leftists in Cabinet

Cabinet members who had been martial law activists have castigated the stealthy burial, but have said they would not leave the administration because they still see space for them to engage with the President on other matters.

Mr. Duterte continues to stand firm on his decision allowing Marcos to be laid to rest at the country’s cemetery for heroes amid massive outrage over the stealthy burial, which was carried out before the Supreme Court ruling dismissing the petitions against it became final and executory.

The burial was also announced only an hour before it took place, and after Libingan was closed to the public and surrounded by state security forces.

Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael “Ka Paeng” Mariano said he would not resign from the Cabinet although he was against the hero’s burial for Marcos.

“Before we entered the government, we were already aware of the differences we have with President Duterte on some issues. Despite our opposing stance on the Marcos burial, we continue to engage him on this matter,” Mariano said in a statement on Monday, three days after Marcos was buried.

Equally important issues

A founding member of the militant farmers’ group, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, Mariano underscored the “equally important issues” he wanted the President to pursue.

“We accepted the post in the Duterte [administration] because we aim to find common grounds in pursuing talks for just and lasting peace including the release of political prisoners, completion of the comprehensive agreement on social and economic reforms, prioritization of social services and the forging of an independent foreign policy,” he said.

He noted that Mr. Duterte had already convened the long-defunct Presidential Agrarian Reform Council, resulting in decisions or considerations on “landmark cases,” such as the revocation of two stock distribution option contracts, one agribusiness venture agreement contract, a two-year moratorium on land-use conversion of agricultural lands, condonation of arrears on interests of unpaid amortization by agrarian reform beneficiaries, free irrigation, return of coco levy funds to farmers and end to labor contractualization. —WITH A REPORT FROM JAYMEE T. GAMIL