‘Libingan burial to bring closure’

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – With the prospect of his late father getting buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani now brighter, outgoing Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  said yesterday he sees closure to an issue that has divided the country for decades.

The possible Libingan ng mga Bayani burial in September for the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos and the appointment of his senator-son and namesake to the Cabinet of the incoming administration were among the topics discussed between the younger Marcos and president-elect Rodrigo Duterte Friday night.

While Duterte would not talk about the meeting, Marcos revealed getting fresh assurance of a Libingan burial for his father.

“I quite disagree with it,” he told reporters when asked if there is a possibility a Libingan burial for his father would create discord.

“It will bring closure not only to my family but the country somehow,” he said. He pointed out interring his father at the Libingan would “put to rest” what he called “continuing partisan exchange.”

The younger Marcos also voiced his readiness to serve in the Duterte administration – even as a consultant. Losing candidates are barred from taking government positions within a year after an election.

The meeting – which reportedly took more than four hours and lasted until the wee hours – was held at the After Dark Piano Bar, a favorite hangout of Duterte.

“I thanked him (Duterte) for saying that he is ready to allow the burial of my father at the Libingan ng mga Bayani,” Marcos said.

The senator said it is possible that his father would be interred in September this year. The elder Marcos was born on Sept. 11, 1917. “There are discussions that it can be done in September, but of course, these are very informal,” he said.

The late dictator was ousted during the 1986 People Power Revolution, which catapulted Corazon Aquino to power and restored democracy in the country.

Marcos died of kidney, heart and lung ailments on Sept. 28, 1989 while in exile in Honolulu, Hawaii. The late strongman’s body was brought back to the Philippines in 1993.  It is supposedly his remains that are inside a glass coffin on display in a family mausoleum in Batac, Ilocos Norte.

Victims of human rights abuses during the Marcos regime are opposed to giving Marcos a hero’s burial, saying this would insult the real heroes who died fighting the dictatorship.

Duterte, however, insisted interring Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani would put closure to an issue that he said has long divided Filipinos.

“I will allow the burial of President Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani not because he is a hero. He was a Filipino soldier, period. That can be arranged immediately,” he said.