The 1992 deal between Marcos and the Philippine government is now the point of saturation between the pro- and the anti-Marcos burial.
Malacañan Palace emphasized that the deal done between the camp of Former Pres. Ferdinand Marcos and the Philippine government is not binding under the Duterte administration.
The deal was signed by then Pres. Fidel V. Ramos on 1992, time when the lifeless Marcos was brought back to the Philippines from Hawaii where he died. It was agreed that Marcos shall be brought back to the country but shall buried in one cemetery in Ilocos Norte, the late dictator’s bulwark, and not in the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery).
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said that aside from the regulation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) which enumerates who shall be qualified to be buried in the Heroes’s Cemetery, Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to bury Marcos there is supported by the public. He meant that as a Democratic government or the government of the people, the public’s voice is heard.
Panelo added that it is included in the president’s campaign promises and the people already knew about it but still voted for him (Duterte).
Panelo’s statement is an answer to Former Interte Sec. Rafael Alunan III’s word on the issue.
Alunan is one of the signatories in the 1992 agreement and he reiterated on Saturday that the deal remains binding.
Alunan was tasked in 1992 by Ramos to “represent the government” in discussions with the Marcos family, led by former first lady Imelda Marcos and represented by former Rep. Roquito Ablan, of conditions for the return of the dictator’s remains to the Philippines from Hawaii.
In a press conference with Ramos at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City yesterday, Alunan gave reporters a rundown of the conditions set by the government for the return of Marcos’ body.
The four conditions were:
The body would be flown straight from Hawaii to Ilocos Norte province.
Marcos would be given honors befitting a major, his last rank in the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Marcos’ body would not be paraded in Metro Manila. “At that time,” Alunan explained, “the wounds were still fresh in the minds of many people, and we could not afford bloodshed and instability [on] our watch.”
There would be no burial at Libingan ng mga Bayani. Alunan noted that Marcos had wanted to be buried beside the grave of his mother in Batac, Ilocos Norte.
Because of the petition filed before the Supreme Court to stop Marcos’ burial at the LNMB, the Duterte administration is letting the court take its course and the Palace respects the process.