The President hopes that the Martial Law victims would be able to “forgive and forget” as he maintained his approval on the Marcos burial at the LNMB.
LIMA, Peru – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte hopes that the victims of human rights abuses during the Martial Law would be able to “forgive and forget” those who hurt them as he maintained his stance on the Marcos burial at the Heroes’ Cemetery.
While in Peru for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, President Duterte said that he hopes that the Martial Law victims would be able to find forgiveness for the perpetrators behind the human rights abuses under the military rule of the late former President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos.
Meanwhile, Duterte maintained that the burial of Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (LNMB) was a “personal decision” of the late former strongman’s decision.
In a statement read by Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella on Friday, Duterte expressed his hopes that both sides would exercise maximum tolerance and come to terms with the burial of Marcos.
Abella continued reading saying Duterte further said that he “hopes everybody would find a space in their hearts to forgive and set free those who had hurt or injured them”.
Meanwhile, Abella maintained that Duterte did not know when exactly the Marcoses intended to bury their late patriarch, saying: “As far as I know he was not sure about the exact date”.
The Presidential Spokesman added that the decision to bury the late president on November 18 is a “personal decision of the Marcos family, and Duterte respect their choice of date for the interment.
When informed that Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa confessed that President Duterte knew about the burial on Friday, Abella said that the PNP Chief might have known some of the details but as to the Chief Executive, he was so “focused on the trip to APEC in Lima, Peru”.
Abella claimed that Duterte only knew of the sneaky burial upon his arrival to Peru and was “surprised” about it.
The President is expected to give his official statement about the Marcos burial upon his arrival to the Philippines from Peru.