‘Dictator’ Duterte again defends Marcos burial at heroes’ cemetery
A FEW days after referring to himself as a “dictator” out of necessity, President Rodrigo R. Duterte has again defended his decision allowing the burial of late autocrat Ferdinand E. Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, saying it was not about repaying a debt of gratitude to one of the latter’s daughters, Ilocos Norte Governor Maria Imelda Josefa “Imee” R. Marcos.
Mr. Duterte, however, acknowledged, that Ms. Marcos was his “lone supporter” in Luzon during the 2016 presidential campaign.
“I ha(d) no money, no supporters. In Manila, not even a single kagawad (had supported me). Who supported me in Luzon? No (one). Only Imee Marcos,” Mr. Duterte said during his speech at the Manila Times’ 7th Business Forum held in Davao City on Feb. 9.
“Then you will say that I allowed the burial of Marcos because his family had helped me? Look, stupid,” he added.
A couple of months after his election, Mr. Duterte issued a memorandum order allowing Mr. Marcos’s burial at the heroes’ cemetery, a promise that he made to supporters of the late dictator during the presidential campaign.
The President said: “The law says who will be buried there in the Libingan ng mga Bayani. Who are the heroes? The soldiers, the president. You must be the president at one time or a soldier. On both counts, Marcos was a president, you cannot deny that. And ’yung sabi nila na he was a bogus soldier. Well, sabi niya, tama, it’s fake.”
“If your opinion is different from mine, my news is fake, yours is right. That’s what we (will) quarrel about. You are fake. Why? Because you do not jive with what I believe in,” Mr. Duterte said.
Earlier in the week, during his speech before 215 former Maoist rebels at Malacañang on Feb. 7, Mr. Duterte said: “If you say dictator, I will be a dictator. Because if I will not be a dictator, nothing will happen to this country.”
The President also said on Saturday that Mr. Marcos’s loyal supporters, mainly coming from or has roots in his home province Ilocos Norte, deserve to have their “hero” interred at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.
“Itong mga ’to mga (These critics, they’re in) denial. Look. They are ready to deny Marcos his honor. You know, if the Ilocanos would believe that Marcos was really their hero, let them have their hero, too,” Mr. Duterte said. — Arjay L. Balinbin
