6/06/2011

Binay rejects hero's burial for Marcos



Vice president Jejomar Binay has recommended that former president Ferdinand Marcos should not be buried at Manila's heroes' cemetery but that full military honors could be accorded if he is laid to rest in his hometown in Ilocos Norte.


Marcos was ousted in a 1986 "edsa peoples power" revolt led by current President Benigno Aquino III's late mother, former president Corazon Aquino. Marcos died three years later in exile in Hawaii and his body was returned in 1993 to his hometown in Batac, Ilocos Norte, where it has been displayed in a glass coffin and has become a tourist attraction.

His widow, Imelda Romualdez Marcos, pushed for the burial of her husband in the National Heroes' cemetery since the body of the late president has returned from exile, but has been opposed by pro-democracy and left-wing groups, which have accused the late dictator of plundering the nation and massive human rights violations during his two-decade leadership.

President Aquino asked Vice President Jejomar Binay early this year to study Marcos' burial and recommend how the long-divisive issue could finally be settled. Aquino has refused to decide alone on the issue, saying he would naturally be biased.

In a report to Aquino, Binay recommended that Marcos be given full military honors if his family decides to have him laid to rest in Ilocos Norte instead of in the heroes' cemetery.

Marcos' widow  Imelda Marcos won a congressional seat representing Ilocos Norte. Imee Marcos, daughter of the late president was elected provincial governor and son Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos won a Senate seat in the last 2010 election.

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